Catching up with…Emily Jones, EdD, MEHP Assistant Professor
If new MEHP Assistant Professor Emily Jones looks familiar, it’s because she has a long history with the MEHP program and the field of education.
Jones, who joined the faculty full time in August, has been teaching courses such as Foundations to Innovation: Adult Learning, Advanced Simulation Strategies, and Mixed Methods Research.
Previously an adjunct lecturer for MEHP, Jones was well familiar with the program since its inception, having worked closely for nearly a decade with Anne Belcher, RN, PhD, one of the program’s founders and a longtime associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She says she was excited about joining such a dynamic program.
“Due in part to the development and integration of advanced technology, health education has changed more in the last 10 years than it has in the last 110 years,” says Jones. “Exposing practitioners to cutting-edge educational strategies while immersing them in a cultural tradition of excellence is something that those teaching in the MEHP program are uniquely positioned to do. That our program is offered online allows us to engage with learners and practitioners all over the world and expand the reach of a Johns Hopkins education.”
Her teaching philosophies are straightforward and encouraging.
“I believe that there shouldn’t be a lot of mystery to teaching and learning, that you should really try to make things explicit and apparent for students and lay things out in a very clear manner so that everybody knows what’s expected of them in advance, and they understand how they’re going to be successful,” Jones says. “I try to be very transparent when I’m teaching and I try to always make sure to tell learners why they’re learning something, the reasoning behind it, and how they might use it in the future. That really makes a difference when you’re talking to adult learners.”
Jones’ career began at Ohio State University, where she earned two bachelor’s degrees, in journalism and theatre, and a master’s degree in education. While working toward her master’s, she spent time making documentary-style films for what is now the Center for Life Sciences Education. Some highlighted university faculty and told stories of what they did outside the lecture halls, while others offered a creative take on teaching, like having the university marching band step in a manner that imitated the Krebs cycle—a sequence of reactions through which living cells generate energy.
Jones says the work fit in with her passion for continuous learning.
“I’m a visually oriented person, and think film provides a good platform to provide information to people in a way that’s very easy to take in,” Jones says. “I found myself in a role where I really enjoyed telling stories. I believe good teaching can be centered around people’s stories, and I also realized that I really enjoyed working with scientists and health care providers.”
Then, at Johns Hopkins, Jones worked for nine-plus years as an instructional designer and emerging technologies manager for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and managed the school’s simulation lab. After earning a doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, Jones did some adjunct teaching and instructional design, research, and technology consulting work before joining MEHP.
