Team teaching can be successfully used in first-year optometry. Conditions for success include a strong coordinator, mutual respect and participation of team members, and agreement about course philosophy, goals, and objectives. If organized well, a team-taught course offers consistency and integrity of topical areas and conceptual continuity.…

At the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, a core course in pediatric optometry was revised to use a problem-centered approach and implemented with a class of 147 students. Students were assigned specific roles to distribute work evenly. A survey found students responded positively to this approach. (MSE)

A problem-based learning approach emphasizing problem solving and self-directed learning was designed for third-year students entering vision therapy clinic rotations. The approach's use in a clinical setting, student and faculty response, and preliminary conclusions about the approach's advantages and disadvantages are discussed. (Author/MSE)