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The following story was written by Erin Howe and featured as part of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Dean’s Report 2023.
A new initiative called the Enhancing Teacher Performance (ETP) program is designed to help educators at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine sharpen their teaching skills.
The program was launched by the Centre for Faculty Development in the fall of 2022, to help faculty members enhance their teaching effectiveness in clinical and laboratory settings. One-to-one coaching is complemented by customized learning activities, simulated teaching encounters and debriefing, targeted workshops and curated resources.
Sev Perelman, a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine who has been teaching for many years, became one of the ETP program’s first participants after he received some negative learner feedback.
“We can all fall into habitual behaviour patterns. Some might be helpful, but others may not be,” Perelman says. “The ETP program helped me evaluate my teaching approach. I’m developing more empathy for learners, which took on new importance after I did the program. The coaching, role-playing, and everything I learned helped me change my mindset and the way I check in with and provide feedback to trainees. The experience was profound and impactful.”
Professor Latika Nirula, Director of the Centre for Faculty Development, says that some participants register for the ETP program after discussing mentorship with their departmental chairs, while others are referred to address performance concerns raised by learners or departmental leaders.
The idea, she says, is to support lifelong learning and encourage a growth mindset among educators.
“Some of these faculty members have won awards for teaching at other points in their career,” says Nirula, who is also the program’s lead and one of its coaches. “That just shows how important it is to continue working to refine one’s process. The environment is changing, and people’s personal needs and approaches can change, too. New evidence emerges all the time to show us how to best support medical education. We may all need to adapt over time.”
The program is open to all faculty members who wish to register, regardless of how long they’ve been teaching. The program is designed to be flexible and to allow faculty members to join at any time. It can take participants three to six months to complete a personalized plan, depending on their own schedules and when workshops are offered.
Once they’ve completed the program, faculty may continue to support their own ongoing development by engaging with the centre’s extensive programming as general centre members for free.
As Temerty Medicine works toward promoting wellness, resilience and respect within the learning environment, the ETP program offers each participant a plan tailored to meet their individual goals and work context. Coaches also consider student feedback and any skills the teacher may want to focus on.
“It’s around the faculty shifting practices that aren’t working,” Nirula says. “Our learners feel more empowered to share concerns about their experiences in the teaching environment. We want faculty to embrace that feedback and create spaces for more effective dialogue. Constructive feedback needs to go both ways.”
Nirula also hopes to expand and diversify the pool of coaches, which currently stands at three, as the program attracts more participants.
Having channeled negative feedback into positive changes, Perelman credits the ETP program with helping him foster a more supportive relationship with his students and says he hopes more of his colleagues will benefit from the program, too.
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