b'Guide to Digital ClerkshipsKNOWLEDGE & CASE EXPERIENCEStrategies for Empowering Independence and Group-Directed LearningPerceived AbsenteeismSet the stage to be, Im not here to talk; its up to you. By holding the students responsible for creating and engaging in discussion, you can shift your role from lecturer to facilitator.Instill discussion responsibility with one of two approaches: Students work as a team from the beginning, use whatever resources they prefer, and come to a consensus as a group. Students work individually to reach preliminary conclusions, come together as ateam to identify differing conclusions, and use resources to reach final consensus.When there is perceived faculty absenteeism, the learners have freedom to be themselves and express ideas more openly. In doing so, they reveal their thought process, engagement, and habits in the team setting. If students think, I guess were on our own, they will take ownership of thinking and working as a team quicker.Stay out of the wayexcept to ask questionsHearing your students stumble toward and away from the right answer can be exciting and painful concurrently. The impulse to instruct and teach is nearly impossible to suppress in those moments. You know the right answer, and the learners know that you know the right answer. But this is learning by failure. Students will remember the things they initially get wrong far better than if you give them the right answer.If you inadvertently slip into explaining everything, the time is transformed into a disorganized and poorly planned lecture (not good). Students may even take advantage of this if you are particularly prone. It is an inverse correlation: they speak less as you speak more because it is easier for them to listen than to struggle, think, and practice. Preserve the purpose of small groups: have the learners engage the material and figure it out for themselves.Not that you are totally silent; you can observe and then guide. You are watching, moving from group to group, and listening as much as possible. Stay off your email, phone, and the EHR.Observing online isnt too different. If you lead these sessions through Zoom, you can start Breakout Rooms (see attached documentation), and then move between them. Certainly, you wont be able to see and hear everything, but if you routinely rotate through the small groups (do a small trial run so you are comfortable with the software beforehand), youll find that its very manageable. Additionally, students can, raise their hand, through the software to get your attention if you happen to be in a different room when they need you.Guiding and nudging group discussion online is the same as in person. Ask open-ended questions to promote discussion when the conversation goes staleanything will do. If students begin discussing something factually incorrect that the group fails to recognize as such, challenge the ideabut do it indirectly, in question form. Create enough doubt about the inaccuracy to spur conversation 6 OnlineMedEd. All rights reserved.'