Professor: Egilman Course format: Seminar Number of respondents: 8 Total Enrollment: 11 Class Composition: Froshs: 1 Sophs: 4 Jrs: 2 Srs: 4 Concs: 6 Non-Concs: 2 Don't Know: 0

Instructor Average: 1.60 Course Average: 1.59

"Occupational and Environmental Health" requires nothing more than an interest in community health, social justice, issues pertaining to health, scientific philosophy, and environmental and occupational hazards. The goal of this course is for students to understand the complexities of science, logic, and ethics. To comprehend these issues, enrollees must critically analyze and question the process of science. The course intended that students apply the material learned to the real world.

Egilman possessed a free style of teaching, one that fascinated students and sparked debate with controversy. Reviewers discovered that he was open to suggestions in terms of course content and organization. Indeed, he developed projects that suited the interests of students in the class. The instructor focused on ensuring that the reviewers understood the issues and concepts introduced through the curriculum. Respondents found him to be approachable and reassuring when they did not comprehend the material.

On average, students devoted three to five hours per week to the course outside of class. The workload consisted of one twenty-page paper, one project that included community involvement, and weekly reading assignments. Overall, the reviewers devoted a great deal of effort to the class, as both the material and small class size motivated them to complete the work and participate in class discussions. Although the reading at times posed some difficulty for the students, they learned a great deal about the philosophy of science from the course. They left the class with a number of different perspectives and opinions on the subject matter. There were numerous opportunities for class participation. The instructor did not observe Reading Period, as a class with a guest speaker was scheduled during that time.

The respondents truly enjoyed all aspects of the course: the class discussions, the guest speaker, and the curriculum. They suggest to future enrollees that they keep an open mind about the material and that they try all aspects of the class, as there were unique opportunities offered to students during the course. The reviewers were very content with their decision to take this class.

View BC/0168 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.