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
Topic revision: r2 - 10 Aug 2009, ChrisSlaughter
 

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