Reflections on Experiential Learning in an Undergraduate Global Health Course - Bringing the Workplace into the Classroom

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

Reflections on incorporating experiential learning into an undergraduate global health course focuses on how workplace-like class experiences can strengthen student success and readiness for the job market. The article outlines a practical course-design process and extracts three central lessons: set one overarching goal, align learning activities with real-world expectations, and make students see the links between their projects and course content. It also discusses the broader debates, definitional foundations, and benefits and risks of experiential approaches in global health education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Course Design Approach

Developing the experiential learning goal

Designing learning outcomes based on the goal

Aligning teaching activities with outcomes

Ensuring assessment and feedback based on experiential activities

Reflections on Experiential Learning inan Undergraduate Global Health Course: Bringing the Workplace into the Classroom Obidimma Ezezika Experiential learning has the potential to enhance students’ success and prepare them for the job market, including through class experiences that mirror experiences in the workforce. In this article, I lay out the process of incorporating experiential learning in a global health course. I have derived three key lessons from the design and implementation of this course: focus on one overarching goal, align learning activities with real world expectations, and help students understand connections between their projects and course content. These lessons provide insights to integrate experiential learning activities in the classroom. L’apprentissage expérientiel a le potentiel d’améliorer la réussite des étudiants et de lespréparer pour le marché du travail, notamment en créant en classe des expériences qui ressemblent aux expériences en milieu de travail. Dans cet article, je présente le processus d’incorporation de l’apprentissage expérientiel dans un cours sur lasanté mondiale. Je tire trois leçons de la conception et de la mise en œuvre de ce cours : ilfaut 1) se concentrer sur un objectifprimordial, 2) harmoniser les activités d’apprentissage et les attentes du monde réel et 3) aider les étudiants à comprendre les rapports entre leurs projets et le contenu du cours. Ces leçonspermettent de mieux comprendre comment incorporer des activités d’apprentissage expérientiel en classe. There are ongoing discussions on how to make global health educational courses and programs meet the core requirements for public health and better prepare students through experiential learning (Friedman & Rigby, 2012; Hoffman & Silverberg, 2015; Kienzler & Fontanesi, 2017; Wilson et al., 2014) . These discussions are fueled by the recent interest in effective global health education across North America (Drain et al., 2017; Lencucha & Mohindra, 2014; Withers et al., 2016) . Experiential learning can be defined as learning from experience or learning by doing (Lewis & Williams, 1994), which involves action, reflection, abstraction, and application (Fry & Kolb, 1975; Itin, 1999) . It can be an effective approach to teaching global health ina way that makes students feel connected to the field and provides students with a hands-on, meaningful, educational experience. Experiential learning is relevant to global health education due to the inherent pragmatic nature of the subject (Hoffman & Silverberg, 2015) . For example, global health is defined as “collaborative transnational research and action for promoting health for all” (Beaglehole & Bonita, 2010), and strives for“health equity among nations and for all people” as its major objective (Koplan et al., 2009) . The concept of global health is therefore connected to practice, and institutions and departments are motivated to provide their students with real-world skills due to the benefits that experiential learning can bring to global public health education (Hu & A, 2015; Baytor & Cabrera, 2014) . Traditionally, global health programs have strived to integrate experiential learning activities into their programs through overseas placement for their students which generally result in positive outcomes (Cole et al., 2012: Panosian & Coates, 2006) . However, there are risksand challenges associated with this kind of experiential learning. For example, students can become daunted by intense experiences and the high cost and planning associated with overseas travels and expenses (Parsi & List, 2008) . The general consensus is that global health programs and courses should integrate experiential learning activities. For example, a systematic review of undergraduate majors in global health by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, 2016 (Drain et al., 2017), resulted in seven recommendations for the effective development and expansion of an u

FAQs

What are the three key lessons highlighted for implementing experiential learning in a global health course?

The article emphasizes focusing on one overarching goal, aligning learning activities with real-world expectations, and helping students understand connections between their projects and course content.

How is experiential learning defined in the article?

Experiential learning is described as learning from experience or learning by doing, involving action, reflection, abstraction, and application.

What course design approach does the author use to integrate workplace experiences into a classroom setting?

The course follows four steps: develop the experiential learning goal, design learning outcomes, align teaching and learning activities with the outcomes, and ensure assessment and feedback are based on experiential teaching and activities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore