Pre-Clerkship Classroom Policy | UC Davis School of Medicine

PURPOSE
To provide guidelines and expectations regarding the delivery of lectures, active learning sessions, and related educational content in the pre-clerkship curriculum, as well as the expectations for participation and performance by faculty and students.

AUDIENCE
All medical students, faculty, and staff participating in the pre-clerkship phase of the curriculum

LCME STANDARD
3.5 Learning Environment/Professionalism
6.3 Self-Directed Learning

POLICY

Definitions

BEACON: An acronym for Bridge Educators for Active Curriculum Optimization and Navigation, who are pedagogy leaders within the I-EXPLORE curriculum
Self-Directed Learning (as defined by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education {LCME}, as published 6/2026): Includes all of the following components as a single unified sequence that occurs over a relatively short time: 1) the medical student’s identification and self-assessment of a gap in knowledge or understanding (i.e., the independent generation of a question to be answered); 2) the medical student’s independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information to address the question/knowledge gap; 3) the medical student’s appraisal of the credibility of information sources used to answer the question; and 4) the facilitator’s assessment of and feedback on the student’s information seeking skills.

Course Delivery
1. Course Directors should make every effort to promote successful learning habits and a positive learning environment.
2. As part of this responsibility, Course Directors, Discipline Leaders, Pedagogy Leaders, and Thread Leaders will coordinate with faculty the timely delivery of the course material.
  - All faculty should provide the final version of the course material to course coordinators at least 5 business days in advance of the learning event.
3. All course materials (e.g., lectures, documents, etc.) must be disseminated to students through the LMS system, associated with the learning management system (LMS) associated with the LMS' corresponding course ‘learning event resources.’
4. Faculty may plan on student attendance and participation in accordance with the Pre-Clerkship Attendance, Participation, and Absence Policy and the Student Code of Academic Conduct Policy (see References below).

B. Course Participation

1. The Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Academic Coursework Policy is applicable to this policy.
2. Student attendance at active small- and large-group learning experiences will be required or expected in accordance with the Pre-Clerkship Attendance, Participation and Absence Policy.

C. Lectures

1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required at the start of each lecture (see References).
2. Lectures and associated materials need to be made accessible to students at least 3 business days before any associated active learning session or assessment.
  - Example: For a Wednesday TBL session, the pre-recorded lecture must be available to students by the Friday before the session.
3. Synchronous lectures should be constructed in an audience response format.
4. Recordings of synchronous lectures and other live events must be posted as soon as possible, no later than 3 business days after the lecture.
5. Materials (e.g., slide deck, documents, etc.), when applicable, are provided as an accompaniment to lectures.
  1. Faculty should provide credit or obtain permission to use copyrighted images in the materials supporting the lecture.
  2. Images without citation or permission should not be included with the distributed materials.
6. Archived lectures from prior years will only be made available to students at faculty request.
7. Lectures and their associated materials and documents (including photos or videos of the materials) are not to be shared with individuals outside of UC Davis School of Medicine or with students of a subsequent class without permission from the authoring faculty in accordance with the Curriculum Property Rights Policy (see References).

D. Active Learning Sessions

1. Active learning sessions are designed to foster communication and collaboration amongst students, as effective teamwork is a cornerstone of providing excellent medical care and is an objective of the medical education curriculum.
2. Students are to arrive on time, stay for the entire duration of the session, and be focused on the work to be done.
  - Completing non-educational tasks or educational tasks unrelated to the session being attended is inappropriate.
3. All small group members are to participate in determining the answers to every case-based question.
  - Small group members are expected to be inclusive in their behaviors and communication and to treat one another with respect.
4. Students must attend active learning experiences to receive credit unless the Pre-Clerkship Attendance, Participation, and Absences Policy indicates otherwise.
5. Participation using remote technology is not permitted unless specified by the course directors or directed in a School of Medicine approved educational accommodation or modified curriculum plan.
6. Notes on the active learning exercises may be taken by students.
  - Summaries of the active learning exercises may be made available at the discretion of the Course Directors.
7. Active learning materials are not to be shared with individuals outside of UC Davis School of Medicine or with students of a subsequent class without permission from the authoring faculty.

The following are active learning pedagogies used in I-EXPLORE, in alphabetical order by pedagogy title.

D-I: Guided Lab Sessions

1. 1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required at the beginning of each session (see References).
  2. Students will work in small groups to answer questions or solve problems that apply knowledge in new contexts.
  3. Students determine the pace at which they progress through the questions.

D-II: In Person Quiz Sessions

1. 1. Provide a low-stakes assessment of student knowledge using multiple choice questions similar to an NBME exam.
  2. Each begin with an individual in-person quiz, during which no electronic, written resources, or peer collaboration is allowed.
  3. Following the individual quiz, students will transition to peer discussion at their tables, before retaking the quiz.
    - During this portion of the session, students may use outside resources to support their review of the questions and tested concepts.
  4. After retaking the quiz during the peer discussion portion, once all students have submitted the group component of the quiz, correct answers and answer explanations will be released.
  5. Using the class performance results, faculty will identify the challenging questions and testing points and review them with the class.

D-III: Patient and Community Organization Panels Sessions

1. 1. Adherence to the Faculty, Panelist, and Student Guidelines provided by CEP is required.
  2. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required at the beginning of each session, and should be tailored to the unique opportunities presented by these panels (see References).
    - They should include objectives that consider health systems science concepts and should not be solely based on the acquisition of foundational knowledge.
  3. Faculty session leads are responsible for initial recruitment, orientation of panelists to the session and related expectations, and day of facilitation or appropriate hand-off to the session facilitator(s).
    - Curriculum staff are responsible for providing day of logistical support information to panelists.
  4. Faculty session leads are responsible for a pre-session check-in with panelists that includes obtaining formal informed consent for their participation.
  5. Session facilitators should provide sufficient structure to ensure coverage of the learning objectives while also maintaining session focus on the panelist discussion.
  6. Assessments and post-assignments should be directly tied to the learning objectives and not focus solely on demonstrating acquisition of foundational knowledge.

