With the pandemic behind us, one positive outcome of that experience is that we now have more options for delivering material to students. Although using videos isn't new, my experience in PA education is that we prefer in-person live lectures because most programs are campus-based. Overall, we...

Lately, there have been some interesting musings in the educational literature about lectures. One article suggested ways of keeping students' attention during lectures is through incorporating active learning, which is supported by research (Hoekstra, 2025). Numerous studies place student...

Extra credit can be a divisive issue among faculty. Despite this ongoing disagreement, the literature suggests that the use of extra credit in higher education is more popular these days than in the past (Izienicki & Setchfield, 2019; Norcross et al., 1989; Norcross et al., 1993; Weimer,...

Although there is a plethora of evidence-based information about the importance of engaging students in active learning, many of us still use lectures as a major method of teaching. Lecture is still an acceptable, useful, and effective teaching method if you include active and engaging components...

Academic integrity has always been an interest of mine. Over the years, I have come to appreciate the challenges it creates for us as faculty and trying to understand why students don't seem to value it. I, for one, continue to believe that honesty and integrity are important, especially for...

I would venture to guess that most of us are very familiar, if not most comfortable with, single-answer, multiple-choice exams to evaluate student knowledge. However, we need a different type of assessment when assessing performance, either on a skills type exam such as a simulated patient...

Ah, instructional objectives. I bet you were tempted not to read this article! My experience has been that they tend to evoke strong feelings in both faculty and students in a love-hate kind of way. Faculty do not enjoy writing them; students sometimes feel there are too many, and they...

Are you the kind of faculty member who gets to the office early, usually before everyone else, and tends to be the last to leave? Are you the first to offer to help a student or colleague in need? Are you spending your evenings and weekends reading assignments, writing an exam, or planning for...

With the fall upon us, many faculty are welcoming new cohorts and rolling up their sleeves to begin a new semester and course. So, I thought it would be good to talk about workload. One of the things I consistently hear from faculty is their concern about workload. In my experience and my...

I recently read a moving article by Stephen L. Chew, Ph.D. from Samford University, titled: The Indication of a Great Teacher. So much of what he wrote resonated with me because we share a passion for what it means to be a teacher and the impact we can have on our students. 

What makes a...