Development of a Community-Engaged Classroom for Teaching Health Communications: Lessons Learned From Nine Semesters of Implementation

Abstract

Community-engaged classrooms (CECs) offer many advantages to both students and community-based organizations by creating an environment that enriches student learning and contributes to meeting needs identified by the community. Students who are engaged with communities during their studies report that they learned to apply skills, develop networks, and increase their decision-making skills, confidence, professional portfolio, and ownership of projects. In this article, we report on a CEC model for a graduate-level course called “Overview of Health Communications” at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health, which has been sustained for nine semesters. This article outlines the approach for developing the CEC model, steps for implementing the course, course evaluation design, and results. We also present lessons learned from both the community organizations’ and students’ perspectives and recommendations to inform future CEC projects.

Indigenous Empowerment Through Community-Engaged Health Education Curriculum: Health Promotion in a Commercial Tobacco Cessation Campaign

“…While principles and benefits of active learning strategies are well documented (Champagne, 2006; Felter & Baumann, 2019; Flannery & Ward, 1999), extending applied project-based courses to partnering with community members public health professionals is less common, especially in undergraduate courses. Extending beyond only a project-based course, students actively engaged with key campus constituents, community members, and public health professionals to help prepare students to engage in community-engaged activities.…”

“…While the course described in this article was not research based, it was a community-engaged student-empowered approach to design, implement, and evaluate a health communication campaign. A similar approach to health communication was described by Felter and Baumann (2019). However, this course was at an undergraduate level and incorporated an empowerment approach appropriate for an indigenous- and minority-serving institution.…”

“…Higher education has embraced teaching students with strategies that engage active learning, including inquiry or problem-based learning (Boyer, 1990;Smith et al, 2005). Experiential learning strategies facilitate the creation of embodied knowledge-as supported by constructivist educational theory (Champagne, 2006;Felter & Baumann, 2019;Flannery & Ward, 1999)-as well as facilitate learning that is vital for the changing nature of the public health workforce (Chávez et al, 2006;Marcus et al, 2011). Importantly, fusing community-engaged classrooms with empowerment education is particularly relevant in the context of a minority and indigenous student population who have a valuable opportunity to experience empowerment within the classroom (Jernigan et al, 2015;Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988).…”

Message from the Editor-in-Chief: Celebrating 10 Years of Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

“…In another program, public health students participated in a Border Health Service Learning Institute, designed to help them question systems and policies affecting border community health and to act on insights gained (Lohr et al, 2022). Felter and Baumann (2019) prefer the term "community-engaged classrooms" to emphasize the importance of partnership and community ownership elements of community-based educational projects. Their paper presents a model for designing a health communications course using best practices for community-engaged learning, and includes detailed steps for implementing the curriculum as well as lessons learned.…”

“…Felter and Baumann (2019) prefer the term “community-engaged classrooms” to emphasize the importance of partnership and community ownership elements of community-based educational projects. Their paper presents a model for designing a health communications course using best practices for community-engaged learning, and includes detailed steps for implementing the curriculum as well as lessons learned.…”