{"id":250832,"date":"2025-02-28T23:23:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T04:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=250832"},"modified":"2025-02-28T15:29:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T20:29:56","slug":"teaching-as-a-team-improving-core-course-delivery","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/teaching-as-a-team-improving-core-course-delivery\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching as a Team: Improving Core Course Delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-media-focus-right-middle has-text-position-x-right has-text-position-y-top has-light-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2930\" height=\"2093\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Monica Onyango, clinical associate professor of global health, delivers a lecture to a classroom of students.\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test.jpg 2930w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-636x454.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-2048x1463.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-755x539.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-1400x1000.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-900x643.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-1920x1372.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/02\/monica-onyango-test-1200x857.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2930px) 100vw, 2930px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Monica Onyango,\u00a0clinical associate professor of global health, delivers a lecture to a classroom of students.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Research<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTeaching as a Team: Improving Core Course Delivery\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">SPH\u2019s core course instructors have collaborated on new research to improve curriculum delivery. Their findings highlight the importance of balancing course consistency with instructor autonomy.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">February 28, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/megan-jones\/\">Megan Jones<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>A new analysis from a team of educators at the School of Public Health has reinforced the importance of teamwork in ensuring that students enrolled in the School of Public Health\u2019s On-Campus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/education\/degrees-and-programs\/master-of-public-health-programs\/\">Master of Public Health program<\/a>\u2014one of the country\u2019s largest\u2014receive quality, up-to-date content across multiple, concurrent sections of core courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, the core course teaching team for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/sph\/courses\/sph-ph-720\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PH720 Individual, Community, and Population Health<\/a> at SPH experimented with four strategies to promote collaboration and improve overall delivery of the core curriculum. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of their approach was recently <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/23733799241301867\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in the journal <em>Pedagogy in Health Promotion<\/em>. The article, titled \u201cBalancing Faculty Autonomy with Collaboration, Course Updates, and Consistency in Core Courses: Recommendations for Teaching Teams and Administrators of Schools and Programs of Public Health,\u201d lays out their seven take-aways for improving teaching of public health\u2019s foundational concepts. The findings will be presented at the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/aspph.org\/events\/annual-meeting\/\" target=\"_blank\">2025 Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Annual Meeting<\/a> in Arlington, Virginia later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPublic health education is always evolving. As our field is somewhat unique in the ways in which we have to deal with data, policies, and programs that change nearly every day,&nbsp;thinking about what, how, and why we teach is really important\u2014and that is best done with colleagues, together,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/lisa-sullivan\/\">Lisa Sullivan<\/a>, associate dean for education and a former core course instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the course of their research, the teaching team employed four strategies to coordinate collaboration: creating common course materials, holding regular team meetings, recording instructors\u2019 reflections weekly after classes, and conducting final reviews to discuss with instructors their overall impressions of the syllabi and the semester. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/erinfortunato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erin Fortunato<\/a>, a DrPH student in leadership, management, and policy and a former project manager at SHIELD, SPH\u2019s School Health Institute for Education and Leadership Development, orchestrated the process. A Certified Health Education Specialist, Fortunato also worked as a coordinator of health education at the high school level prior to beginning her doctoral studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was very used to having a team of teachers all teaching basically the same thing, but in different sections and it was part of my role to help everyone be as coordinated as possible, but to respect people doing things in their own way,\u201d says Fortunato, who is the first author of the study. Faculty each bring their own experiences and expertise to the classroom, she says, but it is important for the integrity of the program to find a balance between instructor authenticity and the consistent delivery of content across sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eight faculty volunteered to participate in a year-long investigation designed to find this balance, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/sophie-godley\/\">Sophie Godley<\/a>, clinical associate professor of community health sciences; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/Carol-Dolan\/\">Carol Dolan<\/a>, clinical professor of community health sciences; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/Jennifer-Beard\">Jennifer&nbsp;Beard<\/a>,&nbsp;clinical associate professor of global health; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/jacob-bor\/\">Jacob&nbsp;Bor<\/a>, associate professor of global health; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/nafisa-halim\/\">Nafisa&nbsp;Halim<\/a>, research assistant professor of global health; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/Monica-Onyango\/\">Monica Onyango<\/a>,&nbsp;clinical associate professor of global health; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/Junenette-Peters\">Junenette Peters<\/a>,&nbsp;associate professor of environmental health; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/Jennifer-Schlezinger\">Jennifer&nbsp;Schlezinger<\/a>,&nbsp;professor of environmental health. Upon completion of the exercise, Godley suggested the group document their findings to share with other schools and programs of public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, the team came up with seven recommendations to support the success of similar teaching teams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Establish dedicated meeting times<\/li><li>Appoint a team leader<\/li><li>Incorporate both independent and team reflection<\/li><li>Support instructors to openly discuss and learn from mistakes in non-judgmental, promotion-neutral sessions<\/li><li>Refer struggling students to external resources, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/students\/on-campus-students\/academic-accommodations-and-support\/core-course-tutoring-program\/\">peer tutoring<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/students\/on-campus-students\/academic-accommodations-and-support\/communication-resources\/\">writing coaching<\/a><\/li><li>Promote small group activities within larger classes<\/li><li>Follow the Council on Education for Public Health&#8217;s requirements for public health degree programs&nbsp;but allow instructors to tailor their own examples to balance autonomy with consistency<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBig picture, the most impactful [change] would be helping faculty feel secure enough to say, \u2018I&#8217;m not comfortable teaching this,\u2019 or \u2018I need more training,\u2019 or \u2018This didn&#8217;t go well,\u2019 and not feeling like they will be officially or unofficially judged,\u201d says Fortunato. \u201cAs teachers, we all have things we are more or less comfortable with. We all have days when things don&#8217;t go exactly right. Fostering an environment in which faculty are encouraged to be vulnerable and given support to be the best teachers they possibly can be will benefit students.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new analysis from a team of educators at the School of Public Health has reinforced the importance of teamwork in ensuring that students enrolled in the School of Public Health\u2019s On-Campus Master of Public Health program\u2014one of the country\u2019s largest\u2014receive quality, up-to-date content across multiple, concurrent sections of core courses. 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