The Office of Educational Development (OED) is a corps of medical educators and staff with professional training in curriculum design, theories of teaching and learning, and assessment. We contribute expert knowledge to strengthen the centralized teaching mission of the medical school. Our activities are organized around the three major initiatives of Curriculum Development, Faculty Development, and Assessment, along with many other related projects, both in the quadrangle and in affiliated clinical sites.
In the general area of curriculum development, we work side by side with faculty to create, implement, and monitor new courses, introduce innovative teaching methods, and investigate new educational technology. To expand the faculty knowledge base in education and enhance teaching skills, we provide programs for all new and experienced tutors in the techniques of the small-group tutorial, conduct sessions on clinical teaching, and create workshops and seminars upon faculty request. We offer personal assistance to individual faculty who wish to improve their teaching in tutorials, lectures, laboratories, and clinics.
Assessment encompasses students' academic performance, professional growth and development, course and clerkship evaluation, and related activities. Recent projects focus on the development of new performance assessment techniques, a fourth year comprehensive examination, and uniform assessments across multiple clinical sites.
Born out of the realization that physicians need and want help with the art and science of teaching and learning, the OED plays a vital role in strengthening the educational activities of the medical school. Faculty from all departments and divisions work together in the OED toward the ideal of a stimulating curriculum that flows logically from the preclinical through the clinical years and enriches the educational offerings at the diverse clinical sites. Our aim is to work with the HMS faculty to provide a sound general medical education that will serve as the basis for the graduate education of many of the future leaders in medicine.