Pandemic pedagogy: Experiential learning illustrating risk and health communication principles

Instructors in medical and health fields have long used experiential learning activities to complement traditional methods of teaching. The following details a scenario developed for a health communication course that simulates a plague outbreak and requires students to draw from best practice related to crisis and emergency risk communication, patient-provider communication, and health promotion targeting behavior change. Sorted into a variety of stakeholder groups, students "win" the game by accomplishing two objectives: (1) assembling puzzle pieces to unlock a cure, and (2) demonstrating effective communication capacities throughout the scenario so that the public accepts the cure. The experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has served as a means to reflect on what works and what needs to be modified in this scenario.