A Design of an Education Program Based on the Health People 2020 Objective - Research Paper Example

A design of an education program based on the Health People 2020 objective: Minimize the risks to human health and the environment posed by hazardoussites. Student’s Name Institution Introduction Healthy People 2020 highlight a wide range of health topics as well as their specific objectives that are necessary to achieve the relevant goals in promoting health. This paper includes the design of a program for education based on one of these health objectives which is to minimalize the hazards to human healthiness and the surroundings postured by the perilous sites. The plan includes a philosophical perspective of the program; the learning theory adopted and principles that will be used in the education. There is also a look at the process of education, the issues and barriers surrounding education, strategies used in teaching and finally the evaluation of learners. The target population chosen is the community living in Erik, Oklahoma, which is located on the southern side of interstate 40. Based on the windshield survey, the community’s state can be depreciated over the years, and this depreciation is still ongoing. Their participation is fueled by the need to live in a more conducive, safe, appealing and environmentally friendly place. The topic area selected is environmental health. The aim of the Healthy People 2020 with regards to environmental health is to use a healthy environment to raise the health status of all individuals. The objectives of environmental health according to the HP 2020 are aimed at addressing the quality of outdoor air, ground and surface water. They also look at the communities and where they live, the make of their homes, wastes that could be hazardous or toxic as well as environmental health from a global perspective. (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014) Objective To minimize the risks to human health and the environment posed by hazardous sites. This objective was chosen because of the potential hazardous sites identified in the region. The area contains a lot of open space half of which has been neglected. These fields have accumulated into dumping sites with trash and waste being disposed of without the care of those in the community. The lack of fencing around these fields makes them potential dangers to kids as they can easily get access to these dangerous areas. Living near or even walking past by these fields is a health threat especially for the young people as well as the children. The fields pose physical harm to those passing by. There is also neglect of most of the yards in the area with homeowners only tending to the space closest to their homes. This environmental pollution could lead to respiratory infections due to the accumulation of too much debris (Castanas, 2008). These will most likely affect groups with lowered immune systems such as the children. Apart from the health of the community members, these sites make the state of the community look unkempt. Neglect of fields and pollution of these lands will in addition have long-term effects on the community. This comprises of having directed valuable spaces to being unproductive and playing a part in destroying the ecosystem. Community members may also have to suffer from such conditions as cancer which will develop over time. This is as a result of accumulated toxic waste in the fields (Holgate 2002). This is particularly if persons are directly exposed to the chemicals in these areas. This is, of course, likely to occur for the reason there is a lack of a barrier around the fields. Identification of the need in the community was based on a windshield survey describes the unkempt fields as posing a threat to the resident’s well-being. This brought together with the absence of institutions providing health services close to the area makes the situation even worse. The neglect of some of the yards is evidenced by the presence of grass that has overgrown the dumping of such things as toys and the growth of weed in the yards. Constructivist theory of learning Learning theories attempt to give an explanation for the process of learning among individuals. These theories are useful in determining what teaching and learning methods will be established as well as the tools that will be used (Schunk, 2011). Constructivist theory was developed in the 70s and 80s with an aim to view the learner as active rather than passive when it comes to receiving information. It lists among the most prominent theories in learning (Schunk, 2011). This theory places emphasis in the inclusion of the learner in the teaching-learning process. This involvement should be active as it involves the students getting to take the initiative to develop their own knowledge. The learner should also be in a position to use their experience or what they already know about a particular subject to come up with innovative concepts. According to this theory, the teaching and learning will involve first getting to know what the learners know about the topic. In this situation, it encompasses finding out whether the learner is aware of the environmental hazards posed by the neglected lawns and fields. It also comprises of determining if the residents are aware of the measures that could be taken to minimize these risks such has having such fields fenced to prevent further dumping. This theory suggests that the teacher or facilitator should seek to build on what the learners already know and enable them to increase their knowledge based on that. In this case, the community’s knowledge on the environment will be expounded more using detailed explanations and demonstrations. For instance, explanations of certain events such as having a lot of mosquitoes in the house could be linked to environmental issues such as failure to trim the grass on most of the yards. Apart from building on the knowledge, this theory looks at learning as creating opportunities for the learners to make discoveries and to learn actively. As opposed to a number of other