What Students Value Most about the Learning Environment of a Postgraduate Public Health Classroom

Background: Distance based training and e-learning is rapidly creating a new future for training programs in public health. But we have little understanding of what public health students' prize most in face-to-face learning environments and the role this might play in facilitating learning outcomes. Method: A four year investigation of the aspects of the classroom environment most highly valued by postgraduate students of public health was conducted. Results and Conclusions: We found that the most highly valued aspects of the learning environment were those which facilitated relationships with lecturers and peers, and engagement with the subject. In spite of the turnover of students each year, for the most part the properties of the environment that they valued most did not change significantly from year to year.