Supporting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Public Health: An Ecosystem Approach

Educators can fulfill multiple roles in the realm of teaching and learning, such as scholars, learners, practitioners, and advocates. Public health educators can engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through various methods and levels, ranging from teacher-centered and informal approaches to student-centered and reflective practices. However, effective teaching practices are frequently not emphasized or included in public health graduate program curricula. The SoTL is rarely included in faculty onboarding and public health graduate programs and information on effective teaching practices is omitted from the curriculum or not a major focus. With the lack of training in the SoTL there comes a lack of dissemination of these practices to others. While many educators in public health are engaging in innovative projects or educational strategies, many lack the knowledge of how to study this or how to disseminate results from their work. Specifically, this paper advocates for an “ecosystems” approach—that is—understanding that public health education is taking place in living environments where students, faculty, and administrators are all engaged in acting upon one another and being acted upon simultaneously. An ecosystem approach to promoting the SoTL recognizes that teaching about public health is a naturalistic, living interaction that is influenced by events within the system and outside the system. This paper seeks to call to attention the need for institutional support for the SoTL practices and possible strategies for increasing the SoTL in public health.