Teaching the Teachers
The Vesalius Program and Teaching Biomedical Sciences
PR Bergethon1,2 T Hoagland1, J Sandell1, D Vaughan1, D DeRosa2,3, C Romney2 and M Moss1
Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology1 and Biochemistry2, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Education 2
Introduction and the Challenge
Learning is the Updating of
A key to successful educational reform is the
Model
development of the appropriate expertise of the
instructors in both content and pedagogical areas.
Traditionally neither basic science nor clinical
modeling process in which a teacher uses learning
instructors receive any formal training in pedagogy
Structured
experiences to guide student knowledge construction.
and yet they are expected to design, implement,
(Disciplinary
• Model - an abstracted set of observables
teach and assess coherent curricula in the biomedical
[measured properties] that represent a system of
sciences from pre-doctoral through CME levels.
The Vesalius teaching program was conceived at
Boston University School of Medicine in order to
provide formal training in curriculum design and
teaching techniques for masters and doctoral
candidates who would go on to teach biomedical
sciences in medical and graduate schools. Over the
last several years a curriculum of instruction and
training has been developed to foster both skills and
scholarship in the art and science of teaching in the
biomedical sciences.
Objective of the Program
interactions,
A foundational course in the Vesalius Program is
GMS 806 Teaching in the Biomedical Sciences. The
Performance Objective of this course is to provide
the student with a systems approach to organizing
and teaching knowledge and to transform them into
• Experimental or verification models
an active and creative teacher with the skills to
design and implement classroom and curriculum
educational programs.
GMS 806 is structured for students to actively explore
self-study. For each element in the lesson plan there
The course builds on the central concept from
Explanation;Elaboration;Evaluation.
educational neurobiology that information and
knowledge handling in the human nervous system
Conclusions
depend on modeling processes that abstract certain
features from a stimulus set to ultimately change
knowledge and behavior (learning). The Vesalius
program and GMS 806 makes this applies this concept
through multiple teaching opportunities has
in the classroom through the use of the Cycle of
Pedagogy.
Elaboration, Evaluation).
naïve
Cycle of Pedagogy
Assessment Design Framework
Knowledge is
Pedagogy is
success of teaching in the classroom.
the process of
The Mind Makes
Developing Expert
Mental Models
Mental models
Performance Objective: Overall outcome measure that
Models)
reflects how their knowledge and new abilities will show.
From Naïve ones
interacting elements (C1); the functions relating the
The Cycle of Pedagogy codifies three interlinked
model systems that interact during learning. Each of
these must be explicitly addressed by the teacher.
•  the "mechanistic" structure of knowledge
production (the developing brain or the brain as
represented by learning preferences and talents),
•  the knowledge structure of a field, i.e., the
systemic organization of facts and their theoretical
• Learning Science is a Modeling->Update
•  the path of pedagogical growth from naive to
expert practitioner and communicator in a field of
inquiry.
Description of GMS 806
Teaching catalyzes an unfolding
and discover how the cycle of pedagogy is used to
prepare lesson plans, courses and teach in lecture,
small group, seminar and laboratory settings. Each
modeling cycle in turn is explored:
learning cycle (5 Es) e.g. Engagement; Exploration;
1)  with a focus on learning styles and the concepts of
differentiated learning;·
2)  by describing knowledge structures with a systems
approach, (the 3Cs=content:concepts:context)
3)  To build learning paths or trajectories by using an
assessment design framework model of curriculum
development and an instructional tool of the 5Es
(Engagement, Exploration, Explanation,
Internal Models
Learning is usefully regarded as a dynamical
What will the lesson plan achieve in the student.
interactions of the elements (C2); and the context
in which they are embedded (C3).
• Good Model - an abstracted representation of a
real system that has correctly chosen and
adequately measured observables to accurately
reflect or map the properties of the real system
onto the model system.
• Naïve system descriptions (models) are concrete
and often take the form of lists while expert
systems are highly dimensional and utilize
formalisms (operators) that change elementary
observables into higher-order function-laden
representations.
process. Teaching is a systematic process of
mapping information to a representational system
of differing order
• Observational or Descriptive models
• Functional or Causal models
learning path defined in the context of an opportunity
of knowledge landscapes
v
u
x
Simple lists are More expert representations
elementary knowledge are increasingly complex
surfaces and are more
The ADFM is the central framework that structures both
classroom planning and ongoing assessment of the
Learning Elements (Learning Objectives): What new
knowledge or added content, concepts and context
students are expected to know or do in order to achieve
the performance objective.
Learning Path or Trajectory: The arrangement and order
of the individual elements of information (as content,
concepts or context) to achieve the learning and overall
performance objectives .
Assessment: What evidence is used to judge that the
students achieved the desired objectives. These include:
Formative: What “dipstick” measures will be used in
real time to know the student is following on the path
that is laid out in the lesson?
Summative: Tests vocabulary, facts,concepts and
techniques of the knowledge structure to be taught.
Authentic: What real world test shows that the
students have changed behavior by incorporating new
knowledge into their internal model of the topic?
Define the Learning Opportunity: Lesson planning is the
such as a seminar, lecture, laboratory, small group or
should there be a general framework reflective of a
The course is now in its fourth iteration of refinement
and will be taught for the fifth time this spring.
Formative and authentic assessment of the students
supported the general attainment of the Performance
objective as set forth.