Funded mini-projects
(519) Supporting a community of MEDEV professional developers
N.B. The information below is authored by the mini-project applicants, not by staff of the subject centre.
This text represents the views and opinions of the mini-project team
only, not those of the subject centre or its affiliates.
See the list of resources for this mini-project..
Principal investigator
Clare Morris, University of Bedfordshire
Full list of project partners
Clare Morris and Judy McKimm, Associate Deans, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Postgraduate Medical School, University of Bedfordshire.
Topic
This is a COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE proposal ,support dissemination of good practice to a wider audience ,promote collaboration to enhance new and existing partnerships ,pump prime feasibility studies in innovative areas ,promote staff development
Background
In June 2006 we hosted a MEDEV workshop for professional / educational developers from medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and healthcare education. The workshop brought together 26 delegates with development roles in these subject areas, in both undergraduate and postgraduate settings. The aims of the workshop were three fold. Firstly to provide a forum for comparing practice and identifying the potential shared resources available. Secondly, to explore the educational and professional development needs of those involved in designing and delivering medical, dental and veterinary medicine, including exploring the value of establishing a formal network. Thirdly to discuss identified shared core topics of interest.
There was unanimous support for the establishment of a professional network / community of practice. Delegates felt that such a network would help counteract the ‘isolation and loneliness’ of being an educational/staff developer in these areas. Specifically they felt the network would provide opportunites to: share practice, network; develop colleagiate relationships; identify experts; provide a forum for sharing and evaluating resources; establish a forum for collaborations and to provide support for other developers; raise the profile of educational development in these subject areas and , most importantly, support the professional development of developers.
Delegates reported a wide variety of un-met development needs including: finding ways to keep up to date with (and discuss) the literature; mapping commonalities and differences across schools and being aware of changes and developments; needs to network with others in similar roles, to exhange and share resources and to provide peer mentoring and support; the need to establish a directory of interests/expertise that others in the community can access more readily; to raise awareness of and engagement of research through mapping activity and identifying collaborative partners.
Ways to establish and support such a network were discussed. Whilst there was support for occasional ‘face to face’ events there was strong support for developing an on-line community of practice where individuals could develop and use a shared space to meet needs. Suggested desirable features included: structured discussions; on-line journal clubs; an interactive research forum and data-base; creation of a member directory (with ‘homepages’); creation of weblogs and podcasts along with opportunities to further develop the RAFTT site.
This proposal has the explicit aim of addressing these expressed needs through the creation of an on-line community of practice. This community has the potential to impact on undergraduate education in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine at three levels. Firstly, it will foster a vibrant community of educational and staff developers in these subject areas and address a range of unmet needs. Secondly it will provide opportunities for greater collaborative working across subject areas and institutions. Thirdly, by meeting the development needs of educational and staff developers in these areas, it will impact on the development of those engaged in designing, delivering and developing education in the subject areas. Ultimately this should have a positive impact on the quality of education and training for students in these subject areas.
Proposed activities
At the workshop delegates agreed that
1. Judy McKimm and Clare Morris would explore ways to take ideas forward with MEDEV generally and Nigel Purcell specifically (ongoing).
2. A steering group should be established to agree the aims and purposes of the network and to inform (and work with) other individuals and organisations that have shared interests (eg ASME/AMEE) (February to April 07)
3. a follow up event should be organised (by June 07)
To progress the establishment of an on-line community of practice the next stages would be:
· To explore suitable platforms for the VLE (by June 07)
· To work with the steering group and delegages at the follow up event to identify key desirable features of the VLE (by June 07)
· To launch a pilot site and invite a group of named individuals to participate in it’s development and use (June to Dec 07)
· To evaluate engagement with and development of the VLE (Jan 08)
Proposed outcomes
1. the creation of a vibrant on-line community of educational/staff developers in the MEDEV subject areas
2. creation of a forum to share resources, best practice, support and mentor colleagues and to work collaboratively
As described in the section above, the network will be of direct benefit to the developers and the academic and NHS staff they work with and will indirectly benefit the students they teach and support.
Expertise of grant holder and project team
We are both experienced medical and health care educators and educational developers. We currently run a blended learning masters level programme in medical education. We have experience working with staff in all three subject areas. We have both been involved in the design and development of on-line learning resources for students and staff in the MEDEV areas. Judy McKimm has extensive project management experience both nationally and internationally.
Similar work
We have applied for a JISC grant to explore the factors that lead to experienced medical / clinical educators engaging in on-line learning (or otherwise)
We would wish to explore the relationship between the on-line COP we propose to create and RAFTT
We would invite individuals with established expertise in relevant areas to join the steering group
Contact details
Grant holder: Clare Morris,
University of Bedfordshire
Amount awarded: ££2,500
Subject centre project contact: Nigel Purcell
Reports
See the final report for this project..
Other resources published by this mini-project
See the list of resources for this mini-project..
