Stepping Stones:
Foundations in Education
Program Objective
Stepping Stones: Foundations in Education is our foundational program at the Centre for Faculty Development (CFD). It provides support to health professionals in their multiple education roles and activities including teaching, education scholarship, advocacy and academic leadership. This introductory level program is aligned with other CFD programming which provides more advanced content in the same areas.
Program Description
Stepping Stones: Foundations in Education is a two year program consisting of both workshops and a journal club. Program goals are:
- To promote growth and development of individuals in relation to their educational roles; and,
- To provide opportunities for educational networking and collaboration across caring and learning environments.
Workshops are offered on a variety of topics related to the roles and activities Stepping Stones supports – teaching, education scholarship, advocacy and academic leadership. Examples of topics include: clinical teaching, workplace based assessment, learning theories, curriculum development, mentorship, evaluation, equity and wellness. Stepping Stones follows a flexible, adaptive curriculum and participants choose to attend workshops that meet their needs and interests.
Journal club takes place once a month during Year 1 of the program. Journal club facilitates the integration of workshop content, the broader health professions education literature, and participants’ own education practice.
Program Structure
A new cohort of Stepping Stones: Foundations in Education participants begins every September. After you begin the program, you must complete the following requirements within two academic years.
1. Completion of 9 Workshops
To complete the workshop requirement, you must attend a minimum of 9 workshops within two academic years. Workshops are 3 hours in length, and are offered both in person and over Zoom. A list of Stepping Stones Stepping Stones topics offered during the two year program are listed here. We continually update this list in response to participant needs and environmental shifts. There are no mandatory workshops; participants are able to choose topics that best suit their interests and needs.
Specific workshops are advertised and available for registration on a per term basis: October – December, January – March, April – June. Please click here to see current workshops offered this term.
**Please note: All workshops in the 2022-2023 academic year will be held virtually.
2. Completion of Journal Club
You must complete the journal club requirement in the first year of the program. Journal Club is held virtually and runs monthly from September to June, historically from 530pm-730pm. You must attend 8 of the 10 sessions and complete 2 assignments in order to complete the Journal Club requirement.
Upon completion of the program requirements, you receive a Stepping Stones certificate issued by the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Office.
Journal Club Leaders
CFD Membership
All Stepping Stones: Foundations in Education participants will be automatically enrolled as a CFD General Member for the academic year(s) you are in the program and in the academic year following completion of the program.
Contact
Lindsay Baker
Program Lead
lindsay.baker@unityhealth.to
Sarina Iannelli
Education Coordinator
sarina.iannelli@unityhealth.to
Prerequisites: None
Who should register: Open to all health professions educators.
Format: Virtual with in-person components (hybrid)
Upcoming Dates: New cohort starts every September
Fees:
Non-member rate: $1100
Member rate: $900
Student/Fellow/Senior trainee rate: $500
Please note: Fee covers both workshop and journal club components.
Certificate: Participants will receive a certificate issued by the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Continuing Professional Development Office upon success completion of the program.
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Upcoming Events
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3AprThis virtual community event is for CFD members to come together to during a lunch and learn to discuss emerging curiosities, questions and tensions within health professions education on the topic of the month. -
4AprParticipants will have an opportunity to explore the instructional design strategy, productive failure, and how it can support the development of adaptive expertise. We will define productive failure, describe how productive failure has been used in health professions education, and illustrate how participants can use productive failure design approaches in their practice. -
6AprThis workshop will guide participants through the application of the “Principles for Anti-Oppressive Program Development in HPE” guiding principles framework to their own program development needs. This principles framework is for anyone who is involved in the process of designing, developing and/or delivering programs in health professions education. It includes key questions around several decision points in this process, including budgeting, recruitment, format, accessibility, content choices, and more.
FAQs
Q. How do I create and/or activate my account to log into the site?
Q. Is there a cost to attend your programs?
A. There is a cost to participate in some of our programs. The cost of each of our programs varies and in some cases, the cost varies depending on your status with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at University of Toronto and/or in which hospital you work as well as whether or not you have an annual CFD Membership.
Q.I do not have a faculty appointment in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Can I still attend your workshops, programs and/or events? Is there a fee?
A. Anyone whose education activities include teaching, leading, scholarship and advocacy are welcome to attend our workshops, programs and/or events. Specific pre-requisite criteria may apply. Please refer to each workshop, program or event page for details. All fees and discounts (where applicable) can be found in the workshop, program and event pages.
Q.I am interested in having one of your workshops offered at my home site/department. Do you offer this type of service?
A. Please contact us for further information. The availability of this service is dependent on the resources and capacity of the CFD at the time the request is made.
Q: Is having a CFD Membership the same as having a CFD account?
A: No, a CFD Membership is not the same as a CFD account. However, in order to complete your CFD Membership registration you will be prompted to create a CFD account if you do not already have one. To register for a CFD General Membership and create your account click here.
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Our Programs
The CFD offers a number of exceptional programs to meet current and emerging faculty development needs across the health system. View the full listing of CFD’s programs to determine which may best meet your interests and needs.