Thread by @GStetsonMD

1/ Welcome back to #TweetorialTuesday with the #MedEdTwagTeam!

We are in our #EffectiveQuestions series.

Thanks for joining us, #MedTwitter, #MedEd, & #MedStudentTwitter Friends!

2/ This week we start talking about my favorite uses of questions in the clinical learning environment.

First up is, questions as a needs assessment.

3/ I was schooled in #MedEdScholarship by @posucsf, Dave Irby, and @bobrien_15 @UCSF.

Like most educators of #HPE, they framed curriculum development for me through the lens of “Kern’s Six Steps”.

4/ @jackpenner and @timdyster from @UCSF/@UCSFIMChiefs are doing some really cool work under the handle @MedEdModels.

If you haven’t heard of #Kern’s, or want a refresher, especially on the needs assessment, check out their awesome visual description:

5/ I mention this because Kern’s approach has rented a room in my brain. I use a modified version for all my teaching efforts. From a pearl on rounds, to a chalk talk, to a 4-hour workshop. The intensity of my approach increases in concordance with the intensity of the teaching.

6/ As you can see, the first step in all my teaching is identifying a learning need. What is a learning need?

Kern presents an equation that is helpful for me to think about, because I like math. 🤓

7/ There are many ways to identify learning needs in the clinical setting. Here are some:
1⃣Listening to presentations – my favorite way
2⃣Learner-initiated questions – they identify the bounds of their knowledge
3⃣Teacher-initiated inquiry – you probe to find those bounds

8/ When asking questions as a needs assessment, your goal is to find the gap so that you can fill it in. You must state this as your intention & make clear that their responses will not be used as part of evaluation.

Remember back in the General Rules?

9/ The best way to perform a needs assessment is through BROAD & OPEN-ENDED inquiry.
💡Broad – An invitation for learners to share the knowledge they possess, ideally up to their limits.
💡Open-Ended – It would be difficult to answer the question with any single word.

10/ There are hundreds of questions that could fit these similar BROAD and OPEN-ENDED principles. Here are some examples in some specific categories:

11/ Notice the question words.

“How” and “why” are excellent, as they naturally lead to broad and open-ended questions.

“What” is good too, but you need to be careful that you are not looking for an answer that is too specific.

12/ Another key piece to a good needs assessment question is the word ”you”. Why?

Because you are assessing the needs of the specific learner. Your goal is to find out how they, specifically, think about & approach various clinical scenarios.

13/ What happens when we don't use "you"? Notice how some subtle changes can alter the intention of the question?

🔑Omitting the word “you” can imply a "right" answer.
🔑Using us/we/our language can lead the learner to guess what “we” are thinking.

14/ Today I presented some big ideas and some more subtle things that can make a big difference in identifying the needs of your learners, thus helping you to be a more targeted and effective teacher.

The main takeaways are:

15/ Thanks for joining us!

Please, join us again next week as we dive into questions to facilitate retrieval practice.

To not miss out, make sure to follow: @MedEdTwagTeam, @JenniferSpcier4, and me

Tweet you then.