Experiential Learning

The Department of Biobehavioral Health is incorporating new experiential learning opportunities into the required courses and electives. These opportunities offer students insight into real-world experiences and a chance to see first-hand what some jobs entail.

Experiential learning in Biobehavioral Health

• In BBH 143: Drugs, Behavior, and Health, students took a trip to Peniel Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
   
• In BBH 305: Introduction to Global Health, students went to the United Nations, attended a policy briefing on the economic forecast, and visited the Schar Cancer Institute, learning about the psychosocial impacts and health disparities related to cancer.
   
• In BBH 368: Neuroanatomy, Behavior, and Health, students visited Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center to participate in brain dissections to help students better understand neuroanatomy.
   
• In BBH 440: Principles of Epidemiology, students spent the day at the PA Bureau of Epidemiology to learn about a day in the life of an epidemiologist.
   
• In BBH 451: Pharmacological Influences on Health, students visited Sigma-Aldrich to learn about research, development, and manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs.
   
• In BBH 432: Biobehavioral Aspects of Stress, a.k.a. "the stress class," students took an experiential learning field trip to O-An Zendo, a meditation center in central Pennsylvania. The class reviewed scientific evidence of the biological, behavioral, and health benefits of regular meditation, and had the opportunity to learn and practice several meditation techniques, guided by Meido Barbara Anderson and Taishan Michael Augustin. After the trip, students completed a self-reflection on their experience and identified aspects of the trip that were most impactful, including how they could implement specific meditation techniques into their daily lives.