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, staff

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

POLICY

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 and Discipline 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 LMS’ corresponding course ‘learning event resources.’
4. Faculty may plan on student attendance and participation in accordance with the Code of Academic and Social Conduct Policy and the Pre-Clerkship Attendance, Participation, and Absence Policy in active small- and large-group learning experiences (e.g., team-based learning (TBL), problem-based learning (PBL), peer teacher (PT), and patient panels (PP)).
Course Participation

Active small- and large-group learning experiences (e.g., TBL, PBL, PT, and PP) require student attendance and participation for the duration of the session in accordance with the Code of Academic and Social Conduct Policy, and the Pre-Clerkship Attendance, Participation and Absence Policy.
Lectures
1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, are required to be included at the start of each lecture. For examples of how to develop learning objectives in this format, see this resource.
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., PowerPoint presentations, documents, etc.), when applicable, are provided as an accompaniment to lectures. Faculty should provide credit or obtain permission to use copyrighted images in the materials supporting the lecture. Otherwise, the image 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.
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 expected 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 absence is excused. Participation using remote technology is not permitted unless specified by the course directors.
5. 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.
6. 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.
Team-Based Learning (TBL) Sessions
1. Learning objectives, stated as behavioral outcomes, must be included at the beginning of each TBL session. For examples of how to develop learning objectives in this format, see this resource.
2. Cases are not expected to be provided before the session.
3. Students are to have prepared before the session by viewing assigned lectures and/or reading assigned 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.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Sessions
1. Cases are not expected to be provided in advance of the session.
2. 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.
3. The facilitator’s role is to support the student-led nature of this learning process. Facilitators are not expected to be content experts.
4. Lectures directly addressing learning objectives for these cases will not be offered, as that would undermine the student-led aspect of this learning method.
5. 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. Feedback on this process will be given by the small group facilitator and students.
6. Groups may use different teaching or communication methods within the problem-based learning parameters provided by the School of Medicine.
7. Each small group member is responsible for answering at least two learning objectives and teaching one another during the case discussion.
Peer Teaching Sessions
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 before the session by viewing assigned lectures and/or reading assigned 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.
Course Assignments
1. Course assignments and low-stakes 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. the night before the corresponding TBL session. Students are to complete the iRAT independently without consulting other individuals.
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.
3. These reading assignments must comply with the Pre-Clerkship Workload Policy – Faculty Assigned Activities.
4. Optional supplemental learning materials do not require learning objectives and do not apply to the Pre-Clerkship Workload Policy.
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-directed learning is the use of problem-based learning (PBL) cases. In keeping with LCME expectations, a SDL activity must include the following:
- Self-assessment of learning needs
- Independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information
- Independent and facilitator appraisal of the credibility of information sources
- 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 unprofessional behavior.

RESPONSIBILITY
Course Directors
Committee on Educational Policy

POLICY OWNER
Committee on Educational Policy

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

REVIEWED DATE and REVIEW CYCLE
July 2023; Annual review

* indicates the Policy Owner