Core Units of Study

The course requires completion of two core units of study

• The master’s degree comprises two core units of study and a further six elective units.
• The graduate diploma comprises two core units of study and a further four elective units.
• The graduate certificate comprises two core units of study and a further two elective units.

Medical education (MDED) core units of study

The following two core units are taught by our coordinators in Sydney Medical School:

Descriptions of our Core Units of Study in Medical education (MDED)

MDED5001 Teaching and Learning in Medicine

Credit points: 6
Coordinator: Dr Rola Ajjawi
Session: Semester 1 and Semester 2 (fully online)
Classes: The total workload for this unit of study is approximately 10 hours per week. This unit may be undertaken in two modes: either as a blended face-to-face course requiring attendance at 1x3hr fortnightly face-to-face class on campus, followed by some participation in online learning activities OR this unit may by completed fully online.
Assessment: 1x8000word project (100%) plus various formative assessments throughout the unit of study.
Campus: Camperdown
Workload: Approximately 10 hours per week over a 13-week semester.

This unit of study aims to enable health care professionals to critically reflect on their own teaching and learning strategies, compare them with current principles and concepts in medical education and identify those approaches which have potential for improving learning in their own professional field.

The unit is designed at an introductory level, to encourage participants to explore key ideas from theoretical and research literature in the context of their current teaching practice in medicine. The unit lays important foundations for more detailed investigation in other units of study.

Modules
This unit of study is divided into four modules which focus on the principles and practices of:

• A. Student learning in health professional settings - focus on conceptions and approaches to learning and teaching;
• B. Educational design - promoting constructive alignment in program design;
• C. Assessment of competence and performance;
• D. Evaluation of education programs.
• The weekly schedule of tasks is designed around approximately 10 hours of study per week, including face-to-face sessions, over 13 weeks as per the University guidelines for postgraduate coursework programs.

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

• 1. Describe current principles and concepts in learning, teaching and assessment in medicine and the evidence for their use including:
  - adult learning principles
  - student centred learning
  - competency and performance based outcomes
  - constructive alignment
  - validity and reliability of assessment
• 2. Identify and reflect on the influences underlying their won approach to teaching and learning
• 3. Test for alignment of learning outcomes, activities and assessments in existing program or curriculum
• 4. Develop an evaluation plan for the introduction of a specific learning, teaching or assessment method.

Textbook
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Society for Research in Higher Education and the Open University Press.

MDED5002 Scholarship of Teaching in Medicine

Credit points: 6
Coordinator: Dr Rola Ajjawi
Session: Semester 2
Classes: Face-to-face: 1 x 3hr evening class (approximately every fortnight). Alternatively this unit may be undertaken fully online.
Assessment: 2 projects 8000 words in total (100%)
Campus: Camperdown
Workload: Approximately 10 hours per week over a 13-week semester.

This unit aims for the development by students of a deeper understanding of the nature of evidence in health professional education, and the use of this evidence to inform course design, implementation, assessment and/or evaluation.


The contents of this unit include:

• Best evidence medical education (BEME);
• Literature searching and using Endnote;
• An introduction to the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• Identifying research questions and developing a proposal for a small-scale quantitative and/or qualitative research project which is related to the improvement of teaching and learning practice/s in medical education;
• Writing a literature review and a research proposal in the form of an Ethics Application;
• Applying knowledge of current research in health professional education in planning for innovation in teaching and learning practices.

Textbooks

Cohen L., Manion K. & Morrison K. 2007 Research methods in education, 6th ed. New York: Routledge.

Creswell J. W. 2003 Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.