Piloting a first‐year resident‐as‐teacher workshop to foster evidence‐based teaching

Abstract

PurposeResidents function as important educators of dental students; however, they often have limited training in educational best‐practices. Resident‐as‐teacher programs have been designed and implemented in other health professions to prepare residents to teach in clinic and classroom settings. In this research, we describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a 2‐day workshop for first‐year advanced dental residents.MethodsThe program engaged residents in techniques to: (1) foster psychological safety, (2) use the cognitive apprenticeship framework, (3) deliver quality feedback, and (4) conduct effective didactic instruction. Nineteen first‐year residents attended 2 four‐hour workshops in July 2019. The impact of the program was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's model, which included participant reactions, learning, and self‐reported behaviors.ResultsMost residents (at least 83.3%) reported the value and quality of the workshop was high or very high. With regard to knowledge, residents had statistically significant higher scores after the workshop on knowledge questions about cognitive apprenticeship (P < 0.01), feedback strategies (P < 0.05), and classroom instruction techniques (P < 0.05). Resident reported self‐efficacy had a statistically significantly increase (P < 0.05) after the workshop in psychological safety, cognitive apprenticeship, and most items related to providing feedback; there were few changes in self‐efficacy on classroom instruction strategies.ConclusionOverall, a workshop to prepare residents as teachers can improve knowledge and self‐efficacy in evidence‐based educational practices.

RaT race: A standardized open‐access education resource provides a structured resident‐as‐teacher experience

“…Our findings suggest that the FoEM RaT experience provides many benefits to the resident instructors themselves. While this is not surprising given the breadth of literature citing benefits of RaT experience, it does suggest that this experience provides many of the benefits already identified in other RaT opportunities and supports FoEM RaT as a viable option 4,8–15,17–19,45–47 . FoEM resident instructors reported increased core knowledge, which echoes improved educational outcomes shown in other studies 14,46,47,67 .…”

“…While this is not surprising given the breadth of literature citing benefits of RaT experience, it does suggest that this experience provides many of the benefits already identified in other RaT opportunities and supports FoEM RaT as a viable option. 4,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][17][18][19][45][46][47] FoEM resident instructors reported increased core knowledge, which echoes improved educational outcomes shown in other studies. 14,46,47,67 This finding that teaching facilitates learning is also consistent with adaptive expertise and the master adaptive learner model.…”

“…Our study team of expert educators and education researchers developed an online survey after literature review to optimize content validity. This literature review included studies on FoEM and RaT experiences and curricula 1–4,7–34,36,37,39,40,42,44–52 . We developed the survey according to best practices in survey design 53 .…”

“…Our study team of expert educators and education researchers also developed the semistructured interview questions after review of FoEM and RaT literature 1–4,7–34,36,37,39,40,42,44–52 . We developed questions using a constructivist/interpretivist paradigm with a focus on open‐ended questions to maximize depth of response 54,55 .…”

“…Beyond requirements, a robust resident as teacher (RaT) curriculum can provide numerous benefits to resident teachers, their learners, and residency programs. Prior literature has demonstrated gains in learner‐centered didactic skills, enhanced self‐reflection and self‐efficacy in teaching, and improved educational outcomes for both resident teachers and their learners 7–19 . Additionally, the quality of patient care has been shown to increase due to improved clinical skills and competency as perceived by medical students, fellow residents, and faculty 20–22 .…”