FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

On May 3, 2011, the Faculty Development Initiative held its 3rd Annual Symposium. Speakers were from SUNY Brockport, Binghamton Upstate and Downstate. The theme was Teaching and Learning. The event was very well attended and well received.

In the summer, Faculty Development kicked off its Summer Series with AV week.
The technicians from the AV department demonstrated the equipment and services that they offer to Faculty and staff. Participants were able to learn how to make optimal use of the technical resources available in lecture halls and classrooms.

The second event in this Series was Introduction to Simulation as a Tool for Health Care
Education. Faculty and staff "met" our "patient" Stan and his wife, Noelle, in the Advanced Learning Resource Center’s (ALRC) Simulation Center on the lower level of the library.

Stan and Noelle are standardized patient mannequins that are used in simulating real clinical care settings to train students for the real-world experience in patient care.

Dr Dimitrious Pananagnou, Director of the ALRC simulated heart and breath sounds while Dr Aleida Llanes-Oberstein, CNM, LM, MS, FACNM, of Midwifery, simulated the birthing process to Faculty and Staff members.

For Fall 2011, the Faculty Development Initiative is co-sponsoring ECT workshops. These workshops offer the Faculty of Downstate a chance to learn PRIME, Adobe Connect and classroom computer management. Dr. James Neill is presenting these workshops.

Faculty Development Lab – Teaching and Learning Center

On October 20, 2011, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Downstate Medical Center's first Faculty Development Lab Alumni Association College of Medicine Faculty Development Lab -Teaching and Learning Center. This lab utilizes video and Power Point presentations in conjunction with CME accredited questions, all of which are designed to teach.

The first three teaching modules address the fundamental educational issues of Teaching and Learning in Medicine, The Art of Feedback and the Art of Precepting. The goal of this endeavor is to cultivate an understanding that teaching requires not only a grasp of content knowledge, but also an appreciation of the importance of knowing how to communicate with learners. Through these modules, participants will learn that effective teaching requires specific skills and thoughtful preparation. By learning techniques such as asking thought-provoking open-ended questions, providing timely and insightful feedback and the ability to listen to what the learners are telling us, we can all become more effective teachers.

Angela Melton