Dr. Richard Hovey is the Directory of Faculty Development. In other words, he is here to assist the Faculty’s teaching staff with their teaching and assessment needs. Richard Hovey brings 35 years of teaching experience to the Faculty. He specializes in:
- creative techniques to teaching healthcare content
- application of learning theories
- methods of evaluation and assessment
He also has an acute awareness of the challenges of the intensive dentistry curriculum. His experience allows for a comprehensive, coordinated strategy specifically designed to meet the needs of faculty members, clinical instructors and graduate students. Dr. Hovey is available to all teaching staff, whether the course be at the undergraduate level, the graduate level, in the classroom or in the clinic. With a background in pedagogy, Dr. Hovey is well positioned for such a role. His experiences in education include working with learners of all ages and background with a specialization in adult and professional education. He graduated with a M.Ed., a M.A. and a Ph.D. all from Faculties of Education. He is also a member of tEACH, a teaching-learning subgroup of the European Association of Communication in Healthcare (an innovative group of communication experts in healthcare worldwide), and is our liaison with Teaching and Learning Services at McGill. For years he has been taking educational materials and translating them into teachable materials for multiple audiences with careful attention the context in which the learning occurs, helping students to engage with and learn from one another. He has also developed an extensive network of professionals to help inform education strategies and support teaching needs. “If I can’t help you, I know people that can”, says Dr. Hovey. As part of this new initiative Dr. Hovey needs to know what are your concerns, needs and thoughts about teaching in dentistry. He is available to help individuals or departments to increase student engagement and interaction, modify the assessment format, interpret student assessments and make changes accordingly, and identify issues or areas that need help. He can meet you both on a formal or informal bases, to chat about teaching and learning. Please feel free to contact him directly at richard.hovey [at] mcgill.ca.