What is a Suitable Project?
Scope and Venue
You will need to plan an educational project that can be completed within the 3 years of your participation in the Educational Scholars Program, including submission of a paper or presentation for peer review. Quality is more important than quantity or scale.
Given the time that projects require, we recommend that you select a project that enhances your job activities and directly benefits your institution.
What do we mean by a scholarly educational project?
Educational projects can involve the development, implementation, evaluation and/or dissemination of educational interventions or evaluation methods. These activities will be considered "scholarly" if they are conducted according to a creative, planned and rigorous process that is consistent with best practices in the field, as defined by the literature and the expertise of master educators. Scholarly projects in the field of education might involve teaching, development of educational materials, curriculum development, evaluation development, or faculty development. Dissemination through peer reviewed publication or presentation to a broad national audience is also is a key element of educational scholarship, so concepts and products can be adopted or adapted by others.
Educators have defined the essential criteria for evaluation of education Scholarship to be: Clear Goals, Adequate Preparation, Appropriate Methods, Significant Results, Effective Presentation and Reflective Critique (Glassick, CE. Acad Med. 2000;75:877-880).
Examples of scholarly project topics
We encourage Scholars to think creatively about project topics and formats. The following suggestions are intended to stimulate your creativity, not limit your options.
Educational research investigation. E.g., a project might ask:
- Does the availability of written educational goals and specific objectives for a PICU rotation improve resident learning and create documentable improvements in patient care?
- To what extent do competency-based evaluation methods on systems-based practice change the practice outcomes of residents post graduation?
Suggestion: Review education-related abstracts from PAS 2005 for examples of projects that were presented in platform sessions - What is the best way to teach residents efficient and effective methods to sign-out patients on the ward?
Formal evaluation of an educational program. You might evaluate a single experience or activity, e.g.:
- A new rotation or focused longitudinal experience for students or residents
- Required evidence-based medicine exercises for residents
- The teaching that occurs during family-centered rounds.
Assessment of the effectiveness of a new method in education or evaluation. E.g.:
- Teaching skills enhancements for residents or fellows that focus on cultural competence
- Development and evaluation of a curriculum to teach residents how to teach and lead an inpatient team.
- Design and implementation of a "night-float" curriculum
- An online system to facilitate resident self-assessment at the beginning and end of a learning experience
- Use of electronic medical record data by a continuity team to review its current practice regarding treatment of asthma, otitis media or another common condition.
Development of a significant, innovative and authoritative educational intervention for a national audience. E.g.:
- Creation of a PAS, APPD, COMSEP or AAMC workshop that compares models of education from several institutions
- Organization of a PAS topic symposium or AAMC panel discussion on an important "hot topic"
Scholarly projects in community pediatrics
Community pediatrics reflects the unique understanding that the health of the population affects the health of the individual patients, and that, in order to be successful, pediatric practitioners must address the needs of the population as well as the needs of the patients in their practice. The AAP, in their statement on the role of the pediatrician in community pediatrics, proposed specific components of community pediatrics: a perspective that enlarges the focus from one child to all children, a recognition that community always affects the health and functioning of children, a synthesis of clinical practice and public health principles, and a commitment to collaborate with and advocate for families and community resources.In the development of a scholarly educational project in community pediatrics, you should integrate these principles into the educational objectives of your project.
We encourage Scholars to think creatively about project topics and formats. The following examples of suitable scholarly project topics for community pediatrics are intended to stimulate your creativity, not limit your options.
Examples of suitable scholarly project topics for community pediatrics
We encourage Scholars to think creatively about project topics and formats. The following suggestions are intended to stimulate your creativity, not limit your options.
Educational research investigation. E.g., a project might ask:
- Does adoption of a service-learning methodology (ie formal reflective exercises) improve resident learning and create documentable improvements in systems-based practice?
- To what extent do community experiences change the practice outcomes
of residents post graduation?
Suggestion: Review community education-related abstracts from PAS 2005 for examples of projects that were presented in platform sessions - What is the best way to teach residents efficient and effective methods to sign-out patients on the ward?
Formal evaluation of an educational program. You might evaluate a single experience or activity, e.g.:
- A new or revised rotation for students or residents in community settings
- Development of a longitudinal experience for residents within community-based organization
- Mentored advocacy projects in the community
Assessment of the effectiveness of a new method in education or evaluation. E.g.:
- Teaching skills enhancements using community partners for residents or fellows that focus on cultural competence
- An online system to facilitate resident 360° evaluation evaluation at the beginning and end of a learning experience involving community partners
Development of a significant, innovative and authoritative educational intervention for a national audience.E.g.:
- Creation of a PAS, APPD, COMSEP or AAMC workshop that trains faculty in principles of community pediatrics
- Organization of a PAS topic symposium or AAMC panel discussion on an important "hot topic"in community pediatrics.
References
- Glassick CE. Boyer's Expanded Definition of Scholarship, the Standards for Assessing Scholarship and the Elusiveness of the Scholarship of Teaching. Acad Med. 2000;75:877-880
- Fincher, R E, Simpson, DE, Mennin, SP, Rosenfeld, GC, Rothman, A, McGrew, MC, Hansen, PA, Mazmanian, PE, and Turnbull, JM. Scholarship in Teaching: An Imperative for the 21st Century. Academic Medicine, 75: 887-894, Sept 2000.
- Simpson D, Fincher RE, Hafler JP, Irby DM, Richards BF, Rosenfeld GC, Viggiano TR. Advancing educators and education by defining the components and evidence associated with educational scholarship.. Med Educ. 2007; 41(10):1002-1009 Epub 2007
