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The 2012 ADEAGies/AADR ADCFP will be a year-long Fellowship for dental students and allied dental students and their mentors beginning at the 2012 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition and ending at the 2013 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. Components of the Fellowship are:

• Two half-day Fellow/Mentor Training Sessions at the 2012 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition
• Four webinar training sessions
• Biweekly collaboration meetings between Fellow and Mentor
• Faculty/administrator interviews
• Teaching practicum in four settings
• Career Reflection Essays
• Research practicum
• Poster presentation at the 2013 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition
• ADCFP Portfolio
• ADCFP Evaluations

2012 Fellow/Mentor Training Session

The 2012 Fellow/Mentor Training Session will held Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20 and 21, at the 2012 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida. The sessions will orient fellow-mentor teams from each school to the goals, components, and expectations of ADCFP Fellowship. Fellows and mentors will learn and practice planning and communication skills pertinent to establishing and maintaining an effective mentor-student relationship.

Sessions will be led by the Academy of Academic Leadership and ADEA in a hands-on format which will provide opportunities to practice and discuss key aspects of the Fellowship such as interviewing skills, giving and receiving feedback, teaching best practices for the clinic and classroom and communicating expectations. The sessions will be scheduled as a half-day on the first day in the afternoon and a half-day morning-only program on the second day to allow participants to depart for home in the afternoon. Topics covered in this session will be:

• ADCFP Overview and Goals
• Building and Sustaining a Mentorship Relationship

There will be four webinar training sessions that will be organized in the first two months of the Fellowship. Topics for these sessions will be:

• Conducting Faculty Interviews
• Fellows’ Teaching Practicum: Purpose, Format, and Expectations
• Fellows’ Research Project: Purpose, Format, and Expectations
• Best Practices for Teaching in Clinic

Biweekly collaboration meetings between Fellows and Mentors

ADEAGies Fellows and their Mentors are expected to meet twice a month to plan Fellowship activities and assess progress throughout the Fellowship year. A schedule of routinely occurring meetings for April 2012 through February 2013 should be submitted with the Fellowship plan. Students will maintain a record of meetings with their mentors using a log book provided at the training session and will include the log in their ADCFP Portfolio at the conclusion of the Fellowship. By May 1, 2012, Mentors and Fellows will be expected to develop and submit a plan for the Fellowship year that includes seven items:

• Fellow’s statement of personal objectives for the Fellowship year
• Schedule of Fellow-Mentor meetings
• Fellow’s first teaching philosophy essay
• Specific teaching assignments for the Fellow
• List of faculty to be interviewed by the Fellow
• Description of the Fellow’s research project
• Additional activities to be undertaken by Fellow or Fellow/Mentor team to help Fellow achieve personal objectives

Faculty/Administrator Interviews

With guidance and coordination by the Mentor, the Fellow will be expected to interview 12 dental school faculty and administrators at his or her school in the categories described below to obtain perspectives on academic careers in dental education. A recommended interview protocol, including a sequenced series of questions, will be provided to the Fellows and Mentors at the webinar, where Fellows will practice conducting interviews and receiving feedback. Use of a structured interview protocol allows all Fellows to address similar issues and obtain similar information from the interview process. Faculty who agree to be interviewed will be provided with the questions in advance to assist in preparation for these sessions. Fellows will type a synopsis of each interview and an overall summary report and place these documents in their ADCFP Portfolios. At the conclusion of the interviews, the Mentor and Fellow will meet to discuss what insights, perspectives and information the Fellow learned from these interviews. Fellows will be asked to complete the faculty interviews by December 2012 (end of fall semester).

