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Last month while on pharmacy teaching rotation at my University, I had the unique opportunity to participate in a resident workshop to introduce them to teaching. This workshop lasted two days and made an effort to introduce basic concepts that the residents need when they make lectures in the classroom. I wasn't really sure what to expect with the workshop. I was afraid it was going to be boring, basic info about speaking and using PowerPoint. I couldn't have been more wrong!

Some of the highlights:

• The Dean of our College spoke about how important it is to serve as a leader and a mentor for students. While he recognized how important it was to be organized and well-read, he also emphasized how being encouraging and respectful can go a long way. Finally, he wanted us to keep in mind not to let students get into the "binge and purge" method of memorizing for a test and to really test how well the students learned.
• Another professor used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to demonstrate how students have different types of personalities and learning styles. She noted that most students are "ISTJ", but you can't generalize too much. She gave an example of how some students study better in groups and others don't. Most importantly, she reminded us that we can't just think about how we learn but consider others as well.
• Developing a teaching philosophy was the most difficult task within the workshop. I had never considered what I thought was important to teach others, especially since I'm still a student. It took a couple weeks for me to get it just perfect, but I'm really glad I have it to reflect upon now.
• Finally, we looked at writing test questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Wish they would have taught us this concept as students!! It was difficult to write example questions at a high level of thinking and still keep them fair. Now I understand why test questions sometimes get thrown out because of intense discussion.