We’re pleased to invite you to register for the inaugural cycle of the Family Medicine Foundational Teaching Skills Program, a collaboration between the DFM and the Office of Faculty Development (OFDP) here at the University of Calgary. This virtual 5 session course is designed to provide you with the fundamental skills needed to be a great teacher. If you’re new to teaching or just want to continue growing your skill set in family medicine teaching, this course is for you!
The five sessions cover a range of topics, from an introduction to teaching skills, to providing feedback and identify learners in difficulty. Running from April through November, each 90 minute session is held on a Friday from 12:00-1:30pm via zoom.
By the end of the program, participants will demonstrate successful achievement of the following objectives:
- Improved preparation for teaching FM learners
- Incorporation and application of Cognitive Psychology principles and foundational teaching skills into their day-to-day clinical teaching of FM learners, content design, and mentoring
- Understanding of analytical and non-analytical reasoning, as well as the basis for cognitive diagnostic errors
- Demonstration of proper feedback and mentoring techniques, in particular as applied to the learner in difficulty
- Implementation of strategies to create a safe learning environment
- Reflection and evaluation of their own teaching skills and identification of areas for further improvement
- Adaptation of different teaching skills to specific learners and situations
Participants who complete the program (at least 4 of the 5 sessions) will be presented with a certificate of completion at the end.
Details
Number of sessions: 5
Minimum commitment: 4 sessions
Dates:
- April 21, 2023
- May 19, 2023
- June 16, 2023
- September 15, 2023
- November 24, 2023
Time: 12:00-1:30pm MT
Registration opens: January 13, 2023
Registration closes: January 27, 2023
Cost: $0.00

Intro to teaching skills/Cognitive Psychology
Date: April 21, 2023
Objectives:
- Understand the importance of working memory in promoting acquisition (storage) of content
- Describe long-term memory in terms of implicit and explicit subcomponents
- Change teaching/curricular design practice to emphasize promotion of content retrieval
Presented by: Dr. Sylvain Coderre
Clinical reasoning and diagnostic error
Date: May 19, 2023
Objectives:
- Be able to compare and contrast analytical from non-analytical reasoning
- Define heuristics and biases
- Explore sources of reasoning error
- Apply strategies to mitigate reasoning error
Presented by Dr: Sylvian Coderre


Principles of feedback and coaching
Date: June 16, 2023
Objectives:
- Understand the importance of feedback
- Identify barriers faced when providing feedback
- Review strategies to facilitate feedback delivery
- Moving from point in time feedback to coaching
Presented by: Dr. Marcy Mintz
Creating a safe learning environment
Date: September 15, 2023
Objectives:
- Define and identify key elements of a safe learning environment
- Select strategies to establish safety in the learning environment
- Respond to issues that threaten safety within the learning environment
Presented by: Ms. Kenna Kelly-Turner


Identification and mentoring of the learner in difficulty
Date: November 24, 2023
Objectives:
- Recognizing individual learner needs, and the factors that may impact performance
- How to provide valuable and actionable feedback to the struggling learner
- How to work with an individualized learning plan, remediation or probation contract
Presented by: Dr. Marcy Mintz