Mentors will coordinate interviews by their student Fellow with faculty members or academic administrators in each of the following categories:

• Young (30–39) assistant professor on tenure track
• Mid-career associate professor on tenure track
• Senior and tenured full professor
• Full-time assistant professor, with appointment emphasizing teaching
• Part-time assistant professor, with appointment emphasizing teaching
• Assistant professor, with appointment emphasizing research
• Tenured associate professor, with appointment emphasizing research
• Basic science faculty member
• Chair of a clinical department
• Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
• Dean of the dental school

Teaching Practicum

With guidance, supervision, and coordination by their Mentors, Fellows will be expected to function as instructors in the four principal educational settings of a dental school curriculum: classroom (didactic course), preclinical lab, small-group conference, and clinic. Using checklists provided by ADCFP and introduced during the training sessions, Fellows will self-assess their teaching performance and receive feedback from their Mentors or designated other faculty members who observe the Fellow’s instructional activities. Fellows and Mentors will participate in activities in the webinar training session that review best practices for classroom and clinical teaching and provide practice opportunities. During the training session, Fellows and Mentors will practice giving and receiving feedback and other coaching skills. The nature and frequency of specific teaching assignments will be determined by each Fellow-Mentor team in conjunction with course directors at their respective schools. To provide Fellows with an adequately in-depth experience to get a sense of a dental school teacher’s multiple roles and responsibilities, the following guidelines are suggested for teaching assignments:

• Prepare and conduct one classroom presentation in each semester (fall and spring), including development of all visual materials, handouts, and other educational materials needed for the class. In conjunction with these classroom presentations, Fellows should have the experience of posting PowerPoint materials and other resources on the course website and plan an in-class activity that involves analysis of a case (problem) or some other activity to stimulate discussion among students and student-teacher interaction. The mentor and/or designated other faculty will observe and provide feedback on teaching strategies and organization of the subject matter, and the Fellow will self-assess using observations forms and self-assessment checklists provided by ADCFP.
• Conduct one small group case conference or seminar where the student/teacher serves primarily as a group facilitator and uses facilitation skills appropriate to the case conference format (guides discussion with questions, requests clarification of statements, summarizes key points, etc.). The case conference/seminar can occur in either semester. As with the classroom presentation, the Fellow will be expected to develop all educational materials needed to implement the conference/seminar. The mentor and/or designated other faculty will observe and provide feedback and the Fellow will self-assess using observations forms and self-assessment checklists provided by ADCFP.
• Serve as an instructor in the laboratory component of a preclinical course for freshmen or sophomores at least one half-day per week for eight weeks. The laboratory teaching assignment can occur in either semester, but scheduling this activity in the fall semester is encouraged to serve as preparation for teaching in the clinic. Selection of the type of lab (e.g., dental anatomy or one of the discipline-based preclinical labs) is at the discretion of the mentor in collaboration with preclinical course directors, but the goal is to provide the student with a well rounded exposure to preclinical teaching, so assignment to more than one lab course is encouraged if this can be arranged. The Fellow/teacher will be expected to provide hands-on coaching for underclassmen as they work on lab assignments. The mentor and/or designated other faculty will observe and provide feedback, and the Fellows will self-assess using observation forms and self-assessment checklists provided by ADCFP.
• Serve as a tutor in the clinic for sophomore or junior students (depending on the nature of the clinical curriculum) at least one half-day per week for eight weeks. The clinical teaching assignment can occur in either semester, but scheduling this activity in the spring semester is encouraged. The Fellow/tutor will be expected to provide hands-on coaching for an assigned group of dental students while they provide patient care in the clinic. The mentor/teacher will coordinate scheduling and either personally supervise and observe the Fellow on each day of clinical tutoring or will make arrangements for supervision and observation. Selection of the type of clinic (general/primary care versus specialty clinics) is at the discretion of the mentor in collaboration with clinic directors, but the goal is to provide the student with a well-rounded exposure to working with students in the clinic, so assignment to more than one type of clinic rotation is encouraged. Mentors or other supervising faculty will provide feedback, and the Fellows will self-assess using observation forms and self-assessment checklists provided by ADCFP.

