Making the case for real-world learning
Interactive and experiential learning is at the heart of the Master of Public Health program
“This style of learning is for people who are willing to be innovative, people who want to be change-agents, and people who don’t necessarily think in a linear way. Potential students also must be able to work well independently and in a team.” —Giovanna Longo
By Jesica Hurst, BA’14
Traces of arsenic are found in Bangladesh’s drinking water. Wind turbines are being installed near a residential community. A salmonella outbreak is affecting numerous poultry consumers during the holiday season.
These situations may not sound like they have anything in common, but students from the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, within the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, would likely disagree. Each situation is an example of a public health issue that could be dissected using the program’s innovative case method of learning.
The learning method—which no other university public health program in Canada offers—takes education further than the traditional lecture-style classroom setting, by focusing on the students and their ideas as they become an active part of the experience.
“Case-based pedagogy is a very interactive and experiential approach to learning,” explained Shannon Sibbald, PhD, one of four core faculty members with the MPH program. “The idea behind this learning style is that students are exposed to real-world challenges.”
Sibbald, who teaches the program’s Health Promotion and Health Communication courses, added that the situations presented in the cases used are often complex and ambiguous, and have no one right answer.
Prior to attending a lecture, students are provided with one of these cases to read, along with a few accompanying discussion questions to help inspire thought. Following this independent work, students have the opportunity to meet with their learning groups to discuss their ideas.
These initial steps ensure the program’s lectures are not only rich with well-informed conversation, but go deeper than only scratching the surface of the topic.
Giovanna Longo, MPH’14, was a student in the program’s first graduating class. Longo explained the case method learning style taught her that there are a number of things you need to think about when examining public health cases—a skill that has helped her as the Chief Nursing Officer/Professional Practice Leader at Lambton Public Health.
“The program’s case-based method promotes complex systems thinking, so when graduates are out there working in the field they can understand the language of different sectors,” Longo said. “This style of learning makes you develop really strong critical thinking skills, and shows you that there isn’t always one simple answer to health issues.”
While skills like these are ideal for every public health worker to develop, Longo explained the learning style isn’t for every student.
“This style of learning is for people who are willing to be innovative, people who want to be change-agents, and people who don’t necessarily think in a linear way,” she said. “Potential students also must be able to work well independently and in a team.”
One aspect of the case-based method all potential students find attractive is that course material is constantly being updated to ensure it is relevant and timely.
Sibbald and other faculty members meet every two weeks to discuss and build the program’s curriculum, looking for cases and topics that can be used in all courses, from Principles of Epidemiology to Developing Healthy Communities.
“I’ve been teaching for seven years, which is long enough to recognize that this program is unlike many others,” Sibbald said. “I think we are at the cutting edge of public health education, and the direction it needs to be moving toward.”
