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Learning Experience/Unit

Evaluating Health Choices

Course, Subject

Health, Home & Careers, Health, Physical Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences

Grade Levels

Commencement, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

Assessment

Weekly written reports by the Group Leaders
Bi-monthly meetings by teacher with each group
Observation and informal discussion with each group or individual members
Reports of progress by support teachers
Time Billing Sheets and Project Outline Sheets
Rubric for all assigned tasks
Oral, taped debriefing with the group, up to 30 minutes, depending on the extent of the project
A written assessment for projects that culminated in teaching a lesson

Evidence that supports my assessment of student performance is present in the individual's and group's ability to determine the complexity and layers of the problem presented to them, to develop a tool to investigate the extent of the problem, to evaluate the results of that tool, and to draw conclusions and make recommendations about the solution of their problems. Students' ability to compile a pamphlet and bulletin board to educate others about their project will also be evaluated. They must use a variety of skills and knowledge, learned in this class and other classes, to complete the project. Finally, students must demonstrated their ability to cooperatively solve a community problem by working through and solving group conflicts, dividing responsibilities, and demonstrating a joint effort in reaching the solutions.

Description

During the course of this learning experience, students work cooperatively by assigning roles to members of their group and making sure that all aspects of the project are complete. The students are responsible for completing the identified tasks and meeting all of the deadlines. Students will be able to research a topic that interests the group, as long as it deals with healthcare issues. Some possible issues of investigation are: drug abuse, school lunch choice, middle school students knowledge on drugs, etc. The duration of this learning experience is three weeks.

Support Materials

Selected Examples:

Author

Marjorie Wilkison
Pavilion Central Schools
Pavilion, NY

Learning Context/Introduction

For success in this learning experience, students will do the following:

Determine group roles and responsibilities of each member, including the development and prioritizing of the work assignments.
Find basic information on a prevalent health problem.
Use a computer to access the Internet, conduct research, find accurate, factual information, and do word processing.
Find and interview people in the health field for appropriate, factual information about services pertaining to their project.
Recommend effective methods of educating people about health issues.

Procedure

The teacher will do the following:

Determine the group size, topics for the project (see sample queries attached), and leaders of each group. Three students per group is suggested.
Decide what form(s) the project solution will take (see suggestions later in this plan).
Assign projects to groups, trying to match projects with interest areas of students, and possibly allowing students to develop queries of their own (of course, approval would be needed to begin work).
Provide orientation and organizational and fundamental research time at the start of the project. All recording sheets and the Grading Rubrics should be discussed at this time. A minimum of three days is suggested.
Provide guidance/practice in the following areas: determining equity in the division of responsibilities within the group; developing a timeline for project completion; developing interview questions, content for bulletin boards/pamphlets/survey questions, analysis of surveys; locating initial resource people in or outside of the school; monitoring progress; and preparing final report.
Alert resource people within the school, possibly blocking out time for them to give guidance to the entire class. (For example: computer instructor discussing graphing, pamphlet making, or Internet connections.)
Develop an agreement or determine rules about when work will be done in class, i.e., interviews, computer work, or appointments can be done any time during class time, as long as someone from the group stays to take notes and update other group members on the classwork; or, one day a week is set aside to do project work.
Provide a method for each student to record “time on the job,” and what that student completed during that time, to be used in defense of his, and the group's grades.
Provide a method for each group to collect and organize the finished parts of the project (perhaps a special folder, which the group decorates or states content).
Provide a method for students to organize their steps toward the solution of their query, and thereby document each person's role, the due dates of specific parts of the projects, and their organizational skills. This could also be used in defense of grades earned.
Provide deadlines (other than the final deadline) for groups that feel that they need this added structure; determine how to monitor the progress of each group either by short weekly reports of the group leaders, or scheduled teacher meetings with each group, or a combination of both.
Determine the method of final group/project evaluation; taped debriefings discussing the TIME and OUTLINE sheets, along with the Rubrics is suggested. Appointments can be set up for before or after school or during lunch. Length depends on size of project and problem to be solved; 30 minutes is suggested.

The students will do the following:

Choose a group leader; decide which project interests them or determine if they want to develop their own project topic; and decide how to divide responsibilities, under the direction of the leader (the group may decide to split the leadership role).
Determine the steps that they must take in order to solve the query, including the type of foundation research and resource people needed, the timeline for each step, and the skills they must learn in order to meet the deadline; decide how the initial days will be spent productively.
Record all responsibilities, time involved in the project, and group's organizational charts and due dates for each part of the project. Be prepared to justify time spent, work completed, and potential grade earned.
Learn sources of information and skills related to the project that can be found in the school and the community.
Give progress reports, both verbal and/or written; confront any group's internal problems, i.e. unacceptable work production, leaving projects in inaccessible locations or group members being passive or directive, etc.
Complete all parts of the project (using all or some of the tools listed below), putting them in the final collection device (folder, etc.), and turning them in on the due date.
Make group appointment with the teacher to discuss project results, conclusions, rubrics, and grades, as well as the evaluation of the project process.

Reflections and Feedback

This was an ideal way to bring together the many phases of health, as well as to practice problem solving and cooperative completion of tasks in a group setting. After reviewing the results, I would say that the basic plan is great, as it allows hands-on active learning for the student who might have trouble learning in the traditional manner. A teacher, however, may elect to develop the queries and have the students select one to investigate, rather than assigning or allowing the students to develop one of their own. To further enhance this lesson, I would suggest talking with school personnel about the projects beforehand so that they understand the importance of the survey results. This will allow the community to see how they can assist and benefit from this involvement with the students, and encourage participants to consider the students' suggestions for improved health. In addition, it was discovered that some students need more structure to complete their work. I added deadlines for these individuals.

Tools

The final tools completed by the students for assessment could be all or part of the following:

Research - Did the project include a thorough investigation and yeild current, accurate information on the topic? Were at least five sources used, including interviews? (Written and oral assessments.)
Internet Sources - Did the group provide a list of sources and web addresses used? (Written and oral assessment will be used.)
Survey - Was the group able to develop a survey that gave them the type of information about a particular group that they were looking for? (Oral and written assessment will be used.)
Graphs - Did the graphs accurately represent the information gathered by the surveys? (Oral and written assessment will be used.)
Lab Results or Lessons Taught - (only pertains to certain projects); How effective were the methods used and what were the outcomes? (Oral and written assessment will be used.)
Bulletin Board - Does it prevent the problem and suggest plausible solutions? (Written and oral assessment will be used.)
Pamphlet - Does it educate the reader about entire problem and present possible solutions? (Written and oral assessment will be used.)
Final Report to BOE, Administrator, or Coaches - Can the group present research, survey results, and solutions that have merit? (Written and oral assessment will be used.)

Materials

For Students:

Leader's Project folder
Art material
Access to a telephone
Time Table (to record their work contribution and time spent),
Project Plan sheet
Use of a computer (with Encarta and Publisher programs)
Access to the Internet

For the Teacher:

use of a computer, paper supplies for development of student work sheets and assessment sheets

Source

Wilkison, Marjorie. "Evaluating Health Choices." Health, Physical Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Resource Guide Part II.2. New York State Education Department, 12-21.