Public Health Graduate Students' Longitudinal Perceptions of Remote Learning Challenges and Career Goals During an Ongoing Public Health Crisis

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic created a shift from traditional face-to-face learning toward remote learning, resulting in students experiencing unforeseen challenges and benefits through participation in a non-traditional mode of education. Little is known regarding the impact that a shift to remote learning may have had on the learning experiences and the career goals of Master of Public Health (MPH) students. A qualitative study was conducted among a convenience sample of MPH students in the US from January to April 2021. The primary aims were (1) to describe salient challenges or benefits of learning that persisted throughout a semester of remote learning and (2) to describe how being in graduate school during the pandemic impacted students' career goals in public health. A secondary aim was to describe students' general feelings regarding their public health education, given their lived experience of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings demonstrated that MPH students had mixed perceptions of how a shift to remote learning during a public health crisis impacted their learning experiences and career goals in public health over one semester. Understanding students' responses can guide public health instructors to best prepare trainees to join the workforce during ongoing and future unforeseen public health crises that continue or have the potential to disrupt learning modalities.

Impact of Transitioning to Remote Learning on Student Learning Interactions and Sense of Belonging Among Public Health Graduate Students

Student learning interactions and a sense of belonging are imperative to academic success within distance education settings. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, students who intended to be educated through in-person learning environments had to shift to remote learning suddenly. In public health, a field that emphasizes experiential and interactive learning, instructors and graduate students enrolled in residential in-person programs transitioned to remote learning with limited knowledge of how this transition would impact student learning interactions and a sense of belonging. To address these gaps, we examined how remote learning impacted Master of Public Health students’ learning interactions with peers, instructors, course content, as well as their sense of belonging in an overall sample and stratified by program year. We found that students perceived challenges interacting with peers, content, and instructors, such as a lack of community and an inability to interact with instructors during course discussions. Students reported not feeling a sense of belonging when engaging with peers and instructors. Findings from this study shed light on the challenges that emerged after students transitioned to remote learning, namely disrupted student learning interactions and a decreased sense of belonging. The study provides recommendations for future remote teaching, which may be of utility to university instructors and administrators tasked with creating and implementing an interactive remote learning curriculum that provides students with a community to foster learning. © 2022 Society for Public.