D-IV: Peer Teaching Sessions

1. 1. Peer Teaching sessions are intended to be an assessment of student knowledge using multiple-choice questions similar to the course exams.
  2. Students are to have prepared in advance of the session by viewing assigned lectures, reading assigned, and/or other materials.
  3. Once in session, no electronic or written resources or devices may be accessed or used during the session.
  4. The multiple-choice questions used in the session are answered using unique clickers assigned to each student.
    - Students are to use only their own clickers.
  5. During the session, peer consultation about a multiple-choice question may occur when indicated by supervising faculty or staff.
  6. Students may be called upon to share their answers and reasoning with the class.

D-V: Problem Based Learning (PBL) Sessions

1. 1. Cases are not expected to be provided in advance of the session.
  2. The facilitator’s role is to support the student-led nature of this learning process; they are not expected to be content experts.
  3. Lectures directly addressing learning objectives for these cases will not be offered, as that would undermine the student-led aspect of this learning method.
  4. Small group members collectively determine and answer the case learning objectives through self-assessment of learning needs, independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information, and appraisal of the credibility of the information sources (See Self-Directed Learning, below).
    - Feedback on this process will be given by the small group facilitator and students.
  5. Groups may use different teaching or communication methods within the problem-based learning parameters provided by the School of Medicine.
  6. Each small group member is responsible for teaching one another to achieve learning objectives during the case discussion.
  7. A complete set of ideal learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, for each case will be shared within 2 business days after the case completion

D-VI: SPARK Sessions

SPARK is an acronym for Step 1 Preparation and Application through Reasoning and Knowledge. Goals of the pedagogy include vertical integration that reinforces important concepts across (rather than just within) courses, and to clearly tie biomedical science to clinical science concepts. Both aim to improve student readiness for USMLE Step 1 at the end of the Pre-clerkship phase.

1. 1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required at the start of each lecture (see References).
  2. Cases are not provided in advance of the session.
  3. Students are to have prepared before the session by viewing assigned lectures, reading, and/or other materials.
  4. The supervising faculty, primarily the BEACON pedagogy leaders, will work with disciplines leaders to integrate the sessions with other content in the relevant courses.
  5. Open-answer exam items must consistently be part of SPARK sessions in the systems courses (CHRP onwards) and will appear as graded items on the final exams for these courses.
  6. BEACON pedagogy leaders are primarily responsible for grading open-answer items on the systems-based course final exams.

D-VII: Team-Based Learning (TBL) Sessions

1. 1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required at the beginning of each TBL session (see References).
  2. Cases are not expected to be provided in advance of the session.
  3. Students are to have prepared before the session by viewing assigned lectures, reading, and/or other materials.
  4. The supervising faculty will establish the pace in which small groups are to work on answering case-based questions.
  5. Small group members should rotate responsibility for sharing group answers with the class.
    - It is recommended that at the start of the session, groups identify the individual who will share the group answers.

E. Course Assignments

1. Course assignments and online assessments (e.g., individual readiness assessment test (iRATs), etc.) have a standardized submission deadline time of 11:59 p.m..
2. For iRATs, self-assessment, and all graded assignments except mid-term and final exams, the assignment must be posted on the LMS at least 3 business days before the due date or students will be given an extension of 3 days for assignment completion.
3. The iRAT is an open-book quiz that must be completed by 11:59 p.m. by the due date listed in the LMS.
4. Students are to complete the iRAT independently without consulting other individuals.

F. Required Supplemental Learning Material

1. Courses may have assigned required supplemental learning material (e.g., textbook, lecture guide, podcasts, etc.).
2. Faculty are to assign reasonable amounts of reading accompanied by specific learning objectives to be shared with the students.
  - These reading assignments must comply with the Pre-Clerkship Workload Policy – Faculty Assigned Activities.
3. Optional supplemental learning materials do not require learning objectives and do not apply to the Pre-Clerkship Workload Policy.

G. Self-directed Learning (SDL) Activity

SDL activities are assigned student-centered activities that allow students to take ownership of their own learning with guidance from a facilitator or faculty member. An example of self-direct learning is the use of PBL sessions. As noted in the Definitions (above) SDL must include:

1. Self-assessment of learning needs
2. Independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information
3. Independent and facilitator appraisal of the credibility of information sources
4. Assessment and feedback on information seeking skills

PROCEDURE

Faculty Expectations
- Faculty not abiding by the Pre-Clerkship Classroom Policy will be considered in violation of their Roles and Responsibilities and be referred to the Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) for consultation and corrective feedback. Recurring violations of the policy after feedback and consultation with the involved faculty may lead to removal from their educator role by CEP.
Student Expectations
- Students not abiding by this policy will be considered in violation of the Professionalism Policy and be subject to that policy’s outlined Procedure for a professionalism lapse.

RESPONSIBILITY
Course Directors
Committee on Educational Policy

REFERENCES

Learning objectives stated as behavioral outcomes examples are available through this resource https://health.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/curriculum/faculty-educators/pdfs/CBME.pdf

Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Glossary

POLICY OWNER
Committee on Educational Policy

REVIEWED BY
Committee on Educational Policy*
Curriculum Steering Advisory Committee
Pre-Clerkship Course Directors Workgroup

REVIEWED DATE and REVIEW CYCLE
July 2026; Annual review

* indicates the Policy Owner