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FAQs
Public Health?
frequently
asked
questions
The following questions are frequently asked by students
at the beginning
of the course:
- Is this course right for me?
- How can the course improve my teaching?
- What is the CEDH model for systematic course design?
- What are the course requirements?
- How is the course organized?
- How do I use the Internet components?
- How will I communicate with the instructors?
- Will I have contact with other students?
- Will I get practical experience in the design of instruction?
- How will my learning be evaluated?
- Can I monitor my own progress?
Answers to these questions appear below:
- Is this course right for me?
If you would like to increase your ability to design and deliver instruction, this course may be right for you. It is meant for professionals whose career plans include the possibility of teaching. This includes both the training of health professionals and health education for the general public. Prior experience in teaching is not a prerequisite. Earlier students have included both experienced educators as well as health professionals who are considering teaching as an option for the future. This course is right for you if you are interested in increasing your ability to:
- Formulate competency-based objectives in the field of health.
- Design and implement instructional activities that enable learners to reach the objectives.
- Assess the extent to which objectives have been met.
- Develop a pattern of self-education through which interest and capabilities in teaching can be sustained.
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- How can the course improve my teaching?
In two ways. By increasing your skills in the design of instruction and by providing practical experience in implementing a range of teaching methods. You will learn to apply the CEDH model for systematic course design to the development of competency-based instruction. At the same time you will practice a variety of teaching methods.
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- What is the CEDH model for systematic course
design?
The model consists procedures for the design of instruction by answering four questions:
- What tasks will your students be expected to perform after completing their training?
- What do they need to learn to perform these tasks?
- How will you know how well the students are learning?
- How can you most effectively facilitate student learning?
In answering these questions, you will successively set competency based goals, develop learning objectives, link evaluation to the objectives and use evaluation to design instructional activities.
The approach is both systematic and competency-based. It is systematic in that the process follows a logical series of steps, each of which builds on those that precede it. It is competency-based in that both the content and methods of instruction are designed to prepare students for their future roles. It provides reasonable assurance that they will be able to perform on-the-job what they learn in the classroom.
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- What are the course requirements? Participants are expected to:
- Learn the CEDH model for systematic curriculum design
- Apply the model to the design of a unit of instruction
- Study the set of recommended readings
- How is the course organized?
Teaching Public Health is organized into a series of chapters. The five core chapters are built around the basic CEDH model for systematic course design. They correspond to the successive steps called for in the model. Early in the course you will select an area in which to develop a unit of instruction. As you work through each chapter, you will apply the pertinent principles and methods to the development of this unit of instruction. By the end of the course, you will have completed the design of an entire unit of instruction - following the CEDH model. Readings that address educational issues pertinent to the design and delivery of instruction will be reviewed and discussed throughout the course. You will have an opportunity to become familiar with interactive methods of instruction through discussion and practice sessions.
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- How do I use the Internet components?
The course will incorporate a variety of online components. This means that you will have easier access to appropriate information in the different chapters - at the point it would be most useful. You will be able to interact more effectively with instructors and with other participants in the course--this through your own website, bulletin boards and chat rooms to receive and provide feedback. You will also have greater flexibility to proceed at your own pace, and there will be opportunities for self-assessment.
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- How will I communicate with the instructors?
Close collaboration between instructors and learners has been a hallmark of this course. You will now have a number of ways of communicating with the course instructors:- In person - at class sessions and by appointment at the CEDH offices
- By telephone, fax and e-mail
- Through the web-based components of the course
- Will I have contact with other students?
Over the years that this course has been offered, student interaction has played a key role in the learning process. Opportunities for students to learn from each other now include:
- Interaction during the class sessions
- Visiting the websites of other students where the units of instruction are posted
- Using bulletin boards and chat rooms on the web
- Meeting with students between class sessions
- Will I get practical experience in the
design of instruction?
Yes. You will design a unit of instruction following the CEDH model for systematic course design. As you work through the successive steps and post the results on your website, you will receive feedback from the instructors and from fellow students. Experience over the years has demonstrated that students who successfully complete their unit of instruction during the course are subsequently able to adapt the model to the needs of instructional design in their home settings.
- How will my learning be evaluated?
A unit of instruction, based on the model for systematic course design taught in this course, will be developed by each student. This course design project will be evaluated against a set of explicit criteria available in advance as a guide to the student. The written submission of a course design project constitutes 80% of the grade. Presentation of the course at a class session accounts for 20% of the grade.
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- Can I monitor my own progress?
Yes. Opportunities for self-assessment will be available through online components of the course.
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