Miami University

Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons From an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course

E.J. Robbins, J.M. Kinney, & C.S. Kart
2008

With NIH (R15/AREA) funding, we offered a 4-credit hour undergraduate research course aimed at providing students with the opportunity to a) gain knowledge about diabetes and racial/ethnic disparities in the management of the illness, and b) develop expertise in secondary data analysis, using the BRFSS data set. We examined student pre-test/post-test questionnaire data; rubric assessment of students' work; and mid- and end-of-the-semester student evaluations to highlight three distinct aspects of the course: a) skills acquired by students, b) students' evaluation of the course, and c) successes and challenges of implementing the course. Pre- and post-test assessments indicate that students demonstrated a significant increase in their knowledge of diabetes as well as perceptions of their research skills.

(Published in Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 105-123.)

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