Practice, Practice, Practice:
Learning by doing
Anne Fidler, ScD
Asst. Dean for Public Health Practice
Scott Harris, MPH
Practicum Director
BUSPH Practice Office
What does chocolate taste like?
• Like chocolate
• Like the color red looks
• Like heaven
Experiential Learning
 the process whereby students “learn by
doing” and by reflecting on the experience
 For example…
 hands-on laboratory experiments
 field exercises
 studio performances
 practicums
Service Learning
 Type of experiential learning
 Method of teaching, learning, and
reflecting that combines academic
classroom curriculum with meaningful
service, in the community
Preparing to Learn
Classroom
Experience
Can these beClassroom
combined?
Experience
But, Experience-Only Methods
Often fall short in helping students:
 Assimilate theory into
practice
 Learn how to challenge an
reflect on their own
operating assumptions
 Effect enduring change
Theory
Practice
Work-Based Learning

It views learning as acquired in
the midst of action and dedicated
to the task at hand.

It sees knowledge creation and
utilization as collective activities.

Its users demonstrate a learningto-learn aptitude.
The Experiential Learning Cycle
Knowledge/Skills
Experimentation
Real Experience
Reflection
LEARNING
Competency Sequences in
Work-Based Learning
 Technical knowledge

knows how to mine a database
 Interpersonal ability

actively listens
 Problem solving

thinks analytically
 Professional Responsibility

acts ethically
 Results orientation

gets things done with others
 Path-finding

expresses curiosity; seeks challenges
Core Competencies for MPH Students*
 Discipline-specific
 Biostatistics
 Environmental Health
 Epidemiology
 Health Policy and
Management
 Social and
Behavioral Sciences
 Cross-cutting
 Communication &
Informatics
 Diversity and Culture
 Leadership
 Professionalism
 Program Planning
 Public Health Biology
 Systems Thinking
* developed by Association of Schools of Public Health, 2003
Importance of Reflection
…the practice of stepping back to ponder and express
the meaning to self and to others in one’s immediate
environment of what has, will, or is happening.
“If I continue to believe as I have always believed,
I will continue to act as I have always acted; and
if I continue to act as I have always acted, I will
continue to get what I have always gotten.”
--Marilyn Ferguson
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing
over and over and expecting different results. "
--Albert Einstein?/Mark Twain?/
Benjamin Franklin?
Three Levels Of Reflection
 Content reflection looks at how
we have consciously applied ideas
in solving a problem
 Process reflection examines how
we go about problem solving with a
view toward the procedures and
assumptions in use
 Premise reflection questions the
very presuppositions attending to
the problem to begin with
Experiential learning is particularly
important in public health
 Public health is based on APPLICATION of
knowledge to effect change, using
effective partnerships
 General lack of understanding about what
public health is (even among students)
 Younger students lack real-world work
experience
Good for the students…..
 Provides opportunities




to reinforce concepts
learned in class
Allows students to tryout different potential
career avenues
Personal growth
Builds contacts
Possible post-graduate
jobs
Good for community partners…..
 Provides opportunities
for additional staffing
resources
 Increases contacts with
faculty interested in
similar work
 Opportunity for
“adjunct faculty” status
 Job auditioning
Good for the school…..
 Contacts with practitioners
interested in similar
research
 Opportunities for
community-based
participatory research
 Opportunities to incorporate
practitioners in classroom
 Improves ability to attract
top students
BUSPH Practice-based Education
 Integrating practice in courses



Address real-world case studies
Use adjunct faculty from practice world
Field trips
 Practicum


Required of all MPH students
56 to 112 hours in field setting
BUSPH Practice-based Education
Practicum for MPH students:
 2008: 278 students at 226 sites
 2007: 260 students at 218 sites
 2006: 257 students at 219 sites
 2005: 237 students at 195 sites
 2004: 208 students at 164 sites
What is a Practicum?
 Course


to prepare public health professionals
supervised practical application of theory
 Provides an opportunity to:



integrate and apply classroom learning
learn from professionals in the field
contribute to the mission of the agency
It’s not just that we are getting older....
They are getting younger!
BUSPH incoming students, 2007
What do we want students to learn?

How knowledge, skills, and abilities from
academia translate in the “real world”

Inform what student does next

Increase understanding of workplace culture
and/or culture of another country or group
What do students do for practicum?
 Identify practicum site
 Orientation to practicum
 On-site work
minimum of 112 hours
Learning contract
 signed by student, faculty, site
supervisor
Mid-term evaluation
 conducted with site supervisor
 on-line discussion forum (in
development)
Integration seminar
Poster presentation





Range of Experiences
Appropriate Practicum Projects
 A few examples:

Develop emergency preparedness plan

Recruit for a research study

Use SAS to analyze survey data

Conduct a needs assessment

Analyze/develop legislation
Not so Appropriate Practicums…
 These projects will not fit the bill:

Mentoring or Job-Shadowing

Photocopying 101

Student’s full or part-time job
Practice-based courses….
EH807 Urban Environmental Health




Examines urban physical and
social health hazards (e.g., lead,
asthma, obesity, poor housing, racial
segregation, income inequality)
Highlights solutions (e.g.,
community empowerment, urban
gardens, lead-safe yards)
Environmental justice field trip in
the Dudley St. Neighborhood Initiative
area in Roxbury
Students research topic on urban
environmental health (final paper
and class presentation)
EH783 Application of EH Principles in Practice

Hands-on application of EH
principles (e.g., water-borne
diseases, food safety, housing,
disaster sanitation)

Helps prepares students for RS
certification exam

Co-taught by practitioners

Students required to visit LHD
and complete project relevant
to local community
In addition to Practicum Program….
Professional Development
 Professional Development Workshops
 ‘Beyond the Classroom’
Partnership for Effective Emergency
Response (PEER)
Public Health
Departments
Hospitals
Community Health Centers
Ambulance
Services
Long-Term Care
MA Public Health
Regionalization Project
Project goal:
To strengthen the MA public health
system by creating a state-funded
regional structure for equitable
delivery of local public health
services across the Commonwealth
Community Partnerships
Partnering with community organizations to identify
and address issues that significantly affect our
neighbors.
New England Alliance for Public
Health Workforce Development
Let’s discuss……
 What are the elements of effective practice-
academic relationships?
 What kinds of learning take place in practice
setting?
 How can the educational academic/practice
relationship extend to other research or service
activities?
 How does the experience at BUSPH translate to
your situations and institutions?