Engaging Undergraduate Public Health Students Through a Textbook Creation Project

2020 ◽  
pp. 237337992096241
Author(s):  
Jessica Sloan Kruger ◽  
Christopher Hollister
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Open Educational Resource ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Final Version ◽  
Primary Motivation ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Health Course ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Undergraduate Public Health

This study examines students’ perceptions of an open pedagogy experiment in which they created their own textbook for an undergraduate public health course. The lead author’s primary motivation for developing this assignment was the high cost associated with the traditional textbooks that were otherwise needed to cover the breadth of subject matter in the course. The resulting open textbook included 19 chapters, covering all the required components of the course, and the final version was published in a statewide open educational resource repository. Students provided feedback about this undertaking by way of an end-of-term survey. The results showed high percentages of students who associated the textbook creation project with greater engagement and satisfaction than the passive use of traditional textbooks. Students also reported their perception of a learning benefit related to the creation of course content. Pedagogical implications of this study are discussed, and future research questions are proposed.

scholarly journals Curriculum Reform in a Public Health Course at a Chiropractic College: Are We Making Progress Toward Improving Clinical Relevance?

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Borody ◽  
Hettie Till
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Chiropractic College ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Health Course ◽  
Health Care Training ◽  
Perceived Relevance

Improving education in health promotion and prevention has been identified as a priority for all accredited professional health care training programs, an issue recently addressed by a collaboration of stakeholders in chiropractic education who developed a model course outline for public health education. Using a course evaluation questionnaire, the authors surveyed students in the public health course at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) before and after the implementation of new course content based on the model course outline. Following the new course, there were significant improvements in perceived relevance to chiropractic practice and motivation to learn the material as a foundation for clinical practice. Changes made to the content and delivery of the course based on the model course outline were well received in the short term.

scholarly journals Energy Metabolism

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-76
Author(s):  
PAJ Perera ◽  
Faiz MMT Marikar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
The State ◽  
The Body ◽  
Considerable Progress ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Made In

This review considers how our understanding of energy utilized by energy metabolism has progressed since the pioneering work on this topic in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Research has been stimulated by a desire to understand how metabolic events contribute to the development of the body into the different phases, the need of considering health with which to improve the success of implication on public health. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been made in defining the roles of the traditional nutrients: pyruvate, glucose, lactate and amino acids; originally considered as energy sources and biosynthetic precursors, but now recognised as having multiple, overlapping functions. Other nutrients; notably, lipids, are beginning to attract the attention they deserve. The review concludes by up-dating the state of knowledge of energy metabolism in the early 1970s and listing some future research questions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v6i2.17646Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2013; 6(2): 68-76

Redesigning an Undergraduate Global Health Course to Increase Student Engagement and Incorporate High-Impact Educational Practices

2020 ◽  
pp. 237337992097439
Author(s):  
Denise C. Nelson-Hurwitz ◽  
Thomas H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Development ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Health Course ◽  
Undergraduate Public Health

In many undergraduate public health programs, global health is an introductory course encountered early in the curriculum. At the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the undergraduate global health course reinforces introductory content within a global health framework while building skills in preparation for upper-division work. The global health course was completely redesigned in January 2018 to increase student engagement and incorporate high-impact educational practices, including experiential learning opportunities, diversity/global learning, and collaborative assignments. New activities incorporated include a water carrying exercise to simulate efforts required for the billions of people worldwide who manually transport water for daily use and a model United Nations scenario-based activity based on a writing assignment proposing an international policy from the position of a selected country. Incorporation of relatively brief written assignments early in the undergraduate public health curriculum additionally serves to support student development of written communication skills throughout the program and helps in early identification of students who may need additional support in writing skills. Assessment of the new course was conducted through student feedback, student performance on assignments, and student growth/development throughout the course. Through successful course redesign students emerge excited about international opportunities for public health practice and with a greater empathy for global citizens living abroad.

Structured Public Health Scenario Analyses Promote Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-267
Author(s):  
David Johnson ◽  
Rishtya Kakar ◽  
Pete Walton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Scenario Analyses ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Undergraduate Public Health ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

Critical thinking is an important skill for students and public health practitioners alike, but ensuring and measuring its development beyond a theoretical framework is challenging. In this article, we describe the development and implementation of our undergraduate public health program’s signature assignment–the Scenario Analysis (SA). SAs are team-based problem-oriented simulations structured using Elements of Thought from the Paul-Elder critical thinking model. Through deliberate design and evaluation, this assignment allows student efforts to reflect critical thinking standards in a practical and measurable format. The SA assignment is highly adaptable to specific course content and topics and has utility beyond public health curricula. The purpose of this article is to highlight the value of ensuring critical thinking development within public health education and to offer an innovative assignment and pedagogical approach designed to meet this objective.

