Transcript How to give a seminar

How to give a Seminar
Course for Young Psychiatrists; Nairobi
March 2007
David Goldberg,
Institute of Psychiatry,
King’s College, London
Two kinds of seminar
CLINICAL: these may be getting worse
than once they were
ACADEMIC: these are, or should be,
getting a lot better
Clinical Seminars
(as they once were)
When a case was presented, the attempt was
made to understand the development of the
disorder; in terms of genetic endowment (in so
far as this was ever known), personality,
adverse development and affective change.
Many psychotic illnesses can be understood in
this way; schizophrenia or an organic process
was diagnosed when the attempt failed.
Clinical Seminars
as they often are now
The trainee fits the patient on to the nearest
DSM-4 category; if a personality disorder is
present it must conform to DSM-4
description, and is declared to be “co-morbid”
with it.
Other disorders can also be present, on other
axes.
The attempt to understand is, well, oldfashioned
Academic Seminars
as they usually were
Each week, two doctors were chosen to read
a paper; the seminar leader and the other
doctors listened to the presentation
how many of you recognise this?
what is wrong with it?
Academic Seminars
as they usually were
Each week, two doctors were chosen to read
a paper; the seminar leader and the other
doctors listened to the presentation
PROBLEM: Most of the doctors were passive
listeners, and the quality was limited by the
ability of the presenting doctor.
We can do much better than that!
Four better kinds:
1. Active problem solving
2. Seminars on your own special
interest
3. Seminars followed by exercises
4. Critical seminars
Active problem solving - 1
These need careful forward planning. You
can discuss up to two problems per week.
For each problem, choose about three papers
making different contributions to it; and
then write down the problem in the form of
a question
Divide the students into groups of six; give
ALL students a paper to read a week
beforehand, but do not tell them the
question
Some examples….
In what way can social conditions ever cause
a mental disorder?
How does the environment increase, or
decrease, the probability of gene expression
in the phenotype?
Active problem solving - 2
On the day of the seminar, the students are
given the question and meet for at least one
hour. During this time they must present
their papers to one another, and devise the
best answer the the question.
One acts as rapporteur, another as A-V
person with felt pens and OHPs. (If desired,
a-v materials can be prepared beforehand).
Active problem solving - 3
Both groups of students now come together
with the seminar leader, and present their
answers to him or her. Students can ask
questions of one another, and the leader
If two problems have been discussed, each
group presents their own problem.
Active problem solving - 4
ADVANTAGE: All students read something
beforehand, and are actively engaged in the
discussion with one another.
It is economical of the teacher’s time, as it
is not necessary to be present at their
earlier meeting
Seminar on your special interest -1
Get the students – as many as six – to
prepare different papers (preferably not
your own!) one week beforehand. They each
have up to 10 minutes – not a second more! –
to present at the seminar.
Encourage then to make their own a-v
support materials. Tell them all you want is
the main conclusion of the paper, and any
critical comments about the paper they may
have.
Seminar on your special interest -2
You can give a talk, with the papers by
the students fitted in to make it
interesting.
Leave at least 20 minutes for
discussion
ADVANTAGE: Many students involved,
and they have an opportunity to hear
about your own research from you.
Seminars followed by practical
exercise
These are especially useful for students to
gain “hands on” experience of procedures
such as
choosing the most appropriate
experimental design to solve a problem;
 doing a statistical test; or
 solving a problem in epidemiology.
Seminars followed by practical
exercise
These are especially useful for students to
gain “hands on” experience of procedures
such as
choosing the most appropriate
experimental design to solve a problem;
 doing a statistical test; or
 solving a problem in epidemiology.
(Students may stay on until they have
produced a satisfactory solution)
Critical Seminars - 1
These are good if students need
practice in spotting errors and
developing a critical stance towards
papers.
Choose a recent paper with at least one
thing wrong with it. Ask students to
read it beforehand.
Critical Seminars - 2
On the day, allocate different tasks to
each pair of students.
Ask students in turn to present their
conclusions
The tasks might be:
1. Is there a clear hypothesis? If there is, is it
supported?
2. Are the subjects appropriate, and are there enough
of them? Could they have biassed the results?
3. Are the measures appropriate – if not, what would
have been better, and why?
4. Are the statistical tests appropriate?
5. Are results presented clearly?
6. Are they discussed adequately?
7. Does the Abtract do justice to the paper?
There are probably many
more ways. (If so, tell me now!)
Which ever way you carry them out, always
obtain FEEDBACK from your students at the
end of the course.
What could they have done without?
What still isn’t clear?
What else would they have liked you to cover?