Rough draft.This research track is under review with Dr. Atit's lab. Content and sequence may still change.

Here's an example of what's due today

What the Surgeries Are Actually For

Disease domain · Lesson 11 of 20 · Shared clinical backbone (the cleft team)

Today's goal: Students will explain the clinical purpose and approximate timing of cleft lip repair (cheiloplasty) and cleft palate repair (palatoplasty) from a family's point of view, distinguishing the form goal from the speech goal.

Learn first

What a finished product looks like

This is a model of the work you should turn in. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your wording should be your own.

Parent-friendly surgery explainer

Completes: A three-sentence, plain-language explanation of the two surgeries' purposes and timing for a family.

For Mateo's parents:

1. 'The lip surgery, at around 3 months, is mainly about form: it makes his upper lip continuous and his nostril more symmetric, so his smile looks whole.'

2. 'The palate surgery, at around 9 to 12 months, is mainly about function: it separates the cavities, the mouth from the nose, so food and air stop leaking between them, and it gives him a working roof of the mouth so he can learn to speak.'

3. 'We cannot wait years on the palate, because that second half of the first year is when speech sounds start to form, and an open palate cannot build the air pressure speech needs.'

Also due today: Note these are typical-timeline ages from the reviews and CDC; real teams individualize, and the diagnosis is still not named.

Learn first

How this was built, step by step

The finished product above did not appear all at once. Here is the path from the question to the turned-in work, so you can follow the same steps.

1Start from today's question: What clinical problem does each surgery solve, and why is each one scheduled when it is?
2Work the Model and the Explore questions to reason it out before writing anything.
3Pull the specific evidence the product needs from the reading and any database you used.
4Write it up in the required format: Counsel Mateo's parents in three short sentences a non-medical parent could follow: (1) what the lip surgery is for and roughly when, (2) what the surgery is for and roughly when, and (3) why the palate cannot just wait until he is older. Use the words 'form,' 'speech,' and 'separate the cavities.'
5Check it against the rubric, then submit.

How this is graded (rubric)

For: Counsel Mateo's parents in three short sentences a non-medical parent could follow: (1) what the lip surgery is for and roughly when, (2) what the palate surgery is for and roughly when, and (3) why the palate cannot just wait until he is older. Use the words 'form,' 'speech,' and 'separate the cavities.'

Criterion	Proficient	Developing	Beginning
Complete	Every required part of the artifact is present and filled in.	Most parts are present, but one is missing or left blank.	Several parts are missing.
Accurate	The science and data are correct and match the evidence.	Mostly correct, with a small factual slip.	Key science or data is wrong.
Scientific reasoning (CER)	States a claim, backs it with specific evidence, and explains the reasoning.	Has a claim and evidence, but the reasoning is thin or missing.	Gives an answer with no evidence or reasoning.
Professional communication	Clear, organized, and labeled the way a clinician or scientist would write it.	Readable but disorganized or missing labels.	Hard to follow.
Submitted	Turned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed.	Turned in, but in the wrong place or unconfirmed.	Not turned in.

How the model answer scores against this rubric

CompleteProficient: Nothing is left blank: the model fills every part of "Counsel Mateo's parents in three short sentences a non-medical parent could follow: (1) what the lip surgery is for and roughly when, (2) what the palate surgery is for and roughly when, and (3) why the palate cannot just wait until he is older. Use the words 'form,' 'speech,' and 'separate the cavities.'".
AccurateProficient: Every number and claim matches the case evidence.
Scientific reasoning (CER)Proficient: It names a claim, cites the specific evidence, and explains the reasoning, not just the answer.
Professional communicationProficient: It is organized and labeled like a real chart note.
SubmittedProficient: It would be turned in on Schoology and confirmed.

Check yourself

WebXam problem for today's skill

One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.

WebXam-style domain: Surgical management and timingSelf-check skill: Matching each cleft operation to its clinical purpose and explaining why palate repair is timed to the first year

On a standard cleft care timeline, lip repair is done around 3 months and palate repair around 9 to 12 months. Why is palate repair scheduled in the second half of the first year rather than several years later?

Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.

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