scholarly journals Controlling implicit bias: Insights from a public health perspective

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick S. Forscher ◽  
Patricia G. Devine
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Insight Into

Research on reducing or controlling implicit bias has been characterized by a tension between the two goals of reducing lingering intergroup disparities and gaining insight into human cognition. The tension between these two goals has created two distinct research traditions, each of which is characterized by different research questions, methods, and ultimate goals. We argue that the divisions between these research traditions are more apparent than real and that the two research traditions could be synergistic. We attempt to integrate the two traditions by arguing that implicit bias, and the disparities it is presumed to cause, is a public health problem. Based on this perspective, we identify shortcomings in our current knowledge of controlling implicit bias and provide a set of recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Identifying and Prioritizing Information Needs and Research Priorities of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Practitioners

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 552-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa L. Siegfried ◽  
Eric G. Carbone ◽  
Michael B. Meit ◽  
Mallory J. Kennedy ◽  
Hussain Yusuf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Emergency Preparedness And Response ◽  
Public Health Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Research Questions

AbstractObjectiveThis study describes findings from an assessment conducted to identify perceived knowledge gaps, information needs, and research priorities among state, territorial, and local public health preparedness directors and coordinators related to public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR). The goal of the study was to gather information that would be useful for ensuring that future funding for research and evaluation targets areas most critical for advancing public health practice.MethodsWe implemented a mixed-methods approach to identify and prioritize PHPR research questions. A web survey was sent to all state, city, and territorial health agencies funded through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement program and a sample of local health departments (LHDs). Three focus groups of state and local practitioners and subject matter experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were subsequently conducted, followed by 3 meetings of an expert panel of PHPR practitioners and CDC experts to prioritize and refine the research questions.ResultsWe identified a final list of 44 research questions that were deemed by study participants as priority topics where future research can inform PHPR programs and practice. We identified differences in perceived research priorities between PHEP awardees and LHD survey respondents; the number of research questions rated as important was greater among LHDs than among PHEP awardees (75%, n=33, compared to 24%, n=15).ConclusionsThe research questions identified provide insight into public health practitioners’ perceived knowledge gaps and the types of information that would be most useful for informing and advancing PHPR practice. The study also points to a higher level of information need among LHDs than among PHEP awardees. These findings are important for CDC and the PHPR research community to ensure that future research studies are responsive to practitioners’ needs and provide the information required to enhance their capacity to meet the needs of the communities and jurisdictions they serve. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:552–561)

scholarly journals From Proprietary Textbook to Custom OER Solution: Using Learner Feedback to Guide Design and Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa P. Dennen ◽  
Lauren M. Bagdy
Keyword(s):  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Open Educational Resource ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Mobile Access ◽  
Reading Material ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Beta Version

This study presents the initial needs analysis and formative evaluation of the beta version of an open educational resource (OER) textbook solution. The OER textbook, created by the authors, replaces a proprietary, paper-based textbook and is delivered to students digitally, within a learning management system. Findings show that students are concerned about cost and convenience, and are likely to seek course content online before reading material in traditional course textbook. Many do not purchase assigned textbooks at all. Students also want mobile access to course readings, and for those readings to be brief and targeted, covering just the necessary content for completing coursework. Students provided positive feedback on the OER textbook, indicating that it helped them meet course learning objectives. The online integration of reading and other content materials within the LMS encouraged use. Students reported higher rates of access and appreciation that it was free. These findings suggest that instructors should consider the cost, format, length, and relevance of assigned readings in courses, whether they are ready to adopt, adapt or create open digital textbooks or continue to use proprietary, paper-based ones. 

scholarly journals How to Fight Fair Use Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt: The Experience of One Open Educational Resource

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Weeramuni
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Fair Use ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Open Educational Resource ◽  
Educational Resource ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Course Content ◽  
The Face ◽  
The University

At the launch of one of the early online open educational resources (OER) in 2002, the approach to addressing copyright was uncertain. Did the university or the faculty own their material? How would the third-party material be handled? Was all of its use considered fair use under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) because of its educational purpose? Or was permission-seeking necessary for this project to succeed and protect the integrity of faculty and university? For many years, this OER was conservative in its approach to third-party material, avoiding making fair use claims on the theory that it was too risky and difficult to prove in the face of an infringement claim. Additionally, being one of the early projects of its kind, there was fear of becoming a target for ambitious copyright holders wanting to make headlines (and perhaps win lawsuits). It was not until 2009 that the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare was written by a community of practitioners who believed that if fair use worked for documentary film makers, video creators, and others (including big media), it worked in open education as well. Once this Code was adopted, universities and institutions were able to offer more rich and complete course content to their users than before. This paper explains how it happened at this early open educational resource offering.

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