New Investigator Editorial: professional skills training in effective science teaching.

As a graduate student at a research-intensive, medical institution, most of my responsibilities and focus have been in performing experiments and getting published in high-quality journals like the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. However, teaching opportunities for young investigators are hard to come by and require active searching while balancing courses and research. Career development in academia can overlook any formal training in teaching and assume that an individual can learn on the fly when a faculty position is obtained (7). Several programs funded though the National Institute of General Medical Sciences recognize the importance of training in teaching for postdoctoral candidates (6). One relatively new opportunity that is available is a teaching course offered by the American Physiological Society (APS). This past summer was the first teaching workshop in the APS Professional Skills Training series. This course was intended for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty early in their careers who want to improve their teaching skills. It included a preworkshop portion where readings and assignments were given before the live workshop, a 5-day, in-person workshop in Bar Harbor, ME, and a follow-up portion. Included in the workshop were ample resources for teacher development and the opportunity to receive three college credits from Adams State University. The purpose of the course was to build upon useful teaching skills that the trainee may or may not have. The workshop also included guidance in developing a teaching portfolio and teaching philosophy statement, critical components in the application process for teaching-intensive, faculty positions. Some of the key teaching strategies taught in the course were evidence-based teaching methods, such as how to approach the different ways in which students learn and how to effectively engage students with active learning (Table 1). Students can be very diverse in the manner at which they learn and understand most efficiently (2). Teachers can reach more students by presenting material different ways, because most students have multiple learning preferences. The four major learning modalities include visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learning. If students are visual learners, they prefer visual media, charts, and illustrations. The auditory learning modality refers to students who prefer verbal directions, discussions, and oral presentations. A kinesthetic learner learns best when they are active and have hands-on activities. And finally, the tactile learning preference refers to the sense of touch. These types of learners retain information the best while writing or drawing. Effective teachers are able to use multiple learning strategies in their teaching, allowing them to reach a large, diverse classroom. Another evidence-based teaching method is to incorporate active learning in the classroom. The typical class uses passive learning as the primary means of how students receive (and hopefully retain) information. This includes listening to lectures, reading, and looking at graphs or charts. Active learning, however, is an engaging process that requires more responsibility of students in their own learning (basically, making students do things while thinking about what they are doing). Examples include students giving presentations, group discussions, and clicker questions. These methods allow students to be engaged in solving problems and promote higher levels of thinking, like analyzing, evaluating, and creating (1). There is evidence that active learning enhances the amount of information retained by students and allows them to assess their own learning far in advance of an exam (3, 4). Other topics covered in the live portion of the workshop include Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), professional standards of practice, learning theories and metacognition, student diversity, evidence-based teaching, student-centered learning, lecture organization/development, and learning assessment. The workshop also included an opportunity to apply what we learned in the course by developing and delivering a lecture. By performing micro-teaching lessons, we were able to receive constructive criticism and feedback on our presence and effectiveness as a teacher. Networking is a critical part of scientific workshops or meetings and an investment for young investigators’ futures. The workshop was taught alongside the APS Institute on Teaching and Learning, which is a teaching conference designed for experienced faculty and established educators. This was very advantageous for the trainees in that we were able to participate in poster and networking sessions. The poster presentations were focused on research in learning that explored innovative ways to improve teaching methods that engage more students or improve student performance. The research also included how to reach classrooms with different student diversity, learning preferences, and backgrounds. Networking is an important part of being a graduate student in the APS,