Writing Assignments in Epidemiology Courses: How Many and How Good?

Abstract

Objectives: Schools and programs of public health are concerned about poor student writing. We determined the proportion of epidemiology courses that required writing assignments and the presence of 6 characteristics of these assignments. Methods: We requested syllabi, writing assignments, and grading criteria from instructors of graduate and undergraduate epidemiology courses taught during 2016 or 2017. We assessed the extent to which these assignments incorporated 6 characteristics of effective writing assignments: (1) a description of the purpose of the writing or learning goals of the assignment, (2) a document type (eg, article, grant) used in public health, (3) an identified target audience, (4) incorporation of tasks that support the writing process (eg, revision), (5) a topic related to a public health problem that requires critical thinking (1-5 scale, 5 = most authentic), and (6) clear assignment expectations (1-5 scale, 5 = clearest). Results: We contacted 594 instructors from 58 institutions and received at least some evaluable materials from 59 courses at 28 institutions. Of these, 47 of 53 (89%) courses required some writing. The purpose was adequately described in 11 of 36 assignments, the required document type was appropriate in 19 of 43 assignments, an audience was identified in 6 of 37 assignments, and tasks that supported a writing process were incorporated in 19 of 40 assignments. Median (interquartile range) scores were 5 (1-5) for an authentic problem that required critical thinking and 4 (2-5) for clarity of expectations. Conclusions: The characteristics of writing assignments in public health programs do not reflect best practices in writing instruction and should be improved.

Collaborative Learning as A Strategy to Improve the English Reading Comprehension of Indonesian Learners in The Agribusiness Department at Muhammadiyah University of Parepare

“…The researcher found that they could not comprehend the text well in the experimental class and they were unable to understand all of the questions. (2,023). Therefore, the null hypothesis (H0) which suggested that there was no significant difference between the students' ability in reading comprehension who were treated through the collaborative learning method and the students who were taught using three phases technique was rejected.…”

Predicting the effectiveness of the online clinical clerkship curriculum: Development of a multivariate prediction model and validation study

“…We decided which factors should be included in our survey based on previous literature and recommendations for medical education. The factors incorporated into this study included lecture duration [ 13 – 15 ] and lecture frequency per week [ 13 , 16 , 17 ]; opportunities to take quizzes [ 18 , 19 ], submit assignments [ 20 , 21 ], give oral presentations [ 22 , 23 ], observe physicians’ practice [ 10 , 24 ], practice clinical skills [ 10 , 24 ], participate in interprofessional meetings [ 24 – 26 ], and interact with physicians [ 24 , 27 ]; and the frequency of technical Internet-related problems [ 28 ]. For details regarding the options for each answer, see S1 Method…”

The Real-World Writing Project for Public Health Students: A Description and Evaluation

“…Students create a document for their community partner through a series of assignments, including a proposed plan, peer review, and multiple revisions. The series of assignments require text and at least one visual element (such as a photograph, figure, table, or diagram); these assignments incorporate the seven recommended characteristics for writing assignments in Public Health (Anderson et al, 2020; August et al, 2019). The assignments are summarized in the supplementary material (see Supplemental Appendix) and can be obtained by emailing the authors.…”

“…Recently, a collection of six recommended characteristics for writing assignments was published to help instructors of higher education Public Health courses teach writing more effectively (August et al, 2019). These recommendations include (a) clearly describing the purpose of the writing and learning goals of the assignment, (b) requiring students to produce a document type (e.g., reports, policy briefs) used by public health workers, (c) asking students to write to a specific audience (e.g., low-literacy diabetes patients), (d) incorporating tasks that support writing development (e.g., peer review and revision), (e) requiring critical thinking about a real public health problem, and (f) providing clear assignment expectations (August et al, 2019). A seventh recommendation suggests that instructors require students to include a visual element such as a figure, table, or infographic in every assignment (Anderson et al, 2020).…”

“…Writing is a key skill that Public Health students need to be successful in their work, but Public Health instructors are not necessarily trained in how to teach writing (August et al, 2019; August & Trostle, 2018; Beard, 2018; Galea, 2019; Lang, 2019). Recently, a collection of six recommended characteristics for writing assignments was published to help instructors of higher education Public Health courses teach writing more effectively (August et al, 2019). These recommendations include (a) clearly describing the purpose of the writing and learning goals of the assignment, (b) requiring students to produce a document type (e.g., reports, policy briefs) used by public health workers, (c) asking students to write to a specific audience (e.g., low-literacy diabetes patients), (d) incorporating tasks that support writing development (e.g., peer review and revision), (e) requiring critical thinking about a real public health problem, and (f) providing clear assignment expectations (August et al, 2019).…”