Congratulations to PACE Lab members Melat Mekonnen, Bansari Shah, and Meredith Wessel on earning funding from the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) this fall. They are all working on different aspects of the PACE Lab student-led project on caffeine intake, physical activity, and sleep among college students. Keep up the great work!

New research from Dr. Jennifer Gay of the PACE Lab found that although exercise in four minute chunks is beneficial for physiological benefits like lowering blood sugar, it may not be sufficient to improve mental health in college students. This study looked at short-term changes in mental and physical fatigue and mental and physical energy. One of the challenges for our sample was that they already had relatively high feelings of energy and low feelings of fatigue. Check out the full article for more!

Congratulations to Meredith Wessel, Jasmine Udeshi, Madeline Kerestman, Madison Picklesimer, and Rithika Archinapalli for receiving Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Research Awards! These awards, $1,000 each, support students during a semester to conduct research. Together these PACE Lab team members have developed a set of research questions pertaining to student health. In addition to generating their own research questions, they will identify ways to measure their selected variables, conduct primary data collection, analyze their data, and present their findings at the annual CURO Symposium in April. Great work everyone!

Some great guidance from our partners at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant!

#UofSC22 grad 🎓 (MPH in HSPM) Chantal LaFlamme has landed a project manager role with healthcare-focused technology organization 🎉

She's excited to use her @DegreesofHealth to improve the healthcare system ➡️ https://t.co/cYEVD5dnrA#ArnoldSchoolProud #WeArePublicHealth pic.twitter.com/VkSl4zO9O0

— USC Arnold School of Public Health (@USCArnoldSchool) April 29, 2022

Find the full story here!

One concrete example of Dr. Gay’s teaching innovation is her use of the specification grading approach. In this grading scheme, all the assignments in the class are graded as “Satisfactory/Competent” or “Needs More Work”. Assignments in the latter category may be revised based on the extensive feedback that Dr. Gay provides.  This means that there are no points, and each assignment carries the same weight.  It also means that students are encouraged to gain mastery of the concepts through revisions.  The students know exactly how many Satisfactory assignments they need to complete to get the final grade they want.  This novel approach gives students more control as they decide how many assignments to submit or revise.  It also encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and shifts the focus from points to meeting learning objectives. 

This grading scheme and the assignments in her classes are based in principles of inclusion, autonomy, and control following the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Inclusive and Equitable Teaching Curriculum Crosswalk. Her general teaching style of engagement and inclusion follows these same principals. She meets students where they are, which is particularly important in a degree program where there is a wide range of background knowledge in public health. She does this by engaging with her students, in both her in-person and online courses.  She makes materials relatable to students, posting announcements with content-related examples from recent news stories, podcasts, or videos. For example, each course eLC homepage has a widget dedicated to recent, humorous news from science or public health outlets.  This keeps the material engaging, relevant, and timely. She also uses the eLC Awards feature, providing students with encouragement and awards throughout the semester.  

Dr. Gay is the first faculty member in the College of Public Health to earn the Creative Teaching Award!

But perhaps the feedback from students themselves speaks better than anything we as colleagues can detail.  Dr. Gay conducts her own end-of-term evaluations to assess the grading scheme and solicit feedback for improvement. Students reported that the way she structures her class reduces their stress (89%), provides more flexibility, (100%), and gives them more control compared to other courses (100%). Her qualitative feedback expands on this positive feedback. Below are just a few of her evaluation comments from Fall 2022: 

• I felt that Dr. Gay focused on skill acquisition rather than simple knowledge building, and this is something I quite enjoyed and found useful at the graduate level. All the assignments we did felt like they had a purpose, and they were driven based on important course objectives. I enjoyed that we walked through every step of the research process in a way that encouraged questions and promoted learning from mistakes (as is done in real life). 
• I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Gay’s teaching style. She made me feel like she actually cared about me, my work, and whether or not I understood the material. She also emphasized the importance of diversity, which made me (a student of color) feel seen. 
• I felt as though the grading system in this class was the best I have been exposed to. By allowing revisions, Dr. Gay provided us with an opportunity to revisit previous work and improve our grade instead of requiring mastery of the concepts at only one point in time or for one assignment. I felt as though I learned a lot more from the revision process, as Dr. Gay was consistently a massive help whenever I had questions and was happy to point me in the right direction if I was lost. I learned the most in this class, and I believe that is due to Dr. Gay’s grading structure incentivizing revisiting past concepts. 
• She showed me what a caring and effective professor looks like! 

Her students agree that her innovation in teaching online content is what makes online learning exciting. “Unlike many of my other professors, Dr. Gay included weekly video presentations over the week’s topic along with supplemental videos, readings, and resources.” Jennie is available to her students, which is difficult in an online environment. “I have gained a better understanding in research methods and design and have also developed a strong interest in community nutrition interventions. While online learning has been difficult throughout the pandemic, Dr. Gay’s courses made online learning both effective and enjoyable.” Another, non-traditional student, wrote, “I can credit Professor Gay with simplifying the complex and igniting a desire to learn and know more about what the number(s) behind the analysis means.” 

Congratulations Dr. Gay on being an awesome teacher!