2010 in Review: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The first of the Loma Linda University Faculty Development Showcase Weeks was held January 18-22, 2010, in the Centennial Complex. Prior to this event, faculty development was celebrated every two years by an "Education Conference and Faire". "The faculty development showcase week is really a new approach to campus-wide faculty development in that there were several presentations by a keynote speaker and consultant, plus presentations by faculty members, posters displayed at the plenary session, tours of new centers for teaching and learning, and opportunities for sharing and eating together--spread out over the entire week," according to Gail Rice, Faculty Development in Education Chair.

A New Approach

"The faculty development showcase week is really a new approach to campus-wide faculty development in that there were several presentations by a keynote speaker and consultant, plus presentations by faculty members, posters displayed at the plenary session, tours of new centers for teaching and learning, and opportunities for sharing and eating together - spread out over the entire week." Gail Rice, Faculty Development in Education Chair

The week was highlighted by presentations and consultations provided by Dr. Jeanette Norden, of Vanderbilt University. Jeanette is no stranger to the Loma Linda University campus, having keynoted the Education Conference in 2008 and provided commencement addresses for both the School of Pharmacy and the School of Dentistry in May of 2010. Dr. Norden has incredible credentials, specializing in her discipline, that of neuroscience, and in higher education methodology (bio).

Dr. Norden spoke to the campus chapel on the topic of "Lessons Learned from a Dying 23-year-old" on Wednesday. View the presentation here:

Dr. Norden spoke on the topic of "Teaching Medical Students at Vanderbilt" in the Wong Kerlee Conference Center on Wednesday afternoon. View the presentation here: 

"Brain-based Learning and Teaching" was the topic of the Dr. Norden's Thursday presentation to the School of Dentistry faculty. View the presentation here:

The showcase plenary session was held on Thursday evening, January 21 (program). The session began with tours of the Centennial Complex Simulation Center and the Assessment Center, led by Janice Palaganas and Nancy Heine, respectively. Faculty members were able to view posters showcasing faculty teaching and learning experiments. Dr. Norden's keynote session was entitled "Developing Students as Caring Professionals: Incorporating Core Values in Teaching". Faculty members were moved by the stories of how Loma Linda University core values can permeate the teaching of brain science to medical students. View the plenary celebration here:

The LLU Library staff provided training sessions on End Notes and Pub Med throughout the week. The final presentation of the week was one on the topic of case or discussion teaching by Dr. Gail Rice. A capacity group viewed a videotape of Chris Christensen, of Harvard University, leading a group of doctoral students in a discussion of a case. Lively discussion followed.

The preview event for the showcase week was held in December and was an outstanding presentation by John Molidor, PhD, of Michigan State University. His topic was "X, Y, and Me: How to Teach the Next Generation of Learners".

The faculty development showcase week was fully funded by donations. This is the first time that the faculty development committee provided this valuable service to their colleagues, paying for food and speaker honorarias, through private donations or support from various school budgets.