Robert K. Kamei, MD, is Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He also holds a tenured faculty position at Duke University, USA.
From 2006 to 2016, he served as the founding Vice Dean (Education) at Duke-NUS Medical School, a collaboration between Duke University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). In that role, he led the development of a pedagogical approach (Team LEAD) at our new school that served as a model for curriculum change at Duke University Medical School, USA; and other schools in Singapore and around the world, such as the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Singapore. In 2014, he was a recipient of the Outstanding Educator in Residence Award given by the Singapore Ministry of Education.
He was Associate Provost (Education) and founding Director, Institute for Application of Learning Science and Educational Technology (ALSET) at NUS from July 2016 to 2019. ALSET focuses on the rigorous study of educational best practices in the classroom.
He currently teaches two undergraduate courses at the National University of Singapore on the learning sciences and cognitive biases. These courses are among the most popular elective courses at NUS, with a current enrolment of over 1200 students this semester. His book, Strategic Learning: A Holistic Approach to Studying, will be published later this year to guide students in higher education to learn better.
A paediatrician by training, his career has been devoted to medical education and the learning sciences. At the University of California, San Francisco he directed one of the largest paediatric training programs in the United States at the time (1989-2006).
While at UCSF, he co-edited the reference textbook, "Fundamentals of Pediatrics" with Dr Abraham Rudolph. This textbook was one of the major resource books for medical students in the United States.
Professor Kamei holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. In 2000, he served as a United States Fulbright Senior Scholar in Indonesia.
Professor Kamei’s current educational interests includes pedagogical applications of the learning sciences, global health (open source educational materials), quality improvement, educational data analytics.
In 2006, he directed Duke-NUS Medical School’s educational ground-breaking efforts to integrate technology with the team-based learning pedagogical approach. Duke-NUS was one of the first schools in the world to demonstrate that this teaching method, firmly grounded in the learning sciences, could be successfully implemented in medical education. This set in motion similar efforts throughout Singapore and the world, including Duke University, United States.
His interest in global health led to the development of the Learning in Ten project where faculty, staff and students at Duke-NUS and Duke University worked together to produce 10 min videos on a variety of clinical topics. These were produced to serve as a freely available reputable resource for healthcare professional trainees. There are now over 300 videos which garner over 1 million views/year and several schools that have requested access to this video library.
His two large undergraduate courses at the National University of Singapore on the learning sciences and cognitive biases allow him the opportunity to investigate how to use technology to scale the classroom and include many learners, while maintaining a high-quality educational program. His courses are available to learners outside of NUS, offered through the School of Continuing and Lifelong Education.
Professor Kamei’s website is associated with his undergraduate courses and serves a growing community of learners around the world interested in how to optimize their learning.
Professor Kamei’s research interests includes medical education, higher education, learning sciences, educational data analytics.
Selected Publications:
Compton, S., Kamei, R., & Cook, S. (2016). The history and future of Team-Based Learning. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2010105815624427
Goh, S. H., Tan, K. H., Kamei, R. K., & Koo, W. H. (2015). Academic Medicine Education Institute (AM· EI): Transforming the Educational Culture of Health Professionals. Ann Acad Med. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sandy_Cook2/publication/280329142_Academic_Medicine_
Education_Institute_(AMEI)_Transforming_the_Educational_Culture_of_Health_Professionals/links/
55e6353e08aebdc0f58bb0cf.pdf
Kamei, R. (2020). Strategic Learning: A Holistic Approach to Studying: World Scientific Publishing Co. (in press)
Kamei, R. K., Chen, H. C., & Loeser, H. (2004). Residency is not a race: our ten-year experience with a flexible schedule residency training option. Academic Medicine. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Abstract/2004/05000/Residency_Is_Not_a_Race__Our_Ten_
Year_Experience.15.aspx
Kamei, R. K., Cook, S., & Puthucheary, J. (2012). 21st century learning in medicine: Traditional teaching versus team-based learning. Medical Science Educator. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03341758
Rudolph, A. M., Kamei, R. K., & Overby, K. J. (2002). Rudolph's fundamentals of pediatrics.
Sheikh, J. I., Badr, K. F., Kamei, R. K., & Arayssi, T. (2014). Three global adaptations of the American medical education model. Innovations in Global. Retrieved from http://www.qscience.com/doi/abs/10.5339/igmhe.2013.3
Sherif, Y., McAdams, M., Cook, S., & Kamei, R. K. (2015). Medical Students' Exposure to Bedside Teaching. Medical Science. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40670-014-0074-6
Williams, R. S., Casey, P. J., Kamei, R. K., Buckley, E. G., Soo, K. C., Merson, M. H., . . . Dzau, V. J. (2008). A global partnership in medical education between Duke University and the National University of Singapore. Academic Medicine, 83(2), 122-127. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e318160b8bc