Senior Seminar: Semester I
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the core concepts, ethics, values and methodologies of community health education practice. You will have the opportunity to develop skills for assessing community health education needs; preparing written measurable health education objectives with associated methods and activities for achieving these objectives; and designing health education action plans that include implementation schemes and evaluation strategies for measuring health education program process, impact and outcome effectiveness. Lecture, class discussion and group work will be the methods employed by the course instructor to provide you with a multidimensional view of the responsibilities and competencies of the public health education specialist.
This course provides the foundation for all health education program planning, implementation, and evaluation that is currently being used by professional health educators in the field. As such, it is considered one of the more challenging courses you may have yet encountered in your professional studies. There is a significant amount of material to learn and internalize and a number of required outside tasks to be performed as this course progresses. You will be working with a group of your peers over the next two semesters to plan, implement and evaluate a “real” public health education project. You may find yourself feeling overwhelmed as the course progresses but if you do the reading, attend all classes, actively participate in your group project and ask questions when you don’t understand something you should be successful in mastering course material that will prepare you for HSCI 445 where you will complete your Senior Project year.
Expectations of Students
Participation in the Group Project is mandatory for all students in the Senior Project year. Thus, any student who fails to play an active and contributory role in their group will be removed from their group at the discretion of the course instructor and/or request of the group project team. A student removed from their group will be required to take on a new project by themselves and complete their project with as much detail as each of the other planning teams will do. Participation will be monitored closely by the class instructor and any student found causing a problem for the Team may be subject to removal from the Team at any point in the semester.
Group project work by its very nature is often frustrating and challenging but is also how public health education is practiced in the real world. The course instructor will be available to groups to help them make their way through the group process as projects evolve and he encourages group members to ask questions whenever they don’t understand something…
THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS SO ASK IF YOU DON”T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING!!!
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing in any form, you will receive a failing grade for the class and be reported to the University for appropriate disciplinary action.
When you come into the classroom you will be expected to turn off all telephones, pagers, etc.
Course Objectives:
Following participation in HSCI 441, the student will be able to:
Design, implement and analyze a basic needs assessment process for identifying both general and specific health education problems and concerns in any community setting they find themselves in.
1. Identify and discuss the major features of the PRECEDE-PROCEED planning model.
2. Write measurable health education objectives that reflect administrative, health education
program, health education target group, and health education learner level needs.
3. Develop a health education actionplan for interventing in an identified community health
education problem.
4. Design an implementation scheme for conducting a community health education program
to impact on an identified community health need.
5. Select/design appropriate evaluation measures and tools for assessing helath education
program effectiveness in addressing a specific community health problem; and
6. Discuss the ethical concerns related to health promotion and education program planning.
Course Requirements and Grading Policy:
Final grades for this course will be based on the number of points accumulated by each student in the group project paper, group member individual evaluation, attendance in class, and comprehensive final examination. The requirements for this course are as follows:
Group Project Paper:
Each student in the course will be assigned to a project planning team in the second week of the class. The purpose of this team will be to carry out a variety of tasks associated with the design of a health education program for a specified target group and health problem (to be approved by the course instructor). As a result of these tasks, the project team will write a series of two papers that provide a detailed analysis of a community health education need and a formal plan to deal with this need once approved by the course instructor. These papers will include the following elements:
The community backdrop, health status, health care system, social assistance system, real and perceived community health problems, populations at risk, target group specific needs assessment, and identification of the specific health behaviors to be impacted by the planning team’s health education action plan; and
Development of a formal health education program (Action Plan) to help resolve the health problem addressed in “A” above. This will include measurable health education objectives, methods and activities to achieve these objectives, an implementation plan, and a clear and appropriate evaluation plan and budget.
The first paper will be un-graded but will provide significant feedback to the planning team to prepare them for the final paper.
The final paper will include #1 above taking into consideration instructor comments as well as the Action Plan (#2 above).
The final paper will be worth 100 points. Since the paper is being written as a team, all members will receive the same number of points for the paper.
Final project papers deemed incomplete and/or un-doable will result in an incomplete grade for all group members. In this case the group will not be allowed to move on the HSCI 445 until the project is approved by the course instructor.
Group Individual Team Member Evaluation:
At the conclusion of the group project, each team member will conduct an evaluation of the performance of the other members of their team with respect to the group project (see attached evaluation form). It is expected that this evaluation will be done individually and with fairness and honesty. This evaluation will be worth 50 points for each team member.
Class Attendance:
All students will be expected to attend all class sessions (13 sessions @3 points/session) for a total of 39 points. Be sure to sign in before the end of each class session.
Final Examination:
The final examination will be comprehensive and cover all material presented in the course. It will be a case study examination in which the student will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of the health education program planning process. This examination will be worth 100 points. No make-up final will be given.
The total number of points possible for this course is 289 with the grade spread as follows:
A |
= 274 -289 | C |
= 210 - 219 |
A- |
= 260 - 273 | C- |
= 200 - 209 |
B+ |
= 250 - 259 | D+ |
= 190 - 199 |
B |
= 240 - 249 | D |
= 180 - 189 |
B- |
= 230 - 239 | D- |
= 170 - 179 |
C+ |
= 220 - 229 | F |
= < 170 |
In order to pass this course and move on to HSCI 445 the student must receive no less than a C- grade. A student receiving less than a C- will be required to repeat the course.
The Instructor may at his discretion modify the course outline as needed or appropriate to student progress in the class.
Course Text:
Green, Lawrence W., and Kreuter, Marshall W. (2005). Health Program Planning: An Educational and Ecological Approach, 4th Edition. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill.
Recommended Text:
Sarvela, Paul D.; and McDermott, Robert J. (1993). Health Education Evaluation and Measurement: A Practitioners Perspective. Brown & Benchmark Publishers.
Course Links:
441 Class Schedule Link Study Guide Link
First paper link Group Project Eval Link
Final paper link Measurable Objectives