Incorporation of Project-based Learning into an Occupational Health Course

Abstract

Objective: Use of an appropriate teaching approach is a major concern for faculty members who are involved in occupational health and safety academic education. The challenge is to explore teaching tools to equip students with knowledge and skills to prepare them for their practices, in which they will encounter occupational health and safety issues in various occupational settings. The current study presents the design and implementation of a team project-based learning approach for undergraduate occupational health students to examine the appropriateness and perceptions of students and educators with regard to such a learning experience. Methodology: Steps were taken to guide the educators and students through the learning process based on projects completed in teams. The research tools for collecting data were a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with participants. Results: The results illustrated that use of the proposed teaching approach as part of occupational health education may have the potential to motivate and enhance the active roles of educators and students in the learning process, and improve students' technical and social skills that are crucial for practice in the occupational health field. Conclusions: The study findings showed that project-based learning may provide a promising teaching strategy in the education and training of occupational health students. In addition, academic institutions should encourage educators to plan, introduce and evaluate the effectiveness of project-based learning.(J Occup Health 2013; 55: 125–131)