Teaching and learning strategies in a biostatistics course during the pandemic: Perceptions of doctoral students

Abstract

The study analyzes how ten public health PhD students perceive the teaching strategies implemented in a biostatistics course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The teaching strategies implemented within the course through online meetings were reading reports, critical reading of research articles and analysis of real data using specialized and free software. The sources of information were open dialogues with students at the end of the course and written evaluations regarding methodological aspects. Each student assessed the course and analyzed their learning processes and perceptions. In general, students’ perceptions of time management, class agenda, reading reports, class-by-class reviews, critical reading, and using statistical software with real data were positive. Results are consistent with previous work about students’ perceptions, and these teaching strategies positively transform students’ perception of statistics.