The course as a learning community & Reading strategies

Idea: Developing epidemiological literacy requires collaboration with others (of differing skills and interests) and reflection on personal and professional development.
Idea: Developing epidemiological literacy requires establish our own practices of learning from material we don't fully grasp at first reading/hearing.

Initial notes from PT on Approaches to Reading

Activity for Class 1, 2009
Case study 1: Risks in risk reduction
Read the newspaper article: Rabin, R. (2009). "Rare Side Effect Is Seen in Long-Term Use of a Breast Cancer Drug," New York Times (August 26) [predistributed]. Make notes on: what you learned; questions the article raised for you; and where you skimmed/skipped because you did not understand/appreciate the technical detail. Think about the specific steps you'd take –- other than waiting for the instructor to explain everything -- to address the questions and to understand/appreciate more. In other words, the purpose of reading this article now is not to critically understand the research right away, but to get us thinking and talking about how we establish our own practices of learning from material we don't fully grasp at first reading.

In class we will compare our readings of the article, then discuss our reading/learning strategies.

Case study 2: John Lynch video
On analysis that relates to effective interventions, absolute versus relative risk, and how health disparities are conceived.

Start to watch the video at http://cpheo4.sph.umn.edu/ramgen/vcontent/healthdisparities/lynch/lynch.smil
(You should see John in the top corner, hear his voice, and see his powerpoints in the large box. If this is not the case, you'll have to try another computer.)
Again, make notes on: what you learn; questions the video raises for you; and where you skim/skip/stall/rewind because you do not understand/appreciate the technical detail. Stop when you feel too lost or frustrated – overwhelming you is not the point of
watching this video now. Rather, the point is as for the article (see above) and also to provide a benchmark against which you can appreciate how much you've learned as the semester progresses.

In class we will watch some of the video, then discuss our listening/learning strategies.

Additional notes on reading
Activity from 2007 class on the progression of the translation of research for the general audience.

more points to be added during weeks ahead

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Annotations on common readings

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Annotated additions by students

(Make additions in alphabetical order by author's name and at the end of your entry add your initials and the year you're taking the course. Guidelines)

McNeal, A. (n.d.) How to Read a Scientific Research Paper--a four-step guide for students and for faculty. Retrieved on August 23, 2007 from http://helios.hampshire.edu/~apmNS/design/RESOURCES/HOW_READ.html
Good advice for how to systematically approach reading a technical or scientific article with little or no background in the topic. The section for faculty is also helpful for students as it shows how to “chunk” different parts of the paper in order to reduce anxiety and concentrate on the type of information provided in each part (i.e., introduction, methods, results, discussion). (JC '07)