By Haiyan Zhou
Prof. LeGrand teaches Duke students using well-designed teaching techniques and innovative technology to motivate and engage her students. She has traveled all over the world for her research, but teaching at DKU was her first time teaching outside of the U.S.
On the first day of her “Social Determinants of Health: China and the World” class at DKU, after the usual welcome speech and introductions, she immediately launched a class activity called “the power walk.”
Students were divided into groups. Each group portrayed a person with a distinct socioeconomic background, such as a young American dropout, a Ugandan woman, or a homeless man from St. Petersburg. Each group selected a “walker” to represent this person.
After consulting the rest of the group, the “walker” took a step forward or backward from the starting line in response to directives such as the following:
“Take a step forward if you have easy access to clean water.”
“Take a step forward if you have adequate social support and have enough time to enjoy social activities.”
“Take a step backward if you face discrimination because of your gender, race, or ethnicity.”
At the end of the activity, the distance between the walker and the rest of the group represented his/her power and access to the resources. As Prof. LeGrand explained, “This is called the Power Walk because these people that are further up [from the starting line] have more power in the world and their societies, and this greatly influences their health outcomes.”
It was amazing when everyone was laughing, talking, and working in groups in a friendly atmosphere. On the very first day, the students had already connected with the content and with each other.
By conducting an activity that requires students to be fully engaged both physically and mentally at the beginning of the first class, the instructor can quickly grab students’ attention and set the tone of active collaboration. The first day of a class is a very important timing, at which students are keen to determine who they are going to be working with, what expectations are from the instructor, and what skills they are going to learn.
Based on the observation, students loved Prof. LeGrand’s well-designed activities from the beginning to the end. They enjoyed learning from the instructor, their groups, and their group projects. It was not only a class, but also a wonderful learning experience.
