On Academics Integrating Competencies and Learning Outcomes in Core Courses for the MPH

Abstract

Articles for From the Schools and Programs of Public Health highlight practice-and academic-based activities at the schools. To submit an article, faculty should send a short abstract (50-100 words) via e-mail to Allison Foster, ASPPH Deputy Executive Director, at afoster@aspph.org. The Council on Education for Public Health requires that all schools of public health (SPHs) offer instruction in the five core disciplines of public health-bio-statistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health policy and management, and social and behavioral sciences. 1 Many SPHs offer concentrations in specific disciplines of public health. However, the proportion of master of public health (MPH) students who choose some disciplines (e.g., biostatistics) is consistently low. 2 Thus, the core course may be the only exposure that some students have to formal training in that discipline. It is critically important that all students develop key skills and knowledge in all core disciplines, and that instructors gather evidence to ensure that learning goals are met. ComPetenCIeS Competencies are defined by the needs of the professional workforce that students join post-graduation. They are bundles of the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required to achieve an acceptable level of performance in the world of practice. Competencies are achieved through formal training in the classroom, individual or group assignments, and hands-on fieldwork. By redesigning curricula based on competencies, SPHs can better monitor educational programs and ensure that upon completion of an MPH degree, students will be able to apply their learned KSAs to their work in public health. Competency-based curricula act as a contractual agreement among the school, the faculty, and the student. Core competencies for the MPH are the minimum KSAs required to achieve an acceptable level of performance and are ideally achieved through the core course requirement. Students may gain increasing levels of mastery through additional coursework or co-curricular activities. In 2006, the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) Education Committee published its Master's Degree in Public Health Core Competency Model, which provides competencies for each of the five core disciplines as well as for seven cross-cutting areas. 3 The competencies are intended as a resource, but not a prescriptive mandate, for schools, programs, employers , and other stakeholders. Schools and programs can adopt the ASPH core competencies, derive their own, or use a combination of the two. CourSe deSIgn In designing courses and curricula, educators define content, strategies for effective teaching and learning, and systems for assessment and evaluation. Instructors define the content and learning objectives for the course and for each class session. They also determine measurable indicators of what the student is expected to demonstrate upon course completion and for each class session. Competency-based (or outcomes-based) education requires the instructor to work backwards, from desired outcomes to method, by first defining the outcomes and then creating the content and learning objectives for the course and each class session that will yield those desired outcomes, as well as determining the assessment mechanisms that will supply data on whether those outcomes were actually met. 4 Once the competencies are defined, learning objectives , which are generally more discrete, are mapped to each competency. Each competency is supported by multiple learning objectives, and the process of moving from competencies to learning objectives is one of deconstruction. A competency, as previously noted, is a bundle of KSAs, and we create course and weekly learning objectives by unbundling those competencies