Implementation and Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Team-Based Learning in a Graduate Public Health Research Methods Course

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delia L. Lang ◽  
Elizabeth Reisinger Walker ◽  
Riley J. Steiner ◽  
Rebecca C. Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Team Based Learning ◽  
Course Material

Master of Public Health (MPH) students must develop skills to work in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional teams upon graduation. Teaching pedagogies that involve active learning and collaboration between students, such as team-based learning (TBL), may be helpful in preparing students to work in teams. To our knowledge, there is no literature examining TBL specifically in the context of graduate public health education to date. This study evaluated the implementation of TBL in a Behavioral Science Research Methods course on the following outcomes: (a) engagement with the course material, (b) perceived effectiveness of TBL components, (c) experience working in teams, and (d) perceived mastery of learning outcomes. We conducted a survey of first-year MPH students enrolled in the TBL research methods course ( n = 45 respondents) and three focus groups ( n = 17 total). Two focus groups were conducted with second-year MPH students who previously took a lecture-based version of the course ( n = 10 total). Overall, students in the TBL research methods course felt confident in their mastery of learning outcomes. Students appeared more engaged with the TBL course material than with material from lecture-based courses. They also perceived this instructional method to be effective in facilitating learning. Main themes that emerged around working in teams included the central role of teammates in students’ learning, the logistic and procedural roles students took on within their teams, and team dynamics. The TBL format engages MPH students in course content and has strong potential for preparing students for collaborative work in diverse teams.

Linking Class and Community

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Fleck ◽  
Heather D. Hussey ◽  
Lily Rutledge-Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Student Preference ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Traditional Manner

This study contributes to the service learning (SL) literature by providing new empirical evidence of learning from a problem-based SL research project conducted in a developmental research methods course. Two sections of the course taught in a traditional manner were compared to two sections of the course taught with an integrated SL project involving a local Boys & Girls Club. Pre- and posttest scores of the groups were compared in regard to content knowledge, civic engagement, and perceptions of the course. Results indicated that the SL students outperformed the control courses in learning outcomes. Civic engagement did not significantly change over the course of the semester. Student preference data indicated that most enjoyed the SL course, found it helpful, and thought it contributed to their understanding of the course material. The findings are related to past research and theoretical underpinnings that support SL.

Potential Potholes: Predicting Challenges and Learning Outcomes in Research Methods in Psychology Courses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalyn Stoa ◽  
Tsz Lun Chu ◽  
Regan A. R. Gurung
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Canonical Correlation ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Methods Courses ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Psychology Courses ◽  
Students Attitudes

Identifying impediments to learning can help both instructors and students. In this study students (N ¼ 222) from across the nationlisted concepts from research methods they found the most challenging—“potholes” or impediments to learning, and also ratedthe difficulty of various concepts from the class. We also measured student attitudes and perceptions of the course. Our resultsshowed validity is one of the hardest concepts for students to understand in RM. Not surprisingly, within a list of concepts inresearch methods, students tend to be tripped up by terms of similar grouping. Perceptions of a research methods course wasstrongly related to the students’ attitudes and canonical correlation analysis revealed several important findings from our data set.For example, we found that when students perceive more value, expectancy for success, cognitive strategies, and resourcesmanagement strategies, they are less likely to be challenged by the concepts of samples and variables and threats to internalvalidity. Our findings provide a clear map of student potholes in research methods courses and suggest ways to change studentattitudes about the same.

The Research Methods Script

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Wilson ◽  
Douglas A. Hershey
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Classroom Activity ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Course Material ◽  
Event Based ◽  
Open Class

In a classroom activity for a research methods course, students identify and evaluate their own procedural knowledge of the research process. For comparative and diagnostic purposes, students generate scripts from their event-based mental representations of the research process. Students then compare their own research scripts to a script derived from expert psychologists. The activity familiarizes students with the major steps of the research process and guides their further organization and comprehension of course material. The activity also can be used to open class discussions on specific methodological topics that are script events, such as formulating hypotheses, obtaining subjects, and reporting research findings.

scholarly journals You Can Lead Students to Water, but You Can't Make Them Think: An Assessment of Student Engagement and Learning through Student-Centered Teaching

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Bradford ◽  
Denise Mowder ◽  
Joy Bohte
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Team Based Learning

The current project conducted an assessment of three student-centered teaching techniques in a criminal justice and criminology research methods class: Team-Based Learning, Incentive-Based Learning, and Flipped Classroom. The project sought to ascertain to what extent these techniques improved or impacted student learning outcomes and engagement in this traditionally difficult course. Results provide empirical evidence that students were significantly engaged with the course and benefited from these pedagogical techniques.

Recommendations for Virtual Qualitative Health Research During a Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110368
Author(s):  
Tessa Pocock ◽  
Melody Smith ◽  
Janine Wiles
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Qualitative Research Methods ◽  
Ethical Imperative ◽  
Qualitative Health Research ◽  
Online Focus Groups ◽  
Starting Point

Qualitative health research has been uniquely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Various public health directives will likely remain in place until this pandemic is fully controlled, creating long-lasting impacts on the design and conduct of qualitative health research. Virtual qualitative research provides an alternative to traditional interviews or focus groups and can help researchers adhere to public health directives. In this commentary, we respond to methodological needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we explore unique elements of, and recommendations for, the design and conduct of obtrusive virtual qualitative research (online interviews, online focus groups, and email interviews) and demonstrate crucial ethical, recruitment, analytical, and interpretive considerations. Researchers are currently faced with an ethical imperative to advance virtual qualitative research methods and ensure that rigorous qualitative health research continues during this pandemic and beyond. Our discussions provide a starting point for researchers to explore the potential of virtual qualitative research.

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