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This innovative exercise, "Is it Corruption?", helps students in BU's MPH program and mid-career professionals in the U4 Anti-corruption Resource Center develop skills in recognizing and analyzing corruption risks in health programs. By reading and discussing vignettes together, participants learn to discern seriousness, potential consequences, and differing viewpoints. This active learning approach fosters critical thinking and promotes understanding of complex social issues. The exercise engages participants at all levels and encourages thoughtful dialogue to enhance accountability and transparency in the health sector.
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Helping students understand complex social problems:the “Is it corruption?” exercise Taryn VianBoston University – School of Public Health tvian@bu.edu 617-414-1447
Context • BU course IH757 – Preventing Corruption in Health Programs (2 credits, MPH students) • Online course “Corruption in the Health Sector” U4 Anti-corruption Resource Center, Norway (continuing education for mid-career health and development professionals) • Goal: develop skills in analyzing corruption risks and developing strategies to increase accountability and transparency
What is corruption “Abuse of entrusted power for private gain” Transparency international
Exercise • Read the vignettes • Mark “Y” if you think it is corruption, or “N” if it is not corruption • Turn to your neighbor to share your ratings. Discuss one vignette which you found hard to rate.
Purpose of the exercise: help students to… • Recognize the ways that context influences perception (example: socially accepted practices; patronage and corruption) • Analyze situations to discern degrees of seriousness, potential consequences • Recognize areas and reasons why people may disagree • Engage in active learning early in the course
Why I think it works • Engages students immediately; no prior knowledge needed • Think alone, pairs, group – allows time to shape thoughts before contributing • People like the surprise of disagreeing, become curious, listen to each other • Inductive reasoning, from observations to generalizations, helps students to discover principles
Using this innovation • History, political science, English, social studies • Introduce social issues or controversial concepts • Examples: “racism”, “disabled”, “gender bias”, “culturally competent”