Title: Principles of Pedagogy in Teaching in a Diverse Medical School: The University of Capetown South Africa Medical School.
Abstract: This paper describes a 2-month project developed by Sage Colleges (New York) and University of Capetown Medical School in South Africa to help medical faculty at Capetown Medical School teach its newly diverse student body. The program is intended to improve student retention and it emphasizes need for faculty to assure students coming from nonacademic of their competence and to celebrate multicultural diversity in higher education. The paper offers narratives and descriptions of weekly interactive meetings between visiting faculty from Sage Colleges and medical school faculty as they explore topics ranging from how to say hello in students' first language, to faculty's thoughts on teaching, to different social conventions of various ethnic groups, to student learning difficulties. In addition, specific workshop topics were organized on: faculty teaching and curricular reform; various approaches to lecture method, such as scaffolding and concept development; moving from largeto small-group teaching; using tutors and successful students as role models; multiple intelligence theory and its uses; multicultural teaching and attending to cultures present in classroom; and evaluation, testing, and assessment procedures. (MKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are best that can be made from original document. Principles of Pedagogy in Teaching in A Diverse Medical School: The University of Capetown South Africa Medical School :1 'Tr U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 2(This document has been reproduced as received from person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Paper presented at meetings of American Educational Research Association, April 2000, New Orleans Louisiana Julia Johnson Rothenberg Ph.D. The Sage Colleges Troy NY 12180 The Sage Colleges, Troy New York Errol Holland M.D. University of Capetown Medical School Observatory 7925 Capetown South African Holland, Errol M.D. University of Capetown Medical School, Capetown South Africa Introduction This paper is a joint effort by Dr. Rothenberg, Professor of Education at The Sage Colleges, who visited U. of Capetown Medical School to help medical faculty in teaching their newly diverse student body, and Dr. Holland, Chair of Hematology at Medical School, who participated in project. Both authors feel that diversity at U. of Capetwon Medical School has potential for a rich culture of medical knowledge, which encompasses knowledge that students bring to University, as well as traditional medical expertise continued in Capetown's tradition. We will describe our work together, and some reflections on O 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE process we experienced qualitatively. The literature on minority student retention in United States informed early preparations for Dr. Rothenberg, in terms of thinking about problems students and faculty might have with a dramatically changed culture of medical school. Terenzini et al (1994, Pascarella & Terenzini, 1977) described findings from a series of studies on United States campuses which found that faculty/student interactions on a number of levels were crucial in diverse students' staying in college or university. In particular, students from non-academic needed to be reassured of their competence by faculty, and this faculty recognition was important both in and out of class. While Terenzini and his colleagues emphasized that each diverse student's experience was unique, Tierney (1992) took this point an important step further. Tierney studied Native Americans in starting to college in United States, and found that these students were often seen as bringing the problems of having different backgrounds to higher education setting. Tierney highlights core of all these studies of retention having insiders, that is people who have spent their adult lives in academia, do studying of what we call the problems. Even framing issue in terms of a problem to be solved (student retention) limits our views of positive values in higher education that students bring from their various . We seldom actively promote strongly positive values of celebrating multicultural diversity in higher education, even though we tout these values in our admissions literature. These points formed background for working within University of Capetown Medical School, so recently having become a place of diversity. The Capetown project was begun, therefore, with an orientation of learning about this setting for a new kind of medical school. Dr. Rothenberg met with Medical School instructors in bi-weekly workshops and in Medical departmental meetings, discussing topics of each department's choice. More about these meetings will be described later. Several illlustrative episodes are described here that occurred during two month project Rothenberg, 1999). 1. Mollo, wethu. Usaphila? After working with medical teaching faculty for several workshop sessions, Dr. Rothenberg told group that every professor should know how to say how are you, good-bye, best wishes, in every first language spoken in class. And she said that professors should systematically learn students' names and use them [she also give ideas on how to do this]. Nervous laughter ensued. Later that day several professors told her that in recent past, few people designated as coloured or black who attended medical school never were addressed by name. Other students were constantly named, professors knew their older siblings and schools they went to, told stories about their backgrounds. They felt that every day they had snuck in a back window to be in school. And now they are professors in medical school. 2.Another professor told Dr. Rothenberg, after a pediatric department meeting together, that he never, ever thought about teaching before. He said he wanted to train registrars (doctors in residence) in his field (pediatric endocrinology) but it had not occurred to him that this was teaching. just lectured as I had been lectured to myself. These discussions of how you teach open up a world to me. 3.Dr. Rothenberg had advantage during her stay of living at Medical Residence (the MedRes) where most of residents were tribal Africans or of East Indian or Malaysian descent. Meals were regular social occasions, source of new friendships and a great deal of learning. The students had many ideas about improving medical education and shared them willingly, enthusiastically. They also enjoyed teaching how to say hello, how are you? in their
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-04-01
Language: en
Type: article
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