History of the Teaching Scholars Program
The Interprofessional Teaching Scholars Program (ITSP) initiative was launched in 2013 as a collaborative effort between the UC Davis School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The program reflects the long-standing commitment to promoting excellence in collaborative teaching and educational scholarship through innovative faculty development in the health sciences at UC Davis Health.
The UC Davis Health Interprofessional Teaching Scholars Program is unique in that it is built upon a philosophy of interprofessional education, practice and research across the health sciences.
A needs assessment was conducted in the Fall of 2013 among UC Davis schools of health faculty. The results indicated strong support for the proposed program. Similar teaching scholars programs are well established at other institutions, including UC San Francisco and the University of Washington, mainly within schools of medicine. The UC Davis Health Interprofessional Teaching Scholars Program is unique in that it is built upon a philosophy of interprofessional education, practice and research across the health sciences.
Initial Program Established in 2002
The first teaching scholars program was established in 2002 by the School of Medicine in collaboration with the School of Veterinary Medicine. This program, led by Drs. Frazier Stevenson and Michael Wilkes, operated until 2009 and produced 59 scholars, many of whom have gone on to become educational leaders.
The program’s philosophical framework was centered on personal reflection to enhance change:
- Understanding educational theory to build metacognitive bridges
- Diversity of perspectives to broaden horizons
- Colleagues as peer teachers to improve interactive experiences
- Reciprocal process of testing theory and examining practice to reinforce learning
Program Evaluation
Evaluation of the program indicated that participants reported positive impacts on their effectiveness as educators (100%), course directors (84%), leaders (72%), and educational researchers (52%) (Srinivasan, Pratt, Bowe, Stevenson, Pinney, Wilkes, 2007). The original program was discontinued due to leadership changes and reallocation of resources and priorities.
Srinivasan, M., Pratt, D., Collins, J., Bowe, C.M., Stevenson, F. T., Pinney, S. J., Wilkes, M.S. (2007), Developing the master educator: Cross disciplinary teaching scholars program for human and veterinary medical faculty. Academic Psychiatry, 31(6), 452-64.