Involving Public Health Graduate Students and Trainees in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

摘要

As the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research expands in schools of public health to inform pedagogic and curricular approaches, it is crucial to consider how student voices are included in this work. Based on our experience with course-level and curriculum-level evaluations, we describe the process, benefits, and challenges of engaging students and pre- and postdoctoral trainees in SoTL. The degree of student and trainee involvement can vary based on interest, availability, and level of training. Graduate student roles can range from research support to full collaboration. Due to their advanced training, pre- and postdoctoral trainees can take a lead role in SoTL projects. Engaging students and trainees provides multiple benefits. First, the students and trainees gain experience on a research team; second, faculty have support to feasibly conduct SoTL; and third, programs can evolve by gaining in-depth information about courses and curricula. Challenges include student and trainee availability, turnover as students graduate, and availability of resources. Additional factors to consider are how students and trainees are chosen to participate and power differentials between students and faculty. Involving graduate students and trainees in SoTL facilitates the evaluation of pedagogical approaches and has the potential to contribute to the development of a strong evidence base for effective teaching models in public health education.