LIVE - Away Day 2008 - Integration and Embedding

Ware Priory July 2nd 2008

• Session One: 'Educational Research and Development – how we can help you?'
• Session Two: ‘Teaching Clinical Skills – the next steps’
• Session Three: ‘Strategic Research & Development in E-Learning’
• Session Four:‘Prioritising Assessment’
• Session Five: ‘Work-Based Learning’
• Summary of the day

The 2008 Away Day focused on INTEGRATING LIVE into the fabric of the RVC and EMBEDDING educational research and development in programme delivery. Along with the usual LIVE Centre contingent, a selection of staff from other departments were invited to attend, in order to open up dialogue with colleagues at the delivery end of teaching and learning.

Agenda

The day started with a keynote address by Professor Stephen May, LIVE Centre Director. Professor May summarised the history of the Centre; focussing on the original CETL bid, its aims, objectives and time lines. With only 2 years to project completion, he emphasised the need to move forward from the laying of physical and metaphorical foundations to a focussed period of productivity, delivery and dissemination. 

This was followed by a trio of short presentations summarising the past, present and future work of LIVE.

Sarah Baillie kicked off with an introduction to her core team (Baillie, Forest, Kinnison), their projects to date and internal and external collaborations. These included the development of a veterinary assessment toolkit (Baillie and colleagues at Edinburgh University, Rhind, Brown, Dozier, Hammick); a survey of staff and student attitudes to EMQs in the assessment of clinical reasoning (Tomlin, Pead & May); use of role play in simulated farm visits (Baillie, Pierce and May); peer-assisted learning (Baillie, Shore, Gill, May, Nunn, Pierce, Kinnison) and business skills for graduates (Baillie, Gazzard, Kinnison, May). Within the haptics arm of her work (Baillie, Forest, Kinnison), Sarah has been developing a core skills simulator, a haptic cow/horse and cat, a pulse simulator and an “ouch”-ometer.

Kim Whittlestone followed with a summary of his work and how it links with that being conducted by other members of the LIVE team. Kim used the following quote from a colleague “in my clinical work I apply evidence based veterinary medicine, but when it comes to education it seems to be all about experience and I haven’t got much” to illustrate the need to work towards evidence-based veterinary education producing capable and committed lifelong learners and a community of engaged and empowered educators & learners.  He feels that this requires an initial period of information gathering on existing practices, a period of focussed research and development and finally, the production and dissemination of clear guidelines and tools to enable educators to prepare for the future.

Kim had also constructed a LIVE-Line which illustrated how LIVE projects are embedded in various RVC programmes. For example Vicki Dale is looking at career aspirations and transformative experiences in BSc students and motivations to engage in vet CPD, Kim and Jeff have been developing a mobile learning environment for students working on clinical rotations, Peter Nunn has been developing an online learning environment for Vet Nurses and Jane Tomlin has been looking at the concept of professionalism in BVetMed students.

LIVE-Line revealing LIVE projects and their link to various RVC taught courses

Finally, Ayona Silva-Fletcher, new to the team, introduced the group to a proposed MSc in Veterinary Education under development within the LIVE Centre, in collaboration with colleagues at University of Bedfordshire. The new MSc will open in September 2009 and seeks to provide training in educational theory and practice for all veterinary and animal science educators, from technicians to Post-doctoral workers to academic staff. As an alternative to the full MSc qualification, participants will be able to exit the programme at Diploma level or indeed select specific modules on a stand alone basis as part of their continuing professional development as educators.

Session One: 'Educational Research and Development – how we can help you?'

Rachel Davis and Adrian Boswood

Objectives: To open dialogue between LIVE staff and RVC colleagues on their experiences of educational research and development to date and to find a productive and collaborative way forward for the remainder of the LIVE project and beyond.

Session Plan: Brief introduction followed by Turning Point session to establish group opinion on current progress of the LIVE Centre, challenges facing educators in general and departments specifically and the way forward for educational research and development at the RVC.

Summary: Adrian used Turning Point Software to ascertain the demographics of the group and then their opinions on the match between RVC and LIVE Aims and Objectives. Most delegates were clear about the role of the LIVE Centre. However, they also stated that the impact of ongoing work on their daily lives was often little or none. There then followed some interesting and lengthy discussion around the key challenges in education as seen by the delegates and how they matched with those provided by the various Heads of Department. It was agreed that although many relevant and useful projects are in progress within the LIVE Centre, much of the work is not being communicated to the rest of the college. Power Point slides and results of the turning point session.

Action Points: Improved communication between LIVE Centre and rest of RVC to ensure projects are targeted at “real” problems, generating useful and sustained collaborations between LIVE and non-LIVE staff. Specifically:

• Attendance at departmental meetings and course management committees
• Mini-LIVE-sabbaticals (4-6 weeks) to give staff time out to evaluate and develop their teaching
• LIVE workshops, journal clubs and seminars to support staff in educational CPD

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Session Two: ‘Teaching Clinical Skills – the next steps’

Sarah Baillie and Perdi Welsh

Objectives: To investigate ways of taking veterinary clinical skills teaching forward.

Session Plan: The delegates were split into four themed groups: contextualisation, haptics, complementary learning materials and lifelong learning. Each group had a designated facilitator whose role it was to summarise and feedback at the end of the session.

