Cornell Veterinary Educators Academy
The Cornell Veterinary Educators Academy provides innovative programming for educators and professionals in veterinary medicine and the health professions. Based upon a community of practice model, it provides opportunities for faculty and others interested in developing a sophisticated and shared framework for thinking about education, building networks with like-minded colleagues, sharing ideas, and learning from each other.
Programming from the Cornell Veterinary Educators Academy also provides opportunities for faculty to develop skills and scholarship related to teaching that will help them advance in their careers.
Offering bi-annual conferences, a Fellows program, and topical seminars comprising “Currents in Education,” the academy helps veterinary faculty, practitioners and trainees hone their teaching skills in traditional classroom and clinical environments.
Join us for our next conference:
“Educating Generalists for Adaptive Expertise”
On Cornell's Campus in Ithaca, NY. June 21-23, 2024.
The upcoming conference will explore factors within veterinary education that contribute to students’ development of adaptive expertise and inspire lifelong learning. Together, we will consider questions related to the development and dimensions of expertise, what approaches to organizing knowledge lead to greater flexibility in problem solving, and attributes of instructional programs that support learners’ ability to apply their knowledge to solve novel problems. Keynote speakers will address topics such as the development of expertise, students’ perceptions of their role in developing innovative practice, and the role of competency-based programs in supporting the development of adaptive expertise.
Highlighted speakers for the upcoming conference:
Dr. Naomi Steenhoff
“Designing for failure: An instructional approach for future success”
Dr. Naomi Steenhof is an Assistant Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and her PhD in Health Professions Education Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Steenhof’s area of clinical expertise is in chronic pain and geriatrics. She practices with an interdisciplinary team in the Comprehensive Integrated Pain Program (CIPP) at the University Health Network. Naomi is actively engaged in interprofessional education, curriculum development, as well as teaching at the undergraduate, resident and post-graduate levels. Her research focuses on exploring the crucial role of struggle in learning and understanding how it assists novices in acquiring the conceptual knowledge they need to learn in the future.
Dr. Maria Mylopoulos
“Renewing veterinary education: The imperative for adaptive expertise”
Dr. Maria Mylopoulos holds her PhD in human development and education. She is currently Senior Scientist and Associate Director of the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, Program Director and Professor in the Health Professions Education Research PhD concentration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Curriculum Scientist in MD Education at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Over the last 15 years she has successfully led a program of research aimed at understanding the development and performance of adaptive expertise in medicine, with a particular focus on identifying the ways in which expert clinicians move beyond application of their past knowledge when appropriate to address the needs of patients as well as the limits and opportunities of their own contexts. In her work, Maria uses a range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks from cognitive psychology, clinical reasoning, and the learning sciences to evolve understanding of the knowledge, capabilities and learning experiences that underpin adaptive expertise. The ultimate goal of her research is to translate this understanding to educational design that promotes the development of expert clinicians who are able to handle the complexities and challenges of the healthcare workplace.
Dr. William B. Cutrer
“Transforming Lifelong Learning from Cliché to Reality: Developing Master Adaptive Learners”
Dr. Cutrer is actively involved in medical student education, overseeing curriculum development, student assessment, and program evaluation in his role as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education. He is very interested in understanding how students learn in the workplace and how to help them more effectively, including the role of assessment driving learning. He co-leads the AMA's Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative Master Adaptive Learner Working Group and is the leader of the Vanderbilt core team participating in the AAMC pilot project Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (Core EPAs). Dr. Cutrer is also a co-PI on the joint VUMC-UMMC GOLLD project selected for the AMA's Reimagining Residency initiative.
