Development and Implementation of the Inaugural Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI 2017)

Abstract

Education research is increasingly being recognized as a legitimate route for faculty development in universities. However, many anatomy faculty lack the appropriate training and access to experienced mentors who can help them develop their own education research projects. Inspired by the American Physiological Society’s Institute for Teaching and Learning, the coauthors proposed and developed the inaugural Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI 2017). Funded by an American Association of Anatomists Innovations grant, the five‐day institute was held in Bloomington, Indiana in July 2017. The coauthors spent two years preparing the conference schedule, inviting speakers who could discuss education research topics and mentor applicants, reviewing applications, developing assessment instruments for the institute, and hosting the institute. A total of 62 registered participants (applicants and invited speakers) attended AERI 2017. Through a series of presentations and workshops, participants were introduced to many aspects of education research and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, including developing rigorous education research questions, determining appropriate methods to assess these questions, and searching the education research literature. Each day also included regular time devoted to work on their own education research project with help from more experienced mentors. Throughout the conference, participants were encouraged to post information on Twitter, using the hashtag #AERI2017. Participants had strong positive impressions of the conference and strongly requested future AERI conferences be held. Follow‐up analyses will assess the institute in alignment with Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation Model, though preliminary evaluation indicates AERI 2017 met the original aims of the proposal.

Knowledge Gains and Changing Attitudes from the Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI 2017): A Mixed Methods Analysis

“…This study focuses on the pre‐conference and the end‐of‐conference (or post‐conference) surveys that were developed by the authors and are described below. A detailed discussion of the survey validity and reliability may be found in O’Loughlin et al () and is summarized here. These surveys were modeled after similar surveys developed by and used at the American Physiological Society – Institute for Teaching and Learning (APS‐ITL) 2014 and 2016 conferences, with their permission (APS, , ; Goodman and Matyas, ; Goodman, ).…”

“…Additional information on the process of selecting participants may be found in O’Loughlin et al . () and additional demographic information may be seen in the results below.…”

“…A total of 62 individuals attended AERI 2017 (35 accepted applicants and 27 invited speakers). Additional information on the process of selecting participants may be found in O'Loughlin et al (2019) and additional demographic information may be seen in the results below.…”

“…O’Loughlin et al () described data that focused on the first 1 st level (reaction) of AERI 2017. In this present study, the authors continue the evaluation of AERI 2017 by focusing on the 2 nd level of the model (learning).…”

In Pursuit of Excellence Reconsidered: Expertise and Expert Performance in the Teaching, Learning, and Application of Anatomy

“…The profession of anatomy is starting to see trends toward establishing a set of standards that would govern how individuals reach, establish, and maintain expertise in anatomical content, pedagogy, and education research. More emphasis is directed toward training of future anatomists in education‐focused programs where students conduct rigorous evidence‐based education research (Brokaw and O’Loughlin, ) and by engaging present anatomists in the scholarship of teaching and learning (O’Loughlin et al, ). In fact, there is mounting interest and evidence of professional societies commitment in supporting this effort e.g., American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA), Anatomical Society (AS) in UK, International Federative Association of Anatomists (IFAA) to enable both early and established career members to participate in formal learning sessions and to further develop expertise through collaborative training programs, postgraduate courses, and funded visiting professorships (Fraher and Evans, ; O’Loughlin et al, ).…”