Notes and Plans for Biostatistics Course for Clinical Pharmacology Fellows
- Less didactic with more examples and more practical information
- Hammer simple points
- Document "must knows"
- Have students read in advance and minimize the use of the projector
- Give homework and give tests for self-assessment
- Homework can consist of analyzing small datasets, choosing tests and descriptive statistics, and interpretation of statistical calculations
- Spend more time on interpretation
- Consider presenting methods used in bad papers
- Provide clearer learning objectives
- Make sure all students meet minimum standards
- Force reading and other work in advance
- Each student will have to present one section of material for 20 min. (approx. 5 slides)
- Add a new section on the scientific and ethical approach to research related to designs and prospective analysis plans
- Obtain feedback during sessions
- Remind students about clinics
For journal clubs, discuss
- Nuances of trial design
- Explanation of tests
- Weaknesses
and consider assigning presenters to bring out some statistical points. Have a free-for-all after the presentation.
Ideas for the student presentations
- Have one fellow present an introduction to the day's topic at the start of class
- Each presentation should last 15-20 minutues
- Before class, fellows should have read all of the assigned material, but do not try to cover every idea during the student presentation. It is better to provide a good, thorough introduction rather than a brief overview of all topics.
- If appropriate, discuss the portions of the topic that pertain to your research or recent papers that you have read. One nice way of organizing a lecture is to start with a specific example (given in the student presentation), continue with general applications and ideas (handled by the instructors), and finishing with more specifics (by the instructors).
- Highlight any areas that you think are unclear and require further explanation