• University of Nottingham

Developing Expert Educators for Healthcare Professions

Explore the philosophy and practice of education to become an expert educator in the healthcare professions.

9,486 enrolled on this course

Female healthcare expert educating a table of other healthcare professionals
  • Duration

    6 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Use evidence-based, theory-driven methods to enhance your teaching expertise

On this course, you will identify and apply the fundamentals of education to the healthcare professions. You will use the latest evidence around effective learning, instructional design, assessment, feedback and the learning environment to reflect on your own practice.

By connecting to a global network of multi-professional educators in healthcare, you will gain new perspectives on your teaching and values as an educator, and be encouraged to share your teaching experiences with others. You will also be empowered to begin making evidence-based improvements to your teaching in the future.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 18 seconds Have you ever thought what makes an expert educator, or how best equip healthcare professionals for entering the workplace?

Skip to 0 minutes and 43 seconds Whether it’s preparing the next generation of nurses, midwives, or physiotherapists, or continuing professional development for doctors, educating healthcare professionals takes place in many locations and throughout their working lives. Our challenge is to deliver the best education we can using the most effective tools and methods that are available to us. Whether in hospitals, clinics, or in the community, in classrooms or lecture theatres, there are thousands of us delivering education and training for others. This course will share best practice in education by applying underlying theory and sharing our experiences with you. If you are involved in educating, training, supervising or mentoring within the healthcare professions, then this is the course for you.

Skip to 1 minute and 31 seconds We can provide you with the professional knowledge to help improve and refine your skills. You will have the opportunity to work alongside people from a wide range of healthcare professions. Our course is delivered by an experienced group of educators from medicine, nursing, midwifery, and physiotherapy. We are all committed to sharing what we know works best in healthcare education. Together, we will navigate through the key concepts of teaching, learning, assessment, feedback, context in the curriculum, sharing real life examples with you along the way.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1

  • What factors affect motivation and why is motivation so important for effective learning?
  • What are effective learning strategies?
  • What is reflection and how does it relate to ‘thinking about thinking’?

Week 2

  • What are the most effective approaches for designing teaching?
  • What is cognitive load theory and why does it matter for teaching?
  • What does effective instruction actually look like?

Week 3

  • Why does validity matter?
  • Why is reliability important?
  • What frequently used assessment methods are there?

Week 4

  • What comprises ‘good’ feedback?
  • What does a ‘good’ feedback relationship mean?
  • Why is feedback utility important for learning?

Week 5

  • What is a curriculum statement?
  • What does constructive alignment mean?
  • What should educational governance mean for teachers?

Week 6

  • What is the impact of the teacher on the educational climate ‘in the room’?
  • What is ‘psychological safety’ and why is it important for teachers to know about it?
  • What is the influence of group dynamics on the learning environment?

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Reflect on and articulate the meaning of effective instruction in the healthcare professions context
  • Justify the validity and reliability of a given assessment or programme of assessment
  • Explain the core elements of ‘good’ feedback
  • Describe the rationale for ensuring constructive alignment across a curriculum
  • Explore the influence of group dynamics on the learning environment
  • Identify the role of motivation in effective learning
  • Identify appropriate evidence-based learning strategies for use in the classroom or clinical workplace
  • Identify common methods and approaches to assessment used in healthcare professions education

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for healthcare professionals who work in, or have an interest in delivering formal or informal education.

Who will you learn with?

I am a consultant physician and educator based at the University Hospitals of Derby & Burton, and the University of Nottingham, UK.

I am an Assistant Professor in Midwifery and have had an academic career spanning 20 years which has involved developing new teachers, course leadership and e-learning amongst other things.

I'm a children's critical care nurse and an educator. Honing my skills in both clinical and classroom based teaching, I have specific interests in using simulation and digital learning pedagogy.

I am a Clinical Associate Professor in Medical Education at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

My role includes teaching, mentoring and supporting undergraduate physiotherapy students and practice educators in all aspects of practice-based learning.

I am a Professor of e-Learning and health informatics in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham. My interests are around designing for e-learning in healthcare education.

Who developed the course?

The University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham is committed to providing a truly international education, inspiring students with world-leading research and benefitting communities all around the world.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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