Table_1_Service-Learning as a Practical Introduction to Undergraduate Public Health: Benefits for Student Outcomes and Accreditation.docx

Since the mid-1980s, service-learning has gained recognition as a pedagogical model in higher education with exciting potential for students' academic, civic, and professional development (1). Deemed a high-impact educational practice by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), extant research points to student learning, engagement, and retention benefits from community-based experiences integrated into curriculum (2, 3). Numerous studies have examined best practices for service-learning from varying stakeholder perspectives (faculty, student, and community partner) and disciplines, however, due to the recent development of public health as a major offering in U.S. undergraduate education, the value of service-learning within the discipline should be further explored. While recommendations for service-learning in undergraduate public health programs have been provided, no evaluation of the impact on student learning outcomes has been conducted (4). This study presents one university's model of service-learning in introductory public health courses, and results from the analysis of two datasets representing students' experience with service-learning in undergraduate public health curriculum. Findings provide empirical support of the effectiveness of this pedagogy for advancing student learning and the achievement of foundational accreditation domains outlined by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

自20世纪80年代中期以来，服务学习作为一种富有启发性的高等教育教学模式，在学生的学术、公民与职业发展方面展现出巨大的潜力，已获得广泛认可（1）。美国大学与学院协会（AAC&U）将其视为一种高影响力教育实践，现有研究亦表明，将社区体验融入课程中的服务学习，对学生学习、参与度和留存率具有显著益处（2，3）。众多研究从不同利益相关者（教师、学生和社区合作伙伴）以及学科角度对服务学习的最佳实践进行了考察，然而，鉴于公共卫生作为美国本科教育主要课程的发展，该学科内服务学习的价值应进一步探讨。尽管已提供针对本科公共卫生课程中服务学习的建议，但尚未对学生学习成果的影响进行评估（4）。本研究提出了一所大学在公共卫生入门课程中的服务学习模式，并分析了代表本科生公共卫生课程中服务学习体验的两个数据集的结果。研究发现，这一教学法在促进学生学习及实现公共卫生教育委员会（CEPH）概述的基础认证领域方面具有实证支持。