Addressing the Under-Representation of African American Public Health Researchers: The Flint Youth Public Health Academy

In order to meet the health needs of a culturally diverse population, the United States public health workforce must become ethnically diversified to provide culturally competent care. The underrepresentation of minority, specifically African American public health professionals may be a contributing factor to the high rates of preventable health disparities in the African American community. Studies have shown that racial/ethnic communities bear the highest disparities across multiple health outcomes. African Americans, when compared with European Americans, suffer the greatest rates of health disparities, thus providing the justification to increase minority public health professionals. In addition, studies suggest that minorities are more likely to seek medical and health services from individuals of the same ethnicity. This will assist in decreasing language and comprehension barriers and increase the cultural competence of the health providers who serve populations from their ethnic/cultural origin. This chapter will highlight a 2014 study designed to explore and identify motivators for African Americans to choose public health as a career. African American public health professionals and graduate students were engaged to discuss their career and educational trajectories and motivators for career choice. Using qualitative research methods, this study was guided by the following research question: what are the motivating factors to engage African Americans into careers in public health? The study was approved by the Walden University Institutional Review Board and was conducted in 2014. The results of this study have served as the blueprint for the creation of the Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA). Coincidently the 2014 study was wrapping up at the genesis of the Flint Water Crisis (FWC). The FWC impacted residents of all ages in Flint. Specifically, the youth of Flint were exposed to lead (a neuro-toxin) and other contaminants through the water system which impacted them physically and cognitively. National media outlets disseminated headlines across the world that Flint youth would have behavioral (aggression) issues and struggle academically as a result of their exposure to lead. The FPHYA was designed to provide positive messages to and about Flint youth. It is an introduction to careers in public health, medicine, and research for Flint Youth. It creates a space for Flint youth to work through their lived experience of the FWC while learning the important role public health and research plays in recovering from an environmental public health crisis. More importantly, it is a pathway to public health careers providing didactic sessions, local mentors and internships.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Higher Education Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1

Higher Education Studies wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal are greatly appreciated. Higher Education Studies is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please contact us for the application form at: [email protected] Reviewers for Volume 10, Number 1 Antonina Lukenchuk, National Louis University, USA Aynur Yürekli, İzmir University of Economics, Turkey Bahar Gün, İzmir University of Economics, Turkey Barbara N. Martin, University of Central Missouri, USA Cristina Sin, CIPES (Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies), Portugal Deniz Ayse Yazicioglu, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey Donna.Smith , The Open University, UK Hüseyin Serçe, Selçuk University, Turkey James Badger, University of North Georgia, USA Laith Ahmed Najam, Mosul University, IRAQ Meric Ozgeldi, Mersin University, Turkey Mpoki Mwaikokesya, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania Nicos Souleles, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus Olusola Ademola Olaniyi, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia Prashneel Ravisan Goundar, Fiji National University, Fiji Robin Rawlings, Walden University, USA Sadeeqa Sadeeqa, Lahore College for Women University Lahore, Pakistan Savitri Bevinakoppa, Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia Semiyu Adejare Aderibigbe, University of Sharjah, UAE Teguh Budiharso, Center of Language and Culture Studies, Indonesia Yousef Ogla Almarshad, Aljouf University, Saudi Arabia

Facilitating Inquiry-Based Science Learning Online in a Virtual University

<p>The authors reviewed their approaches to facilitating inquiry-based science courses from 2005 through 2010 in a fully online master's degree program at Walden University designed to help teachers bring inquiry-based science to their students. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate their interaction-engagement approach in facilitating online courses, which focused on a guided inquiry approach to build understanding of core science concepts using hands-on experimental science investigations.</p>

Developing a Community of Practice in an Online Research Lab

The goal of this chapter is to present instructor and student perspectives on the development of a Communityof Practice within an online research laboratory for graduate students in psychology. A computer-facilitated learning environment was set up meet two goals: (1) to encourage individuals to work as a team on a live researchproject, and (2) to give students research skills needed to further their development as scholar-practitioners. The objective of this chapter is to identify, from the perspectives of the students and the instructor, how social factors influenced learning outcomes and how the group formed into a research team. This chapter begins with a brief overview of the Community of Practice literature and the context of the Online Research Lab in the School of Psychology at Walden University. The second section addresses strategies the instructor used to facilitate the sense of community in the Online Research Lab. The chapter concludes with a summary of challenges indeveloping a Community of Practice, as well as strategies instructors can use to overcome these obstacles.

The Faculty Evaluation Process: The First Step In Fostering Professional Development In An Online University

The presentation will trace the experiences of two program directors from Walden University and their examination of issues involved with faculty assessment. Their experiences were used to create a simple but effective and workable model for faculty assessment and development. Once a presentation of how data were obtained, and analyzed, to create an effective communication process, the specifics of how faculty members were engaged in the collegial methods to ensure a workable professional development process will be described. The experiences of the directors in working with assessment will be utilized as they demonstrate how they regularly conduct an interactive evaluation process, involving the audience in using the model created at Walden in the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership. This model was developed using various metrics, such as student course evaluations, faculty self-assessments, checklists of activity, adherence to rubrics, etc. The entire process begins with the premise that collegial interactions will provide the most sustainable changes. The process concludes with the implementation of online professional development in response to the collected data.