theories of learning whereby learning begins with the simple problems then advancement into the more complex ones, constructivism theory works the other way round. Learners are presented with the more compound situations and by handling them, they get to study the easier skills. This is applied by having the learners develop sustainable solutions to minimizing health risks posed by the hazardous sites. During the teaching-learning program, the learners will be offered guidelines as well as details on what goes into a sustainable environmental solution. In the end, the students are then expected to have acquired a comprehensive knowledge of environmental health risk factors as well as what is needed to effectively minimized these risks. Learners as well To effectively carry out a program using this theory, the facilitator needs to understand the learners’ cognitive understanding. This includes knowing how the mind of the learner’s work in terms of comprehending information and reasoning. This will then help to determine at what pace the teacher will teach and the kind of teaching methods they will use. Teaching is more of facilitation whereby the teacher facilitates the learners to make their own discoveries and develop practical solutions to problems. (Schunk, 2011) Educational principles 1. A practical and relevant curriculum. The topics taught are those directly related to what the community is experiencing. In this teaching-learning program, three particular areas will be looked at. The first is the health risks posed by the dumping of waste and allowing accumulating in open land this is especially to the vulnerable groups such as children playing in the area. Second, the ways by which the health risks can be minimized including how it can be done at the individual, as well as, a communal initiative. The third includes how the solutions can be made sustainable and ensure that the problem is permanently taken care of. 2. Focusing on enabling the learner to develop People will usually learn at different rates and through the use of different approaches, a teaching/ learning tool that is comprehensive enough to allow for the learners to develop individually will be ideal. This principle includes providing support and the right environment for the learners to develop as opposed to pushing them to understand. This is made probable by the enlargement of a teaching guide whereby the learners are able to learn despite their differences in learning paces. This will in addition involve focusing on individual learner’s progress to determine whether they are at par with the rest of the group. Focusing on individuals makes it possible to discover individual abilities that could be used for the benefit of the program. 3. Creation of a social and open learning environment This will make the learning setting more interactive whereby the learners and teachers get to learn from each other, and the learners get to learn from their fellow students too. The public gets to contribute further in the training process and allows more opportunities for feedback between the students and the facilitator 4. Clarity in terms of what the learners are expected to learn The learners should know what the learning is about beforehand including the objectives together with their expectations at the end of the presentations. They should also know the methods of learning that will be used and the outcomes expected as a result of the program. Learners should in addition be made aware of the evaluation processes and how their progress will be assessed. Project Development Philosophical Framework The maintenance of the entire community has been described to be poor with a few of the homes being in good condition. This project has been chosen because of the debris and trash that has been allowed to accumulate in most of the fields in the community pose a threat to human health. These hazards could result in physical, chemical or even biological harm to the residents. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an appraised 13 million people around the world die annually as a result of environmental hazards, which comprise one-quarter of the universal illnesses. Making enhancements to the environment nonetheless, could prevent these deaths. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014). Therefore, appropriate measures be taken to guarantee that the quality of the environment is maintained. These methods need to be maintainable to enable for long term benefits. Education Issues and Barriers Some of the probable concerns that may come up during the presentations include, having the community wanting to remain the same and trying to get a convenient time and location for the presentations. A selection of the residents is expected to have a negative attitude towards doing work that does not benefit them financially or that which does not directly influence them. This includes cleaning up spaces, which they do not use. With the locals going to the local pub after work and at night and being at work for the entire day, it is hard to get the right time to carry out the teaching. Also, one of the reasons why the community might have neglected the fields may be due to the lack of time to work on them. For this reason, even after the teaching, there will still be the issue of when people are going to find time to clean up yards and the rest of the hazardous environmental spaces. Arranging for the most convenient time is also difficult as the people work mostly outside the community. Some of the actions that could be planned in advance include carrying out enough research on the topic. This will allow for the provision of adequate and relevant statistics on the health hazards posed as a result of the failure to minimize health risk sites. This will aid in creating a sense of earnestness and importance around the issue. Integrating learning with community activities will help solve the issue of getting the community organized. For the reason that getting a huge turnout of the public is hard as they have a lot of other commitments, the teaching and