The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

List of courses taught in resident instruction at Penn State for each semester with enrollments in each course

1. Structural Basis of Medical Practice (SBMP 715). Dr. Evey began teaching the laboratory component of SBMP 715 during the fall semester of 1985 and continued to teach every subsequent semester through the fall of 2009. Dr. Evey began teaching in the lecture component of SBMP 715 during the fall semester of 1987 and continued to teach every subsequent semester through the fall of 2009. Thus, Dr. Evey has taught in the laboratory for the past 24 semesters and in the lecture hall for the past 22 semesters. Enrollment in SBMP 715 has steadily increased from less than 90 students in 1985 to more than 140 students in 2009.

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Teaching in the laboratory. Dr. Evey began his career at Hershey in the fall of 1985. His postdoctoral grant included tuition funds to further his training in the medical sciences. Dr. Evey enrolled in the medical school courses offered for human gross anatomy, neurophysiology, and neuroanatomy. As a postdoctoral graduate student enrolled in human gross anatomy, Dr. Evey was required to teach in the anatomy laboratory.

In 1986, Dr. Evey was asked to teach in the anatomy laboratory as a member of the teaching faculty. He has continued to do so since that time. For each term, there are 48 laboratories for gross anatomy. The majority of these laboratories are 3 hours long. Dr. Evey has taught in all 48 laboratory sessions for each of the past 24 years. Beginning in 2003 the College of Medicine changed to a platooning system to accommodate a larger class size. There were two laboratory sessions; one in the morning and one in the afternoon for a total of 96 sessions. Dr. Evey has taught in all 96 laboratory sessions totaling more than 400 hours for each term since platooning began in 2003.

Teaching in the lecture hall. In addition to teaching in the laboratory for the entire duration of the anatomy course, Dr. Evey began teaching in the lecture room in 1987. During the late 1980s and early 1990s Dr. Evey delivered an increasing number of lectures covering the autonomic nervous system, the cranial nerves, and the anatomy of the head and neck. Staring in 2005, when Dr. Evey became the co-director for the gross anatomy component of SBMB, his lecture series increased to include the back, spinal canal, and upper limb. Currently, Dr. Evey delivers or mentors a series of approximately 20 lectures. A variable number of these 20 lectures, generally not more than 5, are delivered by anatomy graduate students as part of their training. In these cases, Dr. Evey mentors the student in their preparations for lecturing and is available during the lecture.

Tutoring students in danger of failing. There are four examinations for the gross anatomy component of SBMP. Each of the four examinations has a written component and a laboratory component. Generally, there are 10 to 20 students each year who receive a marginal pass or failing grade on the first examination. The marginal pass students are directed to the graduate students for tutorial help. Those students who fail spectacularly are directed toward Dr. Evey. As part of their tutorial help, Dr. Evey helps these failing students to prepare practice practical examinations for their classmates. The students being tutored provide an answer to key to their classmates. Inevitably, spirited discussions ensue regarding the identifications. With Dr. Evey's moderation, the students being tutored defend their identifications to their classmates. These activities occur in the late evening and early morning hours. Everyone benefits.

Grading written examinations. There are four written examinations for the anatomy component of the SBMP block. Each of these 4 examinations includes three essay questions that make up 36 points of written examination. The students are asked to limit their answers to 6 written pages per question. Many students write for the full 6 pages on all questions. Dr. Evey is solely responsible for the grading of all essay questions. For a single term of gross anatomy Dr. Evey grades upwards of 10,000 pages(6 pages per question X 3 questions per examination X 4 examinations X 150 students = 10,800 written pages) of hand written essay answers.

In addition to preparing answer keys for the essay questions that Dr. Evey grades himself, he also mentors the graduate students in their preparation for grading short answer questions. Dr. Evey meets with the graduate students to provide guidance about specifying the essential information required of an answer, the weighting of points, and the strategy of fairness in grading.

Preparing examinations. Dr. Evey has the primary responsibility for preparing the written and laboratory examinations for the second half of the gross anatomy component of SBMP. This includes preparing four examinations. There are two written examinations and two laboratory examinations. The first two examinations cover the anatomy of the back and upper limb and the second two examinations cover the anatomy of the head and neck.

Attending lectures. Dr. Evey attends all lectures pertaining to the anatomy component of SBMP. This includes lectures covering radiology, clinical science, and basic anatomy. During each lecture he writes notes and formulates questions that may be asked on either the message boards or on the written examinations or both. A series of freshly written questions are posted to the message boards during the concluding minutes of each lecture. Including his own lectures, Dr. Evey attends more than 70 lectures. He consults with each lecturer about the questions he has written. Ultimately, for the second half of the course, Dr. Evey writes the examinations and is responsible for the grading.

