EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

Faculty Development workshops in the Office of Teacher & Educational Development are facilitated using the methods being taught, modeling learning principles derived from the education and medical education literature, and conceptualized in The Circle  of Learning and Bermuda Triangle in Education¹ (so-called because if the triangle is  not navigated effectively, learning and sometimes even learners disappear into the murky depths).

   ¹ ©D Richter, Teacher & Educational Development, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 2004

• Knowledge is constructed (within a social context), not received

• Approach should be "learning-centered" versus "teacher-centered"

• "Covering" material ≠ learning

• Overloading reduces learning

• The goal of teaching is to create "significant learning experiences" (Fink, 2003) in which transformation occurs through education

• Motivation is essential to learning; relevance is a key element of motivation

• People learn by building on to what they already know (some of which is misconception that needs to be brought out and corrected)

• For deep learning (ability to use, transfer, transform, and be transformed by information) to occur, active learning strategies are necessary

• The relationship between things is at least as important as the things themselves

• Related concepts should be integrated rather than taught in isolated fragments

• Learning information in the context in which it will be used improves retention and recall (Bransford, 2003)

• We must know when particular information/skills apply and when they don't in order for that learning to be useful

• Time for reflection (metacognition) is needed to create self-awareness that can lead to improved understanding, transfer of learning, and transformation of learner toward independence and self-regulation