Wendy Huebner PhD Health & Nutrition Sciences Mark Kaelin EdD Montclair State University

Scorecard for the “Movement” to Infuse Epidemiology Education into Grades 6-12:

What Progress Has Been Made in the Past Five Years?

138th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Public Health Association

3210.0 Epidemiology Education and Capacity

Monday, November 8, 2010, 12:30 – 2:00 PM

Hyatt Regency, Capitol Ballroom 1

1. Public health and educational rationale for teaching epidemiology to students in grades 6-12.

2. What is the Epidemiology Education Movement?

• Origins

• Goals and Framework for Action

3. Scorecard and Examples

• Develop Curricula

• Prepare Teachers

• Create Demand

• Maintain Momentum

• Assess Short- and Long-Term Goals

4. Conclusions and Discussion

Presentation Overview

3

Middle School

High School

Why teach epidemiology to younger students?

Top 8 Reasons to Teach / Learn about Epidemiology

1.

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8.

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Empowers students to be scientifically literate participants in the democratic decision-making process concerning public health policy.

Empowers students to make more informed personal health-related decisions.

Increases students’ media literacy and their understanding of public health messages.

Increases students’ understanding of the basis for determining risk.

Improves students’ mathematical and scientific literacy.

Expands students’ understanding of scientific methods and develops their critical thinking skills.

Provides students with another mechanism for exploring important, real world questions about their health and the health of others.

Introduces students to an array of career paths related to the public’s health.

Why teach epidemiology to younger students?

Originated by a small group of epidemiologists and educators with a personal passion and professional interest in integrating epidemiology and other public health sciences into elementary and secondary schools

Premise

• If we define education as something that prepares people to live in their world, it should include giving people tools with which to make informed lifestyle and societal decisions that affect their health.

• If people with common interests in K-12 epidemiology education were aware of each others' activities, we could move more quickly to critical mass and a step change 

What is the Epidemiology Education Movement?

• Presented at APHA 2005 to help introduce effort*

2005 – APHA Meeting

* Presenters: Ralph Cordell, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; David Fraser, College Board and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Mark Kaelin and Wendy Huebner, Montclair State University

2005 – Examples in Curriculum Toolbox

Goals

Infuse epidemiology education into curricula

in grades 6-12

Improve scientific literacy

Increase the number of students preparing for careers in public health

Create new curricula and

enhance existing curricula

Implement teacher training workshops in a

variety of venues

Develop cadre of epidemiology

curriculum developers

Obtain support of stakeholders (educators, epidemiologists, public health community, professional

organizations, scientific journals, government)

Develop mechanisms to focus and coordinate efforts of many interested but busy stakeholders

Assess Short- and Long-Term Goals

Create Demand

Prepare Teachers

Develop Curricula

Maintain Momentum

Implement demonstration projects in a

variety of school and non-school

venues Evaluate curricula

Infuse into educational structure (state / national standards, standardized testing, textbooks)

Develop mechanisms to make people aware of the efforts of others (web site, newsletter, list serve)

Goals and Framework for Action

Next: Scorecard and examples . . .

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Create new curricula and enhance existing curricula

Develop cadre of epidemiology curriculum developers

Evaluate curricula

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Examples:

1.New curricula for middle and high school2.Science Olympiad trial event

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

1. New curriculum for high school

http://www.montclair.edu/drugepi/

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

1.New curriculum for middle school

(Under development)National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

2. Science Olympiad trial event

Based on authentic assessments, as realistic as possible, complex experiences that allow opportunities for rehearsal, practice, consultation, feedback, and refinement

Hypothesis: Authentic epidemiology assessments will capture students’ attention and challenge their scientific reasoning

Goal: To have students learn, do, and get excited about epidemiology

Rationale: Science competitions provide an alternate venue for introducing non-traditional content and/or learning experiences

http://www.njscienceolympiad.org/content/events/c/websites/epidemiology/index.html

2010 S0 Epi Challenge Event

Overview

• A high school trial event in New Jersey, for which points were awarded at both the regional and state competitions

• Epi Challenge format

– Teams of four students tested a hypothesis by conducting an epidemiological study in their school district

– Each team selected their own health-related hypothesis among several choices of exposures and outcomes to study

– Teams submitted detailed proposals and other materials according to instructions and templates

– Regional competition: scoring and ranking of study proposals

– State competition: presentation of study results in a poster session, with assessment by 10 epidemiologist judges

Ethics training required of all team members: NIH online training in research ethics

2010 S0 Epi Challenge Event

2010 NJ State Finals

2010 NJ State Finals

2010 NJ State Finals

2010 NJ State Finals

2010 NJ State Finals

2010 NJ State Finals

Think Like an Epidemiologist ChallengeNew Jersey Science Olympiad, March 16, 2010

Thank you for stepping up, being a pioneer, and competing in the first Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge trial event.

You worked with others, developed epidemiologic knowledge and skills, and used judgment and innovation to actually "do" epidemiology under pressure.

We hope you enjoyed the challenge.

NameSchool

Teach Epidemiology

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Detectives in the Classroom

Special thanks to the Epidemiology Section of the American Public Health Association for allowing us to distribute their Section pins to the student participants in the 2010 Think Like an Epidemiologist Challenge.

Implement teacher training workshops in a variety of venues

Implement demonstration projects in a variety of school and non-school venues

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Examples:

1.Teach Epidemiology professional development workshops2.Social Networking of Teach Epidemiology alumni to develop lessons from current news stories

3.Demonstration projects

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

1. Teach Epidemiology

• Professional development workshops to increase use of Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) teaching units supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)

• Over the past four years, fourteen workshops have been held for more than 250 teachers

• Workshops feature YES Teaching Units and other epidemiology curricula

• Held by an educator and an epidemiologist, workshops include: Learning epidemiological concepts Observing epidemiology lessons for students Hands-on teaching experience

o Create and teach new epidemiology lessonso Teach existing epidemiology lessonso Infuse epidemiology into existing lesson about something elseo View a news item from an epidemiologic perspective

http://www.teachepidemiology.org/

Teach EpidemiologyCDC Global Odyssey Museum, Atlanta 2010

Teach EpidemiologyIncline Village, NV 2010

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

To understand something as a specific instance of a more general case … is to have learned not only a specific thing

but also a model for understanding other things like it that one may encounter.

To understand something as a specific instance of a more general case … is to have learned not only a specific thing

but also a model for understanding other things like it that one may encounter.

“Bed Bugs Found at

Times Square Movie Theater”

2. Social networking of Teach Epidemiology alumni to develop “real time” lessons

will

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

3. Demonstration Projects

Epidemiology Camp, Clarion, PA

Middletown (PA) Area High

School

After-School Epidemiology and Public Health Club

“The Descriptive Epidemiology of Absenteeism”

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

3. Demonstration Projects

Creating a Public Health School-to-Career Path in four Newark (NJ) high schools that motivates them toward public health fields

Infuse into educational structure (state / national standards, standardized testing, textbooks)

Obtain support of stakeholders (educators, epidemiologists, public health community, professional organizations, scientific journals, government)

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Examples:

1.Georgia standards for high school epidemiology course

2.Professional meetings

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

1. Georgia standards for high school epidemiology course

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Pages/BrowseStandards/ ScienceStandards9-12.aspx

Georgia is the first state to offer epidemiology at the high school level. Standards have been developed for creation of curricula so that can students can study epidemiology. Taking an epidemiology course will meet state science requirements.

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

2. Professional Meetings

• American Public Health Association (APHA) Meetings - 2005-2010

• New Jersey Science Convention (NJSTA)

• Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)

• 2006 North American Congress of Epidemiology

• Consensus Conference on Undergraduate Public Health Education, Boston University School of Public Health

• National Science and Technology Week annual event held by the National Resources Canada (NRCan)

• Public Health Education Stakeholders Meeting – Penn State Hershey College of Medicine

Develop mechanisms to make people aware of the efforts of others (website, newsletter, list serve)

Develop mechanisms to focus and coordinate efforts of many interested but busy stakeholders

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Examples:

1.Website

2.Publications

http://www.epiedmovement.org/index.htm

“Professional Development for Prospective Epidemiology Teachers in Grades 6-16: What Will We Do?" M Kaelin, W Huebner, R Cordell, B Szklarczuk. Public Health Reports 2008 Supplement 2, Vol 123.

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

2. Publications

“Epidemiology and Education: Using Public Health for Teaching Mathematics and Science” DF Stroup and SB Thacker. Public Health Reports, 2007; Vol 122

“Epidemiology, the basic science of public health, provides a compelling and relevant context for teaching science and mathematics ... and is an avenue for enabling students to grasp the relevance of real-world application of mathematics and science …”

Perform assessments of short-term outcomes (e.g., knowledge in epidemiology, problem-solving skills)

Perform assessments of key long-term metrics of success (e.g., time trends in science scores, science enrollment, careers)

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

Examples:

1.Funding organizations are urging more rigorous evaluations2.Collaboration, communication, and mutual interest among stakeholders

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

1. Funding organizations are urging more rigorous evaluations

Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA) (from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• SEPA has increased evaluation requirements in recent years

• SEPA is supporting the development/testing of an instrument to measure scientific literacy, for use in one project and potential use in other future projects

The Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) (part of the US Department of Education)

• IES sets high standards of evaluation in separate grants to address “Efficacy and Replication” projects. (Efficacy is defined as “the degree to which an intervention has a net positive impact on the outcomes of interest in relation to the program or practice to which it is being compared.”)

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

2. Collaboration, communication, and mutual interest among stakeholders

Pathways have developed and strengthened since 2005

Curriculum Developers in

SEPA Program

Science Olympiad

Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition (RWJF)

Epi Monitor

CDC Global Health Odyssey Museum

CDC Science Education and Professional Development Program Office

Penn State Hershey College of Medicine

Newark Public SchoolsNJ Office of Career and Technical

Education

Epidemiology Section of APHA

Georgia Department of

Education Teach Epidemiology

(RWJF)

Framework for Action

Develop Curricula

Prepare Teachers

Create Demand

Maintain Momentum

Assess Outcomes

• Finding “room” in classrooms / alternate venues• Teacher outreach and follow-up• Standards in more states• Short- and long-term evaluations

In conclusion . . .

Do you feel the “Movement?”

How can we meet the continuing challenges?