Maria F. Fiocchi, D.D.S., M.S., M.S., clinical assistant professor in the department of Periodontics at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, recently completed the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) in the Health Professions Program for Dental School Faculty. The ITL is a collaborative partnership between the Academy for Academic Leadership, Atlanta, GA, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry. In a ceremony at UMKC, where the three-phase program was held, Fiocchi received a certificate recognizing her successful completion of this innovative program for new faculty and those transitioning from private practice to academia.

“The ITL program is designed to help health profession educators who are early in their academic careers become master teachers,” said Dr. N. Karl Haden, president of the Academy for Academic Leadership. “We congratulate Dr. Fiocchi on her success in this challenging program. Both her institution and the profession will benefit from her enhanced effectiveness and commitment to academic dentistry.”

A recipient of the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation Fellowship to the ITL

program, Fiocchi says that her experience as an ITL Scholar has already enabled her “to incorporate new ideas and information gained in the program to improve the learning experience for my students.”

Fiocchi received her initial dental education from the University of Buenos Aires School of Dentistry. After graduation, she discovered her enjoyment of teaching while serving as an adjunct faculty in the school’s Department of Dental Materials. She moved to the United States for further study, earning an M.S. in dental materials from New York University and a second M.S. and Certificate in Periodontics at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. Now a part-time faculty member at the Dental Branch and part-time private practitioner in Beaumont, TX, Fiocchi envisions herself as a full-time faculty member in the future. “I would like to grow as an educator,” she says, “and I feel that the ITL program has helped me toward that goal.”

The 2006 ITL program, which was organized into three residential sessions held in July, September, and November, focused on instruction in teaching methods, career development, and the academic environment. The program was designed and conducted by nationally recognized experts in education, curriculum, leadership, and higher education administration including Prof. William Hendricson, Dr. Mary Sudzina, and Dr. Judith Albino, as well as Dr. Haden and faculty and administrators at UMKC. Learning formats included discussion in large- and small-group sessions, interactive exercises, case-based and problem-based learning, and observation, as well as assignments to apply ITL learning at the Scholar’s home institution. The 2006 ITL Scholars included both dental school faculty and private practice dentists interested in pursuing academic careers.

In 2007, ITL programs will be held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (Phase I: July 12-15; Phase II: September 14-16) and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (Phase I: August 16-19; Phase II: November 9-11). For further information on these and other ITL programs and the Academy for Academic Leadership, visit www.academicleaders.org, email info@academicleaders.org, or call 404-350-2098.