From the schools and programs of public health: On academics, Effective practices for teaching the biostatistics core course for the MPH using a competency-based approach

摘要

In the accompanying article in this issue of Public Health Reports, "Integrating Competencies and Learning Outcomes in Core Courses for the MPH," we applied seven principles for effective learning, taken from Ambrose et al. to the design and implementation of core courses for the master of public health (MPH) degree. In this article, we apply those principles specifically to the core course in biostatistics. Many schools of public health offer concentration areas for the MPH, yet the proportion of MPH students who select biostatistics is consistently low.3 Thus, the biostatistics core course may be the only exposure that many MPH students have to formal training in biostatistics. It is therefore critically important that key skills and knowledge in biostatistics are developed by all students. We outline strategies to maximize learning in the biostatistics core course, taking into account students' diverse backgrounds, training, and comfort with quantitative material.