Integrative and applied learning methods for teaching the undergraduate public health learning outcomes

The Association of Schools of Public Health began the Undergraduate Public Health Learning Outcomes Development Project in response to the Institute of Medicine's call for an “educated citizenry” on public health and trends showing increasing interest in undergraduate public health by students and universities. Academic leaders from schools of public health, public health programs, and the liberal arts and sciences assembled to identify key public health learning outcomes necessary for all graduates of institutions of higher education.

The public health learning outcomes model was based on the Association of American Colleges and Universities' Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) framework. The four domains of the model are: 1. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World as it Relates to Individual and Population Health; 2. Intellectual and Practical Skills; 3. Personal and Social Responsibility; and 4. Integrative and Applied Learning. The goal for the fourth domain is to encourage learning activities centered on student needs and lifelong learning principles, versus traditional faculty teaching and instructional assessment methods. By defining this domain and giving specific examples to illustrate how to teach the learning outcomes, the model is brought to life showing the wide span of instruction possibilities in a variety of undergraduate courses.

This session will review the entire learning outcomes model, focusing on the fourth domain of teaching techniques: how the techniques were developed and how they can be utilized.