Career Reflection Essays

Fellows will write a career reflection essay at the start of the Fellowship and at the conclusion. The purpose of the essays is to encourage the Fellows to accomplish four introspective tasks:

• Reflect on why they are interested in an academic career
• Identify priorities for the professional component of their life
• Articulate a personal philosophy of teaching based on their experiences in dental school
• Describe their impressions of being a dental school faculty member, including motivations and disincentives

The first essay is due June 1, 2012, and the second essay is due March 1, 2013. These essays will be submitted online to the ADCFP Director, to each Fellow’s Mentor, and placed in the Fellow’s portfolio. In the second essay, Fellows will be asked to describe differences in their perceptions of an academic career from the beginning to the end of the Fellowship and to reflect on "lessons learned" and insights acquired throughout the year. A template for structuring the essay, including guiding questions, will be provided to the Fellows and their Mentors at the training session.

Research Practicum

During their Fellowship year, Fellows are expected to collaborate with their faculty mentor or another faculty member on one of two types of research projects:

• A study that explores a dental education issue
• Assist a faculty member with a biomedical (e.g., benchtop research) or clinical research project

Fellow and mentor will collaborate to determine which type of research experience would be most beneficial for the student. Students are expected to submit a research topic and provide a title for the project by June 1, 2012; submit a study protocol by July 1, 2012, using a research planning template provided by ADCFP; and submit a final report on research activities, accomplishments, and outcomes by March 1, 2013. The research plan and final report are placed in the Fellow’s portfolio. The study protocol template will require the Fellow-Mentor team to provide the following information about the purpose, design, and implementation of the study:

• Topic area and title
• Synopsis of the project: rationale, basis study design, and methodology, including data collection and analysis
• Research hypothesis or question(s)
• Name of the faculty member(s) who will supervise the student during the project
• Student’s role and responsibilities on the project (what tasks will the student perform?)

An important role for the faculty Mentors during the research practicum is to assist Fellows in conceptualization of the project if they are serving as the research supervisor or making sure the Fellow has the opportunity to collaborate with an appropriate faculty member who will also assist with project conceptualization if the Mentor does not play this role. The Mentor will also help the Fellow identify opportunities to attend seminars and workshops on research methods at their school.

Poster Presentation at the 2013 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition

Fellows will develop a poster for presentation at the 2013 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Seattle, Washington, that describes their Fellowship activities with emphasis on three components of the program:

• Review and assessment of their teaching assignments, including lessons learned about this aspect of a faculty member's role
• Synopsis of their research project and lessons learned about academic scholarship
• Summary of insights about academic careers in dental education derived from their analysis of the faculty interviews

Fellows are encouraged to have photographs taken throughout the Fellowship to document their activities and assist with the poster presentation.

Fellow’s Portfolio

Fellows will assemble a portfolio that includes 11 items by the conclusion of the Fellowship:

• Student’s Fellowship Plan
• Logbook of Fellow-Mentor meetings
• Summaries of the Fellow’s interviews with faculty and administrators
• Career reflection essays written at the beginning and conclusion of the Fellowship
• Schedule of completed teaching assignments
• Teaching self-assessments completed by the Fellow for each type of teaching
• Feedback on teaching provided by the Mentor or other observing faculty member
• Evaluations provided by students who attended the Fellow’s classroom presentations and seminars
• Copies of instructional presentations by the Fellow (e.g., PowerPoint handouts)
• Protocol and final report for the Fellow’s research project
• Copy of the Fellow’s ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition poster presentation

Evaluation of ADCFP by Fellows and Faculty Mentors

Fellows and Mentors will individually participate in 20-minute phone interviews conducted by the ADCFP program evaluator in September 2012 (mid-year) and in March 2013 (end of program) to assess the ADCFP Fellowship from their respective perspectives. Fellows and their Mentors will receive the interview questions in advance of the mid-year and end-of-year phone interviews. Fellows and Mentors will also complete an online Fellowship survey at mid-year and at end-of-year that will request evaluation of the various program components. Fellows will participate in a 60-minute focus group at the 2013 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition to provide in-depth program assessment and recommendations and allow the program evaluator to follow up on issues identified in the mid-year evaluation.