Summary: Across the groups, many of the ideas were based around contextualising clinical skills so that scenarios are based within the real world. There was also a move towards integrating skills into broader scenarios involving communication skills and team work – such as in a “hospital scenario”. Instant and informative feedback was seen to be vital – for example students would benefit from seeing the potential outcomes of the clinical skill they have performed (e.g. how has the wound healed after you suture it). In the haptics group, it was felt that new devices might start integrating other senses such as vision, hearing and smell. In existing projects, delegates wanted to see more use of small animal scenarios and have some form of feedback mechanism so that the effects of the skill being practised can be seen. In terms of lifelong learning, it was felt that clinical skills need to be taken into the first two years of the BVetMed curriculum. The group also emphasised the usefulness of CS within other programmes such as the BSc. If the skills reached across entire programmes – they could be graded in level so that progression within a skill could be tracked over time. In order to improve the existing CS centre, it was felt that more could be done with computer packages and interactive videos. Headsets would also allow students to work in isolation, receiving instruction, without disturbing other groups. Peer learning has been a successful undertaking within haptics and could be used across the board in clinical skills training. Finally, if space could be found for freezers, cadaveric material could be used to impart the “real-life” element to many of the current scenarios. 

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Session Three: ‘Strategic Research & Development in E-Learning’

Kim Whittlestone and Nick Short

Objectives: E-learning technologies are often underutilised by academic staff – particularly Blackboard which is primarily used as an information repository. The majority of teaching staff would welcome developments that both improve the student teaching and learning experience and save on staff time – particularly with increases in student numbers and the practical issues that ensue. This is an opportunity to engage our colleagues in the wealth of new possibilities afforded by embracing E-learning and E-learning research – and by extension, making sure that we are leading the field.

Session Plan: Introduction by Kim & Nick followed by 20 minutes with 5 discussion groups addressing three sets of questions:

1. “What problems do you face in your day to day teaching? How can technology-enhanced learning help?”
2. "List examples of where your experience of teaching or learning has been very positive (or very efficient & effective)"
3. "What would the RVC need to do to “lead the field” in TEL? Examples and priorities (& how LIVE could help)"

Summary and Action Points: TEL that can help with increased student numbers and improving feedback

• Exploration of student generated content
• Exploration of e-peer learning/teaching support
• Personal and collaborative environments (virtual discussion boards)
• Possible use of webcams by staff for e-support sessions

Engaging staff and student issues/problems/concerns is key to future developments:

• Neil Stoker (BVetSci), Charlotte (G/W) & David Kilroy (BVetMed) re: tutorial system improvements (include Belinda & Helen)
• Day One Skills - student driven mapping of Year 1 & 2 competencies to curriculum

RVC Leading the field in collaborative approaches to TEL(!)

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Session Four:‘Prioritising Assessment’

Jane Tomlin and Fiona Cunningham

That assessment should have a high priority was taken as read and, rather than discuss the problems that prioritising assessment is likely to engender, the allocated time was used to focus on a few key assessment issues that the facilitators thought presented particular challenges.

1. Practical Solutions to the burden of assessment for staff
   • Databases, Question Writing, Sharing Questions with other institutions etc
2. How to prioritise assessment in the pay structure/appraisal system
   • Ensuring time spent in discussing and developing new approaches to assessment is recognised and rewarded
3. Ways to engage staff in all facets of the assessment process

Objectives:  to discuss these selected topics and, where appropriate, consider how further involvement of LIVE in the assessment process might be advantageous.

Session Plan:a short introduction (FC) followed by break-out group discussion of four topics and ending with a feedback session via a group spokesperson (facilitated by JT). 

Discussion themes:

1. Workplace Assessment
2. Group Assessment
3. Skills Assessment
4. Integration of Knowledge

Summary: Assessment is an emotive topic and as such there was lengthy discussion within and between groups in this session. It was agreed that time would be well spent developing more effective generic skills assessment e.g. when assessing team work we should design tasks that can only be accomplished by working as a team. Also, the delegates were convinced that the key to engaging students is to ensure there is integration of clinical and core sciences, right from the first year of the BVetMed (and indeed in other programmes). It was felt that further time should be allocated to the topic of assessment at a future date.

Action Points: Further consideration to {the role of LIVE in}:

1. Expanding generic skills assessment;
2. Assessment of skills in the clinic;
3. Identifying methods by which students’ ability to integrate knowledge can be developed and assessed at an early stage in their course. 

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Session Five: ‘Work-Based Learning’

Paul Mahoney and Carol Gray

Objectives: To develop strategies for students to utilise when they are gaining experience while on extramural placement.  The strategies would then be used to help expand a preparatory week (currently in development) for 3rd year students, the aim of which is to allow students to get the most out of any placement.

Session Plan
Delegates were divided into six groups, each of 5-6 members. Each group was assigned a team role: (1) the busy first opinion veterinary practice [perhaps sometimes too busy to spend much time with the student?], (2) the busy IMR rotation staff, (3) the student on a busy placement, (4) the quiet first opinion veterinary practice [perhaps too quiet and the student may be at risk of “getting in the way”], (5) the quiet IMR rotation staff, and (6) the student on a quiet placement.
Each group was asked to perform two tasks:

1. What is it that they had to offer to the other half of the student-placement partnership
2. From their perspective, what learning strategies or skills should/could be employed in their situation to get the most out of the placement?

Action Points
The discussion points shall be incorporated into the development of an on-site EMS week for 3rd year students aimed at teaching them how to get the most out of a placement, and ultimately how to be the good EMS educators of the future. The likely start-date for this EMS week will be the summer of 2010.

Summary of the Day

The ideas generated during the day have been collated and will help form our LIVE 2008-2010 plan, seeing us through to the end of the project. The day opened up communication with colleagues working at the coal face of teaching and we hope to maintain this in order to focus our work on solving “real world” problems in teaching and learning in veterinary medicine and the allied professions.