Scientific Research on Veterinary Education

1. Scientific Research on Veterinary Education T.J. Parkinson

2. Once, it was easy – we told students all they needed to know, they learned it, and we sent them out into the profession • Now there’s too much information to remember • High school teaching has changed • Gen x and y • Has required new approaches to curriculum Then we encountered the “information explosion”

3. Pre entry Year 1 Year 3 Year 4 Year 2 Year 5 What happens when students are overloaded: Too much content, Disengagement Too much memorization Shallow learning Motivation Poor retention

4. Curriculum development has aimed to: improve student motivation and learning overcome the bad effects of overload

5. Principle 1: Curriculum defined by outcomes Or am I teaching it just because I want to? • Learning and Graduate Outcomes • To define what students actually need to learn • Thereby setting the “maximum” content of the programme • Thereby setting boundaries on how much students need to learn Am I teaching this because it is required to meet the learning outcomes?

6. Principle 2: Knowledge doesn’t come in silos Infectious diseases Medicine Pathology Anatomy & Physiology Animal husbandry Surgery Therapeutics

7. Rather, professional problem-solving is about integrating knowledge Pathology Medicine Surgery Therapeutics Animal husbandry

8. Even mediocre students perform well in an active learning environment Principle 3: Students learn best in an active learning environment High level “Academic” Engagement “Non-Academic” Low level Passive Active Student activity / teaching method Biggs, 1999

9. Enquiry and Active Learning Problem based learning Integrated learning activities Case-based learning Problem solving activities Case-augmented activities Inquiry based activities Problem-based Hybrid Didactic

10. Simulations, e-learning and even games ↑Retention ↑ Engagement Augments scarce facilities Does not require use of live animals

11. Characteristics of enquiry-based learning Authentic learning Is enjoyed by students Problem characteristics Resource intensive Encourages deep learning Creates context “Gaps” in “coverage” Develops research skills Ensures curriculum integration Requires aligned assessment Self directed and collaborative Integrates professional skills

12. Principle 4: “Professional” skills just as important Ethical and moral behaviour Client and communication skills Business skills Continuing education Biosecurity and enforcement Self care, self management

13. Students do not engage with “professional skills” if they seem to be quasi-optional add-ons “Proper” Curriculum “Oh, that stuff”

14. It has to be ‘centre stage’, and performance has to be assessed and essential for graduation

15. Learning in the affective domain is also hierarchical Value system that controls behaviour. Behaviour is pervasive, consistent Acknowledgement /acceptance of its behavioural norms Knows about [the profession’s] behavioural norms

16. Blueprinting curriculum, so that knowledge, technical skills and professional skills have assigned roles for each graduate attribute

17. Principle 5: How students are assessed determines how (and what) they learn • Authentic and valid {what is being tested?} • Planned {systematic sampling of knowledge/skills} • Aligned with (i) outcomes and (ii) teaching methods • Global criteria {not minutiae} • Direct observation • Workplace or clinic based {rather than classroom} Real or simulated patients OSCE Oral or“viva voce” examination Image Credit: Ronald Harden (r.m.harden@dundee.ac.uk)

18. Veterinary education in the context of a changing landscape of tertiary education Teacher-driven Student-centred Cover “everything” Content determined by graduate outcomes Didactic/passive Problem-orientated and/or active Discipline-based Integrated Professional skills as peripheral ‘add-ons’ Professional skills are integral to curriculum Irrelevant assessment Authentic assessment