
Darcie Larimore-Arenas Blog about ACUE Course
Below is a blog entry written by Darcie Larimore-Arenas.
Darcie is an Assistant Professior in the Joint MS Physician Assistant
Studies/Public Health Master’s degree program at Touro University
California.
The ACUE online course for faculty has been a game-changer for me. My
name is Darcie Larimore-Arenas, and I am an Assistant Professor for the
Dual Master Degree Program for Physician Assistant and Public Health
Program at Touro University California. I started as faculty four years
ago, having come from a clinical background in family practice and a
teaching background at the K-8 level. As a graduate of the program where
I am now teaching, I assumed (incorrectly) that teaching the next
generation of PA/MPH students would feel instinctive and that I could
fall into a rhythm guided by my personal history and experience.
Unfortunately, this was absolutely not the case. I struggled to find my
way in a variety of important areas, including curriculum development,
syllabus creation, testing, and effective use of class time. I have had
excellent colleague mentorship but felt that I was piecing together the
pathway to better teaching. Enter ACUE.
Unreservedly, I can attest that ACUE has improved my teaching – and I am
only part-way through the course. I have been able to employ practical
and meaningful changes to my courses as a result of what I am learning. I
was reticent to take on additional work and responsibilities with this
course given that I am full-time principal faculty and practice
clinically, as well. The ACUE course design has been an excellent fit
for me. The course is a hybrid of online and face-to-face meetings, and
allows for some flexibility with each deadline. The course modules
include videos demonstrating application of the teaching methods,
instructional videos that lay out crisply and efficiently how to utilize
the techniques, a plethora of reference materials and handouts, and
discussion boards to share and bounce ideas around with colleagues.
I can now speak from personal experience on the benefits of the ACUE
techniques. Since I have begun employing ACUE practices in the classroom
for improved delivery of material, students have responded
enthusiastically and with improved participation. A sampling of some of
my newly instituted techniques include mini-lessons, lecture outlines
presented at the beginning of class, small group and pair-and-share
activities to begin class or break up the lecture, and student-led
summaries of the lecture material. In addition, ACUE has greatly helped
me to better understand how to make learning outcomes student-centered
and how to align the outcomes with objectives and assessments. I am
developing improved testing methods and creating transparency in the
process so that students feel empowered for their own learning.
Not once during this course have I felt that the material presented did
not apply to me or was not useful or practicable. I have experienced
excellent support along the way and I appreciate the opportunity to
develop my teaching with this curriculum. ACUE provides a very
straightforward curriculum for higher education development and delivery
and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate. With
months of curriculum ahead of me, I am excited to see what lies in store
and how it can help me to better help my students!
Darcie Larimore-Arenas, MSPAS, MPH, PA-C
Assistant Professor
Touro University California Joint MSPAS/MPH Program