Teaching & Learning Framework
Our teaching and learning framework describes how students learn across the School of Medicine. Learning is organized around preparation, active application, feedback, reflection, and the progressive development of clinical reasoning.
How Learning Works
Students learn through a consistent cycle of preparation, application, feedback, and reflection. This structure is designed to make student thinking visible, strengthen clinical reasoning, and help learners build knowledge they can apply in future clinical settings.
In-person learning time is used for case discussion, clinical presentations, problem-solving, small-group work, and faculty-guided reasoning. The goal is not simply to cover content, but to help students use foundational knowledge to make decisions, explain their thinking, and grow over time.
| Make Thinking Visible | Strengthen Clinical Reasoning | Use Feedback for Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Students explain how they reason, not just what answer they choose. | Learning activities connect science, symptoms, decisions, and care. | Students receive guidance that helps them improve over time. |
Core Learning Cycle
The learning cycle gives students repeated opportunities to prepare, apply, receive feedback, and reflect. This approach supports competency development across courses, phases, and clinical experiences.
| Pre-Class Preparation → | Active Learning Session → | Feedback & Reflection |
|---|---|---|
| Students complete focused preparation before class so that shared learning time can be used for application, reasoning, discussion, and problem-solving. | Class time emphasizes cases, clinical presentations, small-group work, faculty-guided questioning, and application of foundational knowledge. | Students receive feedback, identify gaps, reflect on their reasoning, and plan next steps for continued growth. |
What Makes Learning Different Here
| Clinical Reasoning Over Memorization | Active & Case-Based Learning | Patient-Centered Learning |
|---|---|---|
| Students learn to use knowledge in context by explaining decisions, comparing possibilities, and connecting findings to patient care. | Learning sessions emphasize participation, discussion, clinical cases, and collaborative problem-solving, with content delivery used purposefully to support application. | Foundational science is connected to symptoms, clinical presentations, health systems, and the needs of patients and communities. |
| Feedback That Students Can Use | Community & Health Systems Context | Professional Identity Formation |
| Feedback is connected to specific learning activities so students can identify next steps and improve their reasoning, performance, and preparation over time. | Learning experiences help students understand how patient care is shaped by community needs, systems, access, and social context. | Students are supported as they develop the habits, responsibilities, communication skills, and values of physicians. |
Learning Roles
| Role of Faculty | Role of Students |
|---|---|
Faculty support learning by helping students prepare, apply concepts, explain their reasoning, and connect foundational knowledge to patient care.
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Students are active participants in their learning. Preparation, participation, feedback use, and reflection are essential parts of the learning process.
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Supporting Competency-Based Medical Education
Competency develops over time. Students need repeated opportunities to practice, receive feedback, reflect, and demonstrate growth across learning settings. The teaching and learning framework supports this by aligning learning activities with clinical reasoning, professional development, assessment, and progression.
This approach helps students understand not only what they are learning but also how they are developing as future physicians.