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This article was downloaded by: [University Of Pittsburgh]On: 11 November 2014, At: 15:41Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
American Journal of Health EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujhe20
Creating and Implementing “Robust” Learning TasksJohn Rohwer EdD a & Robert Wandberg PhD ba Health education , Bethel College , 3900 Bethel Dr., St. Paul , MN , 55112 , USAb Member of the Curriculum & Instruction/Dept. Health Science , University of Minnesota ,Mankato, 4241 17th Ave. South, Minneapolis , MN , 55407 , USAPublished online: 25 Feb 2013.
To cite this article: John Rohwer EdD & Robert Wandberg PhD (2001) Creating and Implementing “Robust” Learning Tasks,American Journal of Health Education, 32:4, 248-251, DOI: 10.1080/19325037.2001.10603476
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2001.10603476
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Creating and Implementing"Robust" Learning Tasks
John Rohwer and Robert Wandberg
INTRODualONToday, there is a great emphasis on
educational reform. The purpose of educational reform is to examine what knowledge and skills young people should learnin school to prepare them for the 21stcentury. The comprehensive school healtheducation curriculum is an organized,sequential K-12 plan for teaching studentsthe information and skills they need tobecome health literate and maintain andimprove health, prevent disease,and reducehealth-related risk behaviors.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) identified six categories of risk behaviors in today's students(Kolbe, 1993). Although these behaviorsare interrelated, persist into adulthood,and contribute to diminished levels of
health, they are preventable. They are(1) behaviors that result in unintentionaland intentional injuries; (2) drug andalcohol abuse; (3) sexual behaviors that
result in pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection;(4) tobacco use; (5) dietary practices contributing to disease; and (6) insufficientphysical activity.
Also, the Joint Committee on NationalHealth Education Standards OCNHES)published seven standards detailing withwhat students should know and be able todo in health education OCNHES, 1995).(Questions about The National HealthEducation Standards might be directedto the American Cancer Society; theAmerican School Health Association;
American Association for Health Education; the School Health Education and
Services Section, American Public HealthAssociation; and the Society of State
Directors of Health, Physical Education,Recreation, and Dance. For copies of TheNational Health Education Standards, callorwrite the American Cancer Society, 1599
Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
(1-800-ACS-2345).) The standards areintended to serve as a framework inresponse to organizing health curricula atthe state and local levels.The standards are:(1) Students will comprehend conceptsrelated to health promotion and diseaseprevention; (2) students will demonstratethe ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products andservices; (3) students will demonstrate theability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks; (4) studentswill analyze the influence of culture,media, technology, and other factors onhealth; (5) students will demonstrate the
John Rohwer, EdD, is a professor of healtheducation atBethel College, 3900 Bethel Dr., St.Paul, MN55112; E-mail: [email protected] Wandberg, PhD, is a member of theCurriculum & Instruction/Dept. Health Scienceat theUniversity ofMinnesota, Mankato, 424117th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55407.
248 American Journal ofHealth Education -July(AugusI2001, Volume 32, No.4
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lohn Rohwer and Robert Walldberg
Table 1. School Health Education Components
Students Will: Intentional Tobacco Alcohol Sexual Behavior Physical Dietaryand Use and (HIV infection/ Fitness Practices
Unintentional Other Other STDs/Injuries Drug Use Unintended
Pregnancy)
Comprehend conceptsrelated to health promo- 1 2 3 4 5 6tion and disease prevention
Demonstrate the abilityto access valid healthinformationand health- 7 8 9 10 11 12promoting productsand services
Demonstrate the abilityto practice health- 13 14 15 16 17 18enhancing behaviorsand reduce health risks
Ana~zethe;nftuence
of culture, media, tech- 19 20 21 22 23 24nology, and other factorson health
Demonstrate the abilityto use interpersonal 25 26 27 28 29 30communication skills toenhance health
Demonstrate the abilityto use goal-setting and 31 32 33 34 35 36decision-making skills toenhance health
Demonstrate the abilityto advocate for personal, 37 38 39 40 41 42family, and communityhealth
ability to useinterpersonal communicationskills to enhance health; (6) students willdemonstrate the ability to use goalsettingand decision-making skills that enhancehealth; and (7) students will demonstratethe ability to advocate for personal, family,and community health.
The key is, how do health educatorsintegrate the above-mentioned health riskpriorities andstandards intotheircurricula?The trend in many school education pro-
grams is to move from content that is "aninchhighandamilewide" to aprogramthattakes the studentdeeper into the content. Inan effort to align student activities with adeeper content understanding, a processmodel has.been developed to guide theteacher indeveloping"robust"learning tasks.
A matrix grid correlating the six CDChigh-priorityhealthareas withthe nationalstandards results in agridof42componentsthat can be found in Table 1. A "robust"
learning task contains at least four gridcomponents. The qualityindicators (criteria) in determining the degree of "robustness" areas follow:
• Authentic. Thetasksimulates a way thisinformation ishandled in the real world.
• Unbiased. All students have an opportunity to achieve and provides for differentlearning styles.
• Constructivist. The student determines
American Journal ofHealth Education -July/August 2001, Volume 32, No.4 249
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[oh u Rohwer and Robert Wil//(Iberg
Table 2. Drug Country SChool Health Education Components: Illustration of "Robust'" Lesson
Students Will: Intentional Tobacco Alcohol Sexual Behavior Physical Dietaryand Use and fHIV infection/ Fitness Practices
Unintentional Other Other STDs/Injuries Drug Use Unintended
Pregnancy)
Comprehend conceptsrelated to health promo- 1 2 3 4 5 6tion and disease prevention
Demonstrate the abilityto access valid healthinformation and health- 7 8 9 10 11 12promoting productsand services
Demonstrate the abilityto practice health- 13 14 15 16 17 18enhancing behaviorsand reduce health risks
--~--
Ana~zetheinfiuence
of culture, media, tech- 19 20 21 22 23 24nology, and other factorson health
Demonstrate the abilityto use interpersonal 25 26 27 28 29 30communication skills toenhance health
Demonstrate the abilityto use goal-setting and 31 32 33
I34 35 36
decision-making skills toenhance health
Demonstrate the abilityto advocate for personal. 37 38 39 40 41 42family, and communityhealth
or creates themeaning forhisor her learningby making decisions abouthis or her work.