In preparation for the laboratory examinations, Dr. Evey meets with the graduate students and the core teaching faculty to discuss the administration of the upcoming examination. Each laboratory examination has a signature that reflects the interest of the class and the teaching faculty. All laboratory questions are based on identifying fresh dissections done during the preparation of the examination. Dr. Evey guides the graduate students and the teaching faculty in their dissections to assure that the questions are fairly balanced across the subject matter. Dr. Evey is also responsible for selecting the radiographs that are to be included on the laboratory examination.

Dr. Evey participates in the administration of all eight examinations for the anatomy component of SBMP. Generally, the preparation for the day of examination begins at 5 AM. The answer key for the laboratory examination is posted immediately at the conclusion of the examination. Dr. Evey encourages students to look at the examination key and provide feedback about identifications that may be interpreted different from the answer key. This feedback is taken into consideration during the grading of the laboratory examinations. The laboratory examination are graded that evening. For the co-directors of the course, Drs. Evey and Zagon, examination days are generally 18 - 20 hours long.

The message boards. A typical day of teaching in the anatomy course begins with a 3 hour laboratory in the morning followed by an afternoon lecture that is, in turn, followed by a second three hour laboratory. The day is not over. The co-directors consult in the evening about the events of each day and about the progress of the students. Dr. Evey uses the evening hours to answer questions that the medical students ask on the message boards and to update the anatomy Wiki. Dr. Evey also honors requests by the students to return to the laboratory in the evening hours. The time required for the daily activities involved with teaching gross anatomy is routinely 15-18 hours.

List of courses and workshops taught in support of outreach-based instruction, including continuing and distance education, service learning courses, international programs, cooperative extension programs, and clinical assignments at Penn State

List of advising responsibilities

• Anatomy graduate students in laboratory teaching, lecture preparation, and grading examinations
• Faculty colleagues in laboratory teaching, lecture preparation, and grading examinations

Concise compilation of results of student evaluation from multiple sources, documented evaluation of candidate's programs, activities, and skills in relating to clientele

If student comments from such sources as student evaluations, formal interviews, or exit surveys are reviewed, the findings should be presented by a summary statement that conveys the students' sense of strengths and weaknesses

Faculty input concerning the evaluation of teaching effectiveness, including any statements from colleagues who have visited the candidate's classroom and evaluated his or her teaching, or who are in good position to evaluate outreach-based instruction or advising

Peer review shall consider a range of teaching activities including, but not limited to, the development of materials such as case studies and class assignments, course or teaching portfolios, advising, research collaboration, and graduate student mentoring. Internal letters about teaching effectiveness should be included in the section.

• Solicit letters from Tom C. Pritchard (SBMP - Cranial Nerves), Ralph Norgren (NBS - Phenius Gage and Localization of Function), and Ian S. Zagon (SBMP) based on their visits to my classroom.
• Solicit letter from Ralph regarding teaching electrode technology to laboratory staff beginning in the Traver's era. I developed the glass insulation technique
• Solicit letter from Ralph regarding developing and teaching surgical techniques. In particular, I developed a dorsal approach to the geniculate ganglion and taught the surgical technique to Seltzer and Lundy. I also developed microelctrode construction techniques and taught these techniques to new staff.

Any statements from administrators which attest to the candidate's teaching and advising effectiveness

• Letter from Richard Simons regarding exit interviews

Other evidence of resident and/or outreach-based teaching and advising effectiveness (e.g., performance of students in subsequent courses; tangible results and benefits derived by clientele; recipient of teaching awards)

• Teaching awards
• Visitation statistics for gross anatomy and medical histology websites

Supervision of graduate and undergraduate dissertations, theses, projects, monographs, performances, productions, and exhibitions required for degrees; types of degrees and years granted

• Anatomy graduate student teaching

Supervision of other undergraduate research

• Ben Brooksby - image processing and medical histology laboratory website
• Ashley Pistorio - medical histology website

Teaching materials available as supplementary materials, including such items as case studies and teaching portfolios

• Include copies of upperlimb/back and head/neck written examinations highlighting the sole authorship, the essay questions, and grading.

Membership on graduate degree candidates' committees

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-- LorenEvey - 11 Jan 2010

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