Abstract
IntroductionMany teachers adopt instructional methods based on assumptions of best practices without attention to or knowledge of supporting education theory. Familiarity with a variety of theories informs education that is efficient, strategic, and evidence-based. As part of the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Faculty Incubator Program, a list of key education theories for junior faculty was developed.MethodsA list of key papers on theories relevant to medical education was generated using an expert panel, a virtual community of practice synthetic discussion, and a social media call for resources. A three-round, Delphi-informed voting methodology including novice and expert educators produced a rank order of the top papers.ResultsThese educators identified 34 unique papers. Eleven papers described the general use of education theory, while 23 papers focused on a specific theory. The top three papers on general education theories and top five papers on specific education theory were selected and summarized. The relevance of each paper for junior faculty and faculty developers is also presented.ConclusionThis paper presents a reading list of key papers for junior faculty in medical education roles. Three papers about general education theories and five papers about specific educational theories are identified and annotated. These papers may help provide foundational knowledge in education theory to inform junior faculty teaching practice.
Highlights
Many teachers adopt instructional methods based on assumptions of best practices without attention to or knowledge of supporting education theory
This paper introduces the elements of “self-determination theory” (SDT) to describe the processes whereby a master learner derives his or her motivation for learning
This paper presents a reading list of key papers for junior faculty in medical education roles
Summary
A list of key papers on theories relevant to medical education was generated using an expert panel, a virtual community of practice synthetic discussion, and a social media call for resources. We used a method similar to our previous Academic Primer series paper.[3] We allowed the discussion to unfold and gathered the titles of the papers that were cited, shared, suggested, or discussed within the online discussion forum by both experts and members of this virtual community of practice. This list was augmented with a general call for suggestions via several social media outlets to optimize our literature list. All relevant papers discussing education theories were included in the initial analysis
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