• Developmental. The task is appropriateto the intellectual, physical, and psychologicalmaturityof the student.
• Embedded. The task is part of regularclassroom work, not an "add-on:'
• Focused. The task stays on target toassess the process, concept, and topic.
•Generalizable. Thetask's required knowledge represents the larger learning requiredfor the standard.
•Highin Rigor. Thetaskrepresents ahighstandard.
•Interesting. Thetaskisengaging workforboth studentand teacher.
The following is an example of a robustlearning task incorporating the framework
described-integrating the CDCsixpriority areas, the national health standards,and the indicators for robustness. Table 2identifies thosegrid componentsaddressedin the included lesson"Drug Country."
OBJECTIVETo improve student understanding of
several drug-related issues, problems,consequences, and solutions.
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/0/111 Rohwer and Robert Wlllldberg
TARGET POPULATION
The sessions are geared toward highschoolor college students.
PROCEDURE
The students have just "inherited" asmall fictitious country. Their responsibility, as the head of the country, is todevelop the country's drug laws, policies,and preventive strategies. They must prepare three items:
(1)the country'sdrugdocumentincluding laws, consequences, and prevention;
(2)a threefoldbrochureor a 3-6 minutevideo that clearly summarizes the drugdocument;and
(3) they must makea brief presentationof the drug policyto the country's citizens(the class) defending the document.
The learning task may be completedindividually or in teams of two or three.If teams are formed, there must be clearevidence that all partners contributedequally to the completedtask.
The drug document must include thefollowing six sections, in this order:
(1)Where:Give the fictitious name andlocationof your country.
(2) Philosophy: State the drug-relatedphilosophy that identifies your guidingprinciples and values of the laws, crimes,consequences, and prevention efforts.
(3) Drugs: Identifyeverydrug listed inyourresource materials andprovidelaws foreachdrug or group of drugs.
(4)Crimes:Listthe crimesforeachdrugor group of drugs with regard to sale,possession, and use.
(5) Penalties: Describe the penalties orconsequences for eachcrimelistedin Number 4. Penalties must also answer the followingquestions: (a) Is agea factor in anyof the penalties? Why or why not? Giveexamples. (b) Is there a difference betweenthe first offense (crime) and subsequentsecondand third offenses? Whyor whynot?Give examples.
(6) Prevention: Describe a plan forhelping all the citizens in the country inavoiding drug-relatedproblems.
MATERIALSMaterials required include reference
materials andequipmentto makebrochuresor videos.
ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE
The criteria for assessment of the document, brochure, video, and presentationare as follows.
Document Grading Criteria(1) The document must be typed (with
the exception of charts, graphs, and otherunique items).
(2) There must be an attractive coverpagewith author name(s).
(3) Theremust be a tableof contentsonthe secondpage.
(4) Theremust be a bibliography on thelast pageof the document. Resources citedin the bibliography support the content. The minimum number of resourcesis the number of team members plus two.For example, a team of two must havefour resources.
(5) The length of the documentdepends on the number of authors:individual, 800-1,600 words; two/team,1,600-2,400 words; three/team, 2,4003,200words.
(6) The document must contain all sixsectionsand all required information.
(7) The mechanics of English mustbe correct.
(8) There must be clear evidence ofeffort from all team members.
(9) The individualor team'sown thinking must be clearly evident.
(10) The document must be neat andpresentable.
Brochure orVideo Grading Criteria(1) The work must communicate a
summaryof allsixsectionsof the country'sdrug document.
(2)Theindividual's or team's ownthinking must be clearly evident.
(3) The workmust be neat and presentable.
(4) Ideasmustbesupportedwithappropriate information.
(5) The writing or visual mechanics
must be of high quality.(6) The work must be creative and
interesting.(7) There must be clear evidence of
effort from all team members.
Presentation Grading Criteria(1) Time: 3-6 minutes(2) The presentation must summarize
the document with a coupleof examples.(3) There must be clear evidence of
effort from all team members.(4)Thepresentationmustbe organized,
creative, and interesting.(5) The presentation must effectively
communicatethe content.(6) Allspeakers must clearly knowtheir
subject.(7) Allspeakers must clearly be able to
defendall information.
SUMMARYCreating and implementing robust
learningtasksforstudentssetsthe stage andpromotes an active learning environment.These tasks offermanybenefits forstudents,such as enhanced skills associated withproblem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and communication.
Robust learning tasks also providestudents with the opportunity to createa personal connection and meaning that willcontribute to deeper understanding of thetopic.Robustlearningtaskswillassist in theclarification of personal and group valuesand priorities.
The benefit of robust learning tasksextends beyond the student. Teachers willalso benefit by having more interestedand involved students. Robustlearning tasksoftenlend themselves to more teacher-student guidance and feedback opportunities.
REFERENCESKolbe, 1. J. (1993). Developing a plan of
action to institutionalize comprehensive schoolhealth education programs intheUntied States.Journal ofSchool Health, 63, 12-13.
Joint Committee onHealth Education Standards. (1995) The National Health EducationStandards: Achieving Health Literacy. Atlanta:American Cancer Society.
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