Development and Implementation of the Inaugural Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI)

Abstract

Responding to the American Association of Anatomists' call for Innovations grant proposals, the authors proposed (and received AAA funding) for the inaugural Anatomy Education Research Institute (AERI). AERI was modeled after the American Physiological Society's Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL), and focused on partnering anatomy educational research leaders with anatomists interested in expanding their educational research skill sets. After two years of planning and organization, AERI was held July 10–14, 2017 in Bloomington, IN. Here, we describe the development and implementation of AERI and its immediate effects. The intensive face‐to‐face format of AERI allowed the 62 participants and invited speakers to immerse themselves in teaching assessments, educational research, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL). Real‐time information about AERI was transmitted via Twitter (using the hashtag #AERI2017) for social media followers who could not attend the institute. In order to determine immediate and lasting impacts of AERI2017, all attendees filled out pre‐institute and post‐institute surveys to assess knowledge gains and potential attitudinal shifts regarding educational research, and participants will fill out a 6 month follow up survey as well. Based on the initial survey data and social media analytics, AERI2017 had a powerful impact on both face‐to‐face attendees and virtual participants on social media. Thus, the conference met the aims proposed in the grant, and discussions are ensuing about the feasibility of developing future Anatomy Education Research Institutes.Support or Funding InformationAERI was funded by a 2015 American Association of Anatomists Innovation grant.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.