Improving Medical Education Through Targeted Coaching

Medical education is shifting from a lecture-based teaching format toward an emphasis on active learning. Educators need support to build a collaborative learning environment where students interact with ideas and each other. In order to support medical educators who are new to teaching in the paradigm of active learning, we argue that targeted, educative coaching, rooted in educational theory, is needed. Coaching is a common practice in learning to teach and is not a new concept in medical education. What is new is targeted coaching situated within an assisted performance framework for the purpose of learning to teach effectively. Targeted coaching includes using coaching practices such as observing, debriefing, and co-planning in purposeful, educative ways. Assisted performance involves supporting the medical educator by identifying teaching skills to be learned, practicing those skills with support, and eventually preparing for unassisted performance. The purpose of this article is to describe a model of professional development that provides targeted support for medical teachers. In this paper, we outline a model of educator development and provide two stories of our model in practice, to further demonstrate how assisted performance and core coaching practices can be used together to impact teaching.