Resources for Identifying, Developing, and Effectively Using Pre-Work
To be effective, preparatory work in the MD curriculum should:
- Be assigned and used consistently from the beginning of the curriculum/block
- Give students an action/recall activity – a self-check quiz, a question to answer, an outline/table to fill in, etc.
- Be referenced in the class session – but NOT covered in its entirety
- Use existing resources, when available
- Acknowledge that students are using external resources – provide them with guidance as to how to evaluate and use those resources
- If they’re not perfect, or you disagree with some component, explain what and why to the students.
- When developing new resources, the same lecture principles apply – no more than 15 min without a break/activity (preferably 8-10 min max for online video).
For more tips, please see:
- Effective Pre-work Tip Sheet (Tips for Effective Preparatory Classwork Accessible Format.pdf).
- Tips for Sustaining Study Habits (Tips for Sustaining Study Habits Accessible Format.pdf).
Where to find Pre-work Resources (Videos, Images, Materials):
If you are interested in using video or interactive content as part of your pre-work, you don’t necessarily have to create it yourself. There are many resources available both through our library and freely available online. Below is a brief (not comprehensive) listing of some options.
Library-Provided Resources – find more on Himmelfarb MD Program Guide
Online Video Sources (please review each video to confirm content and accuracy)
- Khan Academy
- Osmosis (limited publicly available videos)
- YouTube – consider using TedEd to make these interactive (http://ed.ted.com)
- MedCram
- Ninja nerd science
- Armando Hasudungan
Tools for Video and Interactive Module Production
- PowerPoint (record voice-over slides)
- Panopto (add polls and quizzing)
- Storyline (animation, branching, interactivity) - contact teddy [dot] hristov [at] gwu [dot] edu (teddy[dot]hristov[at]gwu[dot]edu) to schedule a session with the instructional designer.
- The Educational Technology page provides a list of apps suitable for teaching and active learning. For more info, check out the Teaching Remotely page.
Other options include: Tablet monitor with stylus – draw on your slides while you narrate, iPad apps, and Blackboard Quizzes.
Contact the cfe [at] gwu [dot] edu (CFE) for ideas based on your needs.