Continuous Process of Assessment
Background
Students in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at the University of Calgary can choose between three majors: Biomedical Science, Bioinformatics, and Health and Society. The unique group of students in the Health and Society major focus on looking at health from a variety of lenses and take an interdisciplinary approach to investigating complex issues. They look at natural sciences through a social science perspective in the course HSOC 401: Foundations of Social Science Methods. It is a third year course taught by Dr. Jesse Hendrikse, an instructor who is incredibly passionate about the class. Although he came into the department of Community Health Science without any health science experience, he is able to use philosophy to help students explore how society thinks about health and science, and the historical perspectives that lead to where we are today. Jesse hopes to promote inquiry, analysis, and high-level thinking through the assessments in the course. He guides his course activities and assessments with a main inquiry question: “What, if anything, distinguishes the natural and social sciences?”
Strategies
Jesse takes students on the journey of how science was thought about through the 20th century and how it informs our thinking and practices today. They discuss how conflicting views of science were prevalent at the same time and how they developed into the different kinds of evidence-based approaches that can be taken to science. He challenges students to relate the work of 20th Century philosophers to their own research interests and to ask big questions. Students sum up their work in a final paper that addresses the inquiry question. They are able to approach it from any perspective and topic that they would like. The rest of the course activities help inform their perspectives. Jesse selects the readings, materials and activities to be tools that students can use to build their knowledge and find legitimacy for the social sciences in the health science context.
One of the larger projects is a seminar presentation. Students work in pairs or groups of three and select a topic from a list that Jesse provides. There are a huge range to choose from, such as knowledge translation, feminist critiques of science, precision public health, and the meaning of the term “evidence-based”. All of these topics feed into the larger question of the course. They plan a proposal and submit it early for feedback. Jesse provides practical suggestions to help them create an effective presentation. They also submit a final plan that they submit just before their seminar is presented.
One important component of this project is to select a paper connected to their topic to provide their peers and discuss during their seminar session. They have to analyze it ahead of time and provide some discussion points for the class. Jesse notes that this is where the collaborative aspect is most beneficial. It is much easier for students to figure out meaning when they work together than when they work independently. This is a turning point for learning in the course, because students start finding the significance of their research and inquiry.
Some students are concerned about how to approach the final philosophical paper. They often feel it is too different to the types of work they are used to. Jesse tries to reassure them by showing how similar it is to a standard research paper, and that instead of doing research in a laboratory to find evidence for claims, they are looking through other works and analysis. He also notes that the best learning happens outside of students’ comfort zones. Students have to trust in the learning process of the course, but when they do, they can be very successful.
Outcomes
Student work is very impressive on the group presentation and the final paper. Even students who struggle making connections on smaller assignments do really well on the group presentation and paper. The time spent reading, discussing, and thinking about the question pay off in the summative work that they present.
Jesse admits that not every student takes away the intended outcomes right away. Some contact him years after finishing the course and tell him that they finally understand what the point was. Every year, he improves the course and gives better examples and case studies that illustrate the important examples clearly and effectively. He also may introduce more intermediate activities to provide more learning opportunities and more tools for students to use.
Jesse’s teaching has influenced his life and the way he thinks about his own role as an instructor in the department of Community Health Sciences. His experiences working with students has motivated him to try and create a better sense of community in his department, which is made up of researchers and instructors from a variety of disciplines. There is a lot of separation between people in the department and he hopes that his experiences bridging the gap between social and natural sciences in his teaching can help him do the same with his colleagues. He is also excited to continue teaching this course and to see how it will continue to develop over time. Each group of students interacts differently with the material, and it is always a great experience to see the direction that a particular group takes.
-Ashley Weleschuk
