Abstract
ABSTRACTThis article offers a description and critical evaluation of a novel method for inquiry-based learning (IBL) directed at undergraduate students: a Global Health Hackathon. The hackathon was piloted as part of an ‘Introduction to Global Health’ undergraduate course in order to enable students to gain and create knowledge about specific global health-related challenges and, simultaneously, to acquire tangible and transferable skills. We provide a critical evaluation of our practice by drawing on relevant academic literature concerned with IBL, course material to describe the hackathon and its related components and outputs, and student evaluations to reflect on the overall module experience. We conclude by sharing reflections and recommendations of necessary measures required to institutionalize IBL in a more sustainable manner in higher education institutions.
Highlights
Teaching staff in higher education institutions are encouraged to promote student-centered learning and to build stronger links between teaching and disciplinary research
As hackathons have been shown to facilitate collaborative learning through inquiry (Leckart 2012), we decided to pilot this novel approach in our Introduction to Global Health course with a focus on finding simple technological solutions to common global health problems
The stated goal was to assist in closing the ‘knowledge-to-action’ gap in global health through innovative Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KTE) methods
Summary
Teaching staff in higher education institutions are encouraged to promote student-centered learning and to build stronger links between teaching and disciplinary research. KEYWORDS Inquiry-based learning; transferable skills; undergraduate; hackathon; global health; knowledge translation and exchange
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