Teaching qualitative health research

Though these video-lectures were conceived of as an introduction to several methodological elements of qualitative health research for individual learning, they can also be used in formal teaching and learning environments, both in class or online courses. For example, in an inverted curriculum format, students can watch a video-lecture before class and come prepared to discuss the issues that viewing the video raised for them.

To teach qualitative health research in the health sciences is to engage with what Boler and Zembylas (2003) refer to as a pedagogy of discomfort. Teaching in this context is a considerable challenge as graduate students are often health care providers who are used to an understanding of science that is associated with certainty, linear thinking, and objectivity. Learning qualitative research may be experienced as unsettling and require “unlearning” long-held standpoints, received knowledge, and assumptions about knowledge production. These video-lectures are delivered by qualitative health researchers, instructors, and students who have faced these challenges. Many of these presenters are part of a community of practice and these collaborations have led to the development of a shared curriculum  that offers consistent and challenging learning opportunities to help students achieve a solid interdisciplinary and applied education.