(632.13) Training scientists to become effective educators

Poster Board Number: C27
Introduction: AAA has separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – 10:15 am – 11:15 am
Even poster #s – 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Ahdeah Pajoohesh-Ganji (The George Washington University), Tracy Blanchard (The George Washington University), Debra Herrmann (The George Washington University)

Research-intensive faculty are often asked to teach occasional didactic sessions to students at different learning levels, with very little guidance in evidence-based teaching methods. Although they are teaching students and staff in the laboratory setting on a daily basis, they have likely received little, if any, formal training in pedagogy but are expected to be able to teach effectively. To introduce research-intensive faculty to different essential tools in teaching, we designed 5 “Scientists as Educators” hybrid sessions with the goal of helping these faculty members become more effective educators. The topics included: 1) writing learning objectives, 2) instructional engagement and assessment, 3) instructional design, 4) multiple choice question writing, and 5) balancing research and teaching. Each hybrid session consisted of a brief online component, including a video and application activity, followed by an hour in-person session. The in-person sessions, which were also open via Zoom, were accessible to participants in collaborating institutes, designed to delve within the topics, and allowed for the application of concepts introduced in the online modules. Findings from semi-structured exit interviews of participants regarding the effectiveness of the sessions, how the sessions helped them in their teaching, and ideas for additional topics that should be included in future sessions will be presented. Our goal for these sessions is to introduce research-intensive faculty to educational concepts and increase teaching effectiveness throughout our university.