Excellence in the Design and Delivery of an Online Global Health Survey Course: A Roadmap for Educators

Abstract

The release of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2016, the growing use of online delivery formats for public health education, and the urgent need to train an expanding global health workforce all reflect the need to adopt best practices in the design and delivery of online global health courses. The purpose of this coaching article is to share peer-to-peer strategies and best practices for developing a global health survey course for online delivery. Important elements for consideration include the use of a backward design approach, global health competency review and selection, the scope and sequencing of key content areas, meaningful assessments of competency mastery, the development of authentic learning strategies, the potential use of open educational resources, and strategies for ongoing course evaluation and refinement. A backward course design, with well-selected content domains and competencies, opens the way for the development of the best possible learning experiences that are consistent with national benchmarks for online course development. The use of this strategy has resulted in a much keener sense of course “ownership” on our part, along with enhanced learning experiences and satisfaction for students.