Public Health Course in HSPH News

Image of Sue J. Goldie filming the course in the studio

At a crucial moment in online pedagogy and public health, CHDS’ Faculty Director Sue J. Goldie redesigned a third iteration of her online orientation course, “Foundations for Public Health,” to prepare and support incoming Harvard Chan School students for remote learning.

Traditionally offered in-person, Goldie used innovative teaching techniques and multimedia to reimagine the course in an online environment. “This course is special to me not only because I’m committed to ensuring every student is equipped with the public health concepts and literacies to be successful in their graduate studies,” Goldie shared, “but also because the course is a laboratory for how we can design and integrate multimodal learning experiences into conventional curricula.”

The Harvard Chan School’s news highlights Goldie’s teaching methods that transcend physical spaces and bridge digital divides, sparking creativity and enthusiasm in students across a myriad of public health programs. Goldie’s mission has been to refine multimedia so that it would not only be pedagogically effective, but also create an open and inclusive learning environment.

Goldie created a make-shift home studio by placing an iPad in front of her to film her speaking and mounting her iPhone overhead to capture her drawing. She is quick to credit the CHDS Media Hub, as well as GHELI, where experimentation and prototyping of pedagogical tools is their daily work. “The pandemic is a stark example of why ongoing innovation and pedagogical experimentation in the digital space is so important,” Goldie says.

About the CHDS Media Hub

Visit the CHDS Media Hub to learn more about multimedia innovation and the Studio-out-of-the-Box project, which aims to provide teachers with the ability to set up a home media studio with minimal cost and footprint. Led by Jake Waxman, the Media Hub is CHDS’ experimental digital environment explores, experiments, and prototypes creative multimedia approaches to teach, learn about, and communicate decision science.

Learn more: In Foundations of Public Health Course, the Creative Sparks Fly
Learn more: Teaching Toolkit: Visual Tools and Techniques

Related news: Sue J. Goldie Featured in Harvard Gazette
Related news: Sue J. Goldie on Teaching During COVID-19