ASPPH Releases Data Report: Programs, Practices, and Policies on Scholarly Teaching and Learning

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 15, 2021) – An Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) task force, which includes UAlbany’s Mary Gallant, has released a report on scholarly teaching and learning in public health. The report’s goal is to assist ASPPH member schools to assure strong teaching for optimal student learning outcomes.

With a strong commitment to pedagogical excellence and advancing scholarship, ASPPH launched the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) task force in 2018 to enhance quality and innovation in education for public health. The Institutional Programs, Practices and Policies Working Group, one of four working groups of the task force, produced the current report which focuses on the programs, practices and policies that facilitate scholarly teaching and learning in public health. The report covers topics ranging from “opportunities and resources that support faculty development of teaching and learning to faculty funding and time allotted for research on teaching and learning”. This is one of several reports released by the task force since its creation.

The working group anticipates that “the research and recommendations yielded in this report will assist in identifying: opportunities and resources, content and skill-building topics, and faculty participation related to scholarly teaching and learning; issues around the institutional culture for this scholarship; the measurement and use of evaluation data on teaching effectiveness; promising model programs, practices, and policies; faculty priority areas for appointments, as well as promotion and/or tenure as they relate to teaching; and research on scholarship in teaching and learning, including dissemination, funding, and time allotted for this work.”

“Too little attention is paid to using and building evidence-base that supports effective teaching in public health,” says Mary Gallant, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Health Policy, Management and Behavior at the School of Public Health. “This report identifies the key institutional factors that facilitate or impede both scholarly teaching and the creation of knowledge around effective teaching, and more importantly, includes practical recommendations for faculty, chairs, deans and other stakeholders for practices and policies that support effective teaching that enhances student learning outcomes.”

The full report, entitled “Institutional Programs, Practices, and Policies in Public Health Pedagogy”, can be found here.