Levels of teacher involvement with resident education: A developmental model

We present a developmental model for family medicine educators. Five levels of involvement between a teacher and learner are arranged in a hierarchical order, beginning with a teacher-centered cognitive focus at the lower level, ascending to a collaborative approach involving affective and interpersonal domains at the upper levels. Each higher level describes the increasingly sophisticated teacher competencies needed to address a wide range of resident educational needs. Because the levels are parallel to physician involvement with patients, the model highlights the similar interactions that often occur in teacher-learner dyads and physician-patient dyads. Two case examples illustrate how the model can be applied in residency education. By placing teacher competencies in a developmental sequence, the model offers a practical framework to guide faculty development. Also, the model can be used to investigate transferred isomorphism in residency supervision.