As public health communication continues to evolve alongside emerging technologies and shifting workforce expectations, educators are challenged with preparing students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing field. Courses must also support increasingly diverse learners across a range of instructional modalities.
The Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B) is tackling this effort through a project to redesign B250: Public Health Communication—one of SPH-B’s highest-enrolled undergraduate courses and a foundational learning experience for many public health students.
To support this work, the faculty team of Amaury de Siqueira, assistant dean for education and strategic innovation; Erin Cooperman, lecturer in the Department of Applied Health Science; and Heather Eastman-Mueller, clinical associate professor in the Department of Applied Health Science, recently received a $6,000 Summer Instructional Development Fellowship (SIDF) through the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning (CITL) to lead a comprehensive redesign of B250.
The redesign will focus on a careful review of course learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities, with updates made as needed to better align with Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation standards and the needs of today’s public health workforce. The effort will also explore how best to prepare students to navigate emerging and rapidly evolving communication technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).
Beyond updating course content, the project is grounded in evidence-based instructional design practices, including backward course design, active learning, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and scalable multimodal course development. These approaches are intended to support student success across instructional formats and promote consistency, accessibility, equity, and quality while strengthening students’ ability to apply public health communication principles in real-world practice.
The project reflects the collaborative culture of the school and its commitment to providing high-quality, student-centered educational experiences that prepare graduates for success in the public health workforce. In addition to fellowship funding, school leadership is providing in-kind instructional design support through the SPH-B Office of Online Education to help ensure the course will continue to meet the needs of students while adapting to the evolving field of public health communication.
For de Siqueira, the project represents an opportunity to strengthen one of the school's most impactful undergraduate learning experiences.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues and grateful for the SPH-B leadership support and commitment to deliver excellence in undergraduate education across our school,” said de Siqueira.
For more trailblazing stories about our students, faculty, and staff, visit go.iu.edu/48bx.