Medallion Program
Expert Educator Medallion
Foundational
Thinking about who we are as educators helps us as we develop strategies to work with our students in and outside of the classroom. Participants will write a teaching philosophy and learning objectives and work through exercises related to feedback and assessment, student engagement, reflection, and planning for learning. This is a required medallion to earn the Expert Educator medallion.
It is important that educators create learning environments that acknowledge the broad diversity of our students and create ways to assure they feel safe and welcome in our classrooms. Upon completion of this medallion, participants will engage with the many facets of diversity, strategies to create an inclusive learning environment, the principles of Universal Design for Learning, and how to talk to colleagues about these concepts. This medallion is offered in collaboration with the Office of Student Academic Support and Inclusion. This is a required medallion to earn the Expert Educator medallion.
“Learners of this era are accustomed to using technology, and their learning environments should reflect that,” (Smith & Benedict, February 2015). Technology is one of many tools educators can use to engage students and improve learning. After earning this medallion, participants will have received a pedagogical framework to consider before incorporating technology, identified technology that can help their students meet course objectives, and developed a plan to assess its impact. This is a required medallion to earn the Expert Educator medallion.
Who was your best teacher ever? What made them so good? As you reminisce, you may find that it wasn’t the teachers who knew everything or had the most robust CV, but rather those who encouraged, supported, and cared about you. It was more about how they made you feel. In this medallion explore whether teaching is an art or science and examine strategies that you can infuse into your teaching to promote a sense of belonging, a growth mindset, and a psychologically safe environment.
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Medallion supports educators in incorporating principles of UDL into their teaching. UDL is an evidence-based educational framework that reduces barriers to learning by centering three main principles: engagement, representation, and action and expression.
Explore the science behind how we learn, including how our behaviors are shaped, how we build on previous knowledge, how our brain processes information, and more.
Core Structure
There are lots of ways to teach students beyond the traditional lecture. Recipients of the Paradigms of Education medallion will have learned about other ways to teach students, including the “flipped classroom”, problem-, case-, and team-based learning and other strategies to engage students and improve learning.
Designing a course involves a lot of pieces, from initial conception to developing learning objectives, writing the syllabus, creating assignments and other assessments, and more. The purpose of the Course Design medallion is to provide participants the tools needed to effectively design or redevelop courses.
Assessments are used by educators to determine how well students have learned course material. Participants will consider the role of formative, summative, and authentic assessment in their courses, while ensuring the alignment of their assessments with their learning outcomes, accreditation standards, and certifying exam. Upon completion of this medallion, participants will have considered a variety of assessment techniques to track student progress towards achieving learning outcomes.
Teaching in a clinical setting is one of the ways that health sciences education is different than traditional colleges and universities, and it introduces its own set of challenges. Participants in this medallion will work through topics specific to working with students in real world clinical settings.
Develop the skills and knowledge you need to teach IPE effectively. You will learn about the principles of IPE, how to design and implement IPE activities, and how to assess student learning. This medallion can be a valuable asset for anyone who wants to teach IPE or work in a healthcare setting where IPE is used.
UT Health Science has a world-class simulation center with state-of-the-art facilities and talented staff. The requirements for this medallion will prepare educators to make best use of CHIPS to improve education of their students. This medallion is offered in collaboration with the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation.
Online learning provides educators and students unique challenges. It’s more than taking what we do in a face to face class and moving it to a virtual environment. Upon completion of the requirements for the Teaching Online medallion, participants will have a plan for effectively engaging with and teaching their students online and some of the technologies to support asynchronous and synchronous learning.
Pedagogy of the Social Determinants of Health
There are many factors that impact access to health services, particularly for marginalized populations. It is important that our students consider these factors as they leave UT Health Science Center and start their careers. The goal of this medallion is to help participants consider how to incorporate SDoH into their courses with emphasis on interprofessional collaboration, experiential learning, service learning, and collaborative learning. This medallion is offered in collaboration with the Office of Health Disparities Education and Community Engagement.
Scholarship
The ability to find, analyze and utilize information is a key skill for today’s learner. With almost anything we need to know at our fingertips, it is increasingly important that we, as well as our students, are aware of how to identify reputable content along with resources offered at UTHSC for research and fact gathering. Participants in this medallion will be able to identify valid sources of information and make use of the resources offered by UTHSC’s library. This medallion is offered in collaboration with the UTHSC Library.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
As UTHSC educators consider the best ways to improve student learning, they may also
want to research and publish their findings. The SoTL medallion will step through
the stages of publication, starting from developing the initial research question,
through literature reviews, designing the instrument, evaluating the data, and getting
the findings published.
Leadership
UTHSC educators have tremendous teaching experiences that would benefit those who are interested in improving their own skills, abilities, and effectiveness. This medallion is for those who would like to work with other educators and acquire the skills to effectively mentor them.
Leadership
Strengthen the skills to be an effective leader, including creating high functioning teams, communication, handling conflict, ethics and integrity, and more.
Program Specific
Nurse educators leverage their specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully facilitate student learning. Participants in this medallion will prepare to sit for the Certified Nurse Educator exam, exploring concepts related to curriculum design, effective assessment, learner development, and professional socialization of learners.
Pharmacy Educator
Coming Soon
Pharmacy educators train the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists, practitioners, and educators. Participants in this medallion will explore concepts related to teaching effectiveness, learner development, curriculum design, and effective assessment. Pharmacy Educator medallion earners are innovative and dynamic educators that endeavor to produce knowledgeable, skilled, and caring pharmacists.