Quality Enhancement Plan: Senior Capstone Course CHS 408/Health Education Methods

1. Quality Enhancement Plan:Senior Capstone CourseCHS 408/Health Education Methods Susan Graham-Kresge Department of Community Health Sciences

2. Health Education Methods • Survey of teaching methods for health education program delivery • Outcome is a higher level of proficiency in implementation of health education programs

3. Course Goal …to demonstrate written and oral communication skills that are clearly focused, logically developed, technically correct, culturally relevant , and effectively delivered. 2006 course syllabus

4. Course objectives • Access and utilize health education information resources. • Develop appropriate and measurable health education objectives. • Choose methods best suited for achievement of specified objectives. • Demonstrate proficient use of multiple educational methods.

5. Course objectives • Develop and competently implement a health education interventions on focused health issues for specified population segments. • Exhibit competence in the utilization of focus group technology as applied to needs assessment, materials review, program planning or marketing.

6. Rethinking Student Writing • Instructors should validate cultural speech and writing and at the same time hold high standards for professional communication. • Written assignments should go through a revision process before submission. • Students should learn to self-assess. • Students may function as peer reviewers. • Consultation with the writing lab should be for all students, not just those with challenges.

7. Rethinking Oral Communication • Acknowledge students’ anxiety. • Start small to build confidence. • Regard time spent on presentations as central to learning rather than time taken away from content. • Experiences should lead to a skill level expected of entry-level health educators.

8. Students as Active Learners • Written and oral immersion in a subject enhances critical thinking and leads to greater mastery. • Multiple opportunities to write/speak and receive feedback enhance communication skills.

9. How should student progress be assessed?

10. Potential Oral Communication Assessment Measures • Pretest/posttest of speech anxiety • Rubric-based comparison of first presentation with final presentation • Pre-test/post-test video of each student desirable but unlikely at this point

11. Potential Written Communication Assessment Measures • Pre-test/post-test writing samples assessed with discipline specific rubric • First drafts of each project assessed against final products

12. Writing Intensive Assignments Start small • Resource file • Health education methods fact sheets Increasing complexity • Health Education Program Packet (HEPP) • Focus Group Project Complex • Bethesda Youth Conference Breakout Sessions

13. Oral Communication Intensive Assignments Start small • Method Presentation (3 min) Increasing Complexity • HEPP Program- health promotion for college students (15 min) • Focus Group (20 min) Complex • Bethesda Youth Conference Breakout Sessions (40 minute group sessions)

14. Resource File • Identifying and sharing resources • One health topic • Web resources • Federal agencies • Professional organizations • nonprofits • State and local agency resources • Easy, practical, nonthreatening

15. Health Education Methods Fact Sheets • Investigation of methods used to achieve behavioral and learning objectives • 1-2 page document • Stages: draft, peer review, final written product • 3 minute presentation • Straightforward, not too threatening

16. Health Education Program Packet and Presentation (HEPP) • Market is Resident Assistants via Clinic • Complete health education presentation • Program description and objectives • Background information • Step-by-step session guide • Marketing tool • Local resources • Session evaluation form

17. HEPP • Requires application of health education concepts/theories learned in other courses • Stages: first draft, self-assessment, second draft, Writing Lab consultation, final copy • Written component • 5 page packet • Oral communication component- 15-20 minute presentation • Fairly complex

18. Focus Group Project • Students study, observe, plan, and conduct a focus group • Important skill for the health educator- assessing, planning, marketing, evaluating • Stages- proposal, draft discussion guide, conduct focus group, analyze notes, prepare and submit 10 page report • Complex

19. Bethesda Youth Conference Breakout Sessions • Conference for African American teens • Demanding group project • Student groups plan and implement 40-minute breakout sessions • Stages • draft of objectives, content, methods, word for word script, evaluation tool • Peer and instructor reviews of proposal • Rehearsal • Implementation • Report of 10 pages (final versions of products, evaluation results, reflection papers, photographs)

20. Learning by Doing • Writing and speaking enhances critical thinking. • Written and oral immersion in a subject leads to greater mastery of the competencies required for professional practice. • Courses that provide multiple opportunities for students to write, to speak, and to become effective communicators are essential for education and professional development.

21. Thank You Thanks to everyone who has been part of the seminar for challenging me to find ever better ways of doing what I love to do. Plutarch said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” My fire has been kindled, my syllabus revised, and my students are nervous but hopeful!