learning can be conducted on Sundays at the church grounds or halls. As more than half of community members attend church services, the local church grounds are a convenient location for the presentations. Anticipated barriers to the presentation include resistance by the community to adopt changes in how they live or interact with the environment. Unanticipated issues such as having community members walk out during the presentation can be dealt with by employing more participatory methods of coaching and learning. This comprises of conducting added candid discussions, question, and answer sections and making room for the learners to give their opinions and ask questions. This is, however, taking precaution to ensure that the more active and vocal learners do not dominate the discussions. Adopting a participatory methodology to teaching and learning is very effective as it promotes ownership of the entire process and makes it community driven (Dearry, 2002). Objectives of the education process At the end of the presentations, the community will be capable of coming up with their own solutions on how to reduce the hazardous environmental sites. From the teaching sessions, the target audience should be able to list health conditions that are at risk of as a result of continued environmental neglect and pollution. By the end of these sessions, the community members should have already taken up some kind of measures whether individually or communally to improve the state of the community. The learning format is selected because the environmental issue is more of a communal rather than a personal issue. Environmental risks upset the whole society not just a few individuals who litter in fields or fail to maintain their yards. One of the teaching strategies used includes the use of information education materials. These materials aid to present information to the listeners in a manner easy to comprehend and understand compared to oral descriptions. This is especially for the presentation of quantitative data (Banks 2009). This includes charts and graphs with statistics related to environmental health hazards and their effects on human health. Evaluation Oral questions and answers at the end of each topic covered enable the teacher to determine whether or not the topic has been well understood by the students. This is grounded on the kind of responses given, their correctness and the type of explanation given for them. Based on the learners willingness to participate in answering questions and actually getting most of them correct, the topics were effectively taught. This is also an ultimate prospect to make elucidations on misunderstood area that may come up. Assessment is also done based on having the learners come up with solutions on how they can reduce the health hazards posed by the open neglected fields. These resolutions will be evaluated on the basis of their relevance, feasibility and sustainability to determine whether or not the learner has acquired the knowledge intended. Conclusion Personally, the teaching-learning would be quite effective as the community members really appreciate and take to heart the information provided. However, professionally, although the learners may show excitement and motivation for the topics, what really matters is the initiatives taken to protect the environment and whether they are able to sustain them. The presentation would get the response needed because of the participatory approach. Exhibiting of health realities in regards to environmental dangers is likely to get the highest response in terms of the learners wanting to know more. One area however that would need improvement is having the teaching and learning take place in the hall throughout. This makes the learning too monotonous and theoretical. One of the changes that could be made to this is having some of the sessions take place outside or preferably visits to some of these fields that pose health threats. This really helps the learner to combine theory and what is actually happening. Also, those residents who have not ever given any attention to the fields get a chance to carefully look at them and actually see the seriousness of the issue. References Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (Eds.). (2009). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. John Wiley & Sons. Brunekreef, B., & Holgate, S. T. (2002). Air pollution and health. The lancet,360(9341), 1233- 1242. Castanas, K. M. (2008). Human Health Effects. Environmental Pollution, 325-367. Environmntal Protection Agency. (2014). Environment and Health. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from Environmental protection Agency: http://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/environment-&-health/#.VIawWZQ0WSo Mindell, J. I. (2003). A glossaryfor health impact assessment. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57-647. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2014, August 12). Environmental Health. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from Healthy People 2020: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/environmental-health Schunk, D. H. (2011). Learning Theories, An Educationa Perspective 6th Edition. North Carolina: University of North Carolina. Castanas, K. M. (2008). Human Health Effects. Environmental Pollution, 325-367. Environmntal Protection Agency. (2014). Environment and Health. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from Environmental protection Agency: http://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/environment-&-health/#.VIawWZQ0WSo Mindell, J. I. (2003). A glossaryfor health impact assessment. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57-647. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2014, August 12). Environmental Health. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from Healthy People 2020: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/environmental-health Schunk, D. H. (2011). Learning Theories, An Educationa Perspective 6th Edition. North Carolina: University of North Carolina. Read More