UPDATES -- SPRING 2006
Spring Semester has been a busy one for Educational
Enhancement. Our major initiative was Professionalism Week, which grew
from a simple goal to stimulate dialogue on professional behavior to a
series of events for faculty, staff and students. The activities were
well attended and triggered discussion among a variety of groups. The
feedback from discussion sessions is being assimilated into a report
that will be made available to the college this semester. We hope that
comments and themes identified will generate new ideas for promoting
professional behavior in our College community. Additional information
is posted at
http://www.vet.utk.edu/professional/.
Another goal has been ongoing development of the
students’ learning experience in Application Based Learning Exercises
(ABLE). These problem-based learning courses provide an opportunity for
students to work through complex clinical or population scenarios in
self-directed, small group settings. This year, the ABLE coordinators,
along with Drs. Elizabeth Strand
and John Henton, have been working
to maximize these learning exercises by building new cases and by
placing added emphasis on ethical, economic and client communication
issues. The ABLE and Clinical Exposure experiences have proven to be
ideal opportunities for students to observe, build and practice many of
the “nontechnical” competencies that are so important for career
success. The Office of Educational Enhancement also is
committed to supporting individual teaching and course development.
Please feel free to contact me for help with lecture or course
development, research ideas, or for help in identifying specific
educational resources. Some resources can be found on the EE web site (http://www.vet.utk.edu/enhancement/),
including the course syllabus template, information for reviewing
teaching evaluations and reviewing courses, a course report template,
handouts from teaching and learning seminars, and information on
internal and external programs. We hope to keep building this site with
materials useful to teaching.
UTCVM is fortunate to have maintained a commitment to
“teaching as job number one” for over thirty years now, and has
recruited and retained excellent teachers. This year, it has been
especially exciting to see faculty members and course coordinators
taking advantage of the seminar series and course review process to
think about ongoing development of courses and teaching practices. We
are unique in the support provided for an Office like this one, which
has been allowed to grow to meet the needs of the faculty and students.
Please contact me or any of the Committee members if you have ideas for
additional activities. Dr. Lane, Director
ilane@utk.edu
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