Using Service Learning to Teach Teamwork and Peer Learning Skills to Health Services and Information Management Students

摘要

There is a growing movement in higher education to incorporate service learning into curricula through relationships with community partners. In addition to service learning, many health education programs utilize peer learning and teamwork as a pedagogical technique. Studies have suggested that students working together within teams in an interdisciplinary milieu early in the education process will facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork in their professional practice. A pilot study was conducted at East Carolina University's College of Allied Health Sciences in the Department of Health Services and Information Management with two faculty integrating the concepts of service learning, peer learning, and teamwork into their coursework. Outcomes from the team experience encouraged shared learning between two different groups of learners and understanding the importance of teamwork while building a sense of civic responsibility among students. The results of the study suggest that there are ten factors that determine the success of a service learning project. Those factors include: leadership, commitment, initiative, communication, preceptor support, site support, cooperation, early project identification, team formation, and results. The study found that the themes of communication, scheduling, and project and group dynamics play a role in whether the identified factors manifest themselves in the team building process.