TITLE:
Advancing Health Promotion Pedagogy: A Multi-Step, Applied Health Promotion Classroom Project
AUTHORS:
Jennifer D. Irwin
KEYWORDS:
Course Development, Undergraduate, Health Promotion, Public Health, Constructivism
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.7 No.6,
May
10,
2016
ABSTRACT: Courses that bridge health promotion scholarship with a demonstrative application of that scholarship are potent and critical for future public health professionals. For senior students about to graduate from the Honors Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) Program at Western University (Ontario, Canada), my intention was to create a course experience that marries health promotion scholarship with a practical skill-set in line with constructivist learning approaches. This article outlines a multi-component, classroom-based, population health group project for senior students enrolled in an Advanced Health Promotion course. Since its inception, the course has hosted 562 students and has received an average evaluation of 6.4/7.0 on the overall course experience. The specific requirements of the needs assessment, epidemiological assessment, social marketing campaign, implementation evaluation, and project summary, as well as strategies to facilitate positive group dynamics are presented.