In the sixteen months since becoming the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, the University of Vermont’s medical school has made great strides – and multiple innovations – towards achieving its vision of a 100 percent active learning curriculum and fulfilling late alumnus-donor and namesake Dr. Larner’s wish for a “medical education that is second to none.”
In the sixteen months since becoming the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, the University of Vermont’s medical school has made great strides – and multiple innovations – towards achieving its vision of a 100 percent active learning curriculum and fulfilling late alumnus-donor and namesake Dr. Larner’s wish for a “medical education that is second to none.”
The latest milestone among these changes was the renovation of former Dana Medical Library and College of Medicine Instructional Technology space to create the Larner Learning Commons, which officially opened in August 2017. The new collaborative space, which houses the Teaching Academy, Dana Medical Library and Technology Services, provides state-of-the art technology and resources – including a production studio where faculty can develop content for active learning – student study pods and 24/7 quiet study space.
Senior Associate Dean William Jeffries, Ph.D., Teaching Academy Director Kathryn Huggett, Ph.D., and Jill Jemison, chief information officer for health sciences, presented on the College’s facility renovation activities at the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) annual meeting in Boston in November 2017. The Larner College of Medicine was one of three schools selected to present on the “Innovation Educational Space Transformation” panel, which also included representatives from University of Texas Dell Medical School and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Both Dell and UCLA built entirely new education buildings, so UVM was unique in its ability to transform existing space to accommodate active learning. (Watch the UVM Larner College of Medicine’s space innovation video.)
The panelists demonstrated the importance of physical space in supporting delivery of an outstanding medical education.
“Our presentation showcased the importance of creative thinking and involving as many people as you can. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, physicians, IT, architects, and facilities personnel – everyone had good ideas to share and the best work came from this collaboration,” said Jeffries.
Other innovation highlights over the past two years have included the addition of walk-up work counters along the hallway adjoining the college and the UVM Medical Center; the renovation of the Reardon Classroom and adjacent space on the second floor of the Medical Education Center to create another active learning classroom in summer 2016; and the creation of 24/7 access quiet study space in the former Rowell Brickyard lounge for College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Sciences students to use.
National media coverage of the college’s active learning initiatives since the September 2016 naming announcement event – by the Associated Press, Boston Globe, Washington Post, National Public Radio and others – has attracted the attention of medical educators worldwide. This past August’s International Association of Medical Science Educators conference, hosted at UVM, had the highest attendance in history – well over 600 participants. The Associated Press article was picked up by dozens of newspapers throughout the country, and higher education publications like the AAMC News and Inside Higher Ed also ran feature stories.
The college’s efforts to transform the curriculum – based on sound evidence that shows active learning techniques produce better results in terms of test scores and information retention – are continuing.
“We know that these efforts improve outcomes,” said Jeffries, “and that’s what we’re really focusing on.”
Learn more about active learning at the Larner College of Medicine.