The National Tobacco Strategy 2005-2009 - Case Study Example

Student’s name Institution Course Professor Date CRITIQUE A QUIT SMOKING PROGRAM IN AUSTRALIA In program development, planners are required to incorporate all the relevant stakeholders. Foley (2004) points out the fact that effective program planners must interpret the power relations in a planning situation and apply different strategies that ensure that all stakeholders are put on board. The kind of learners should be factored in when developing an instructional program. In this case, different models ought to be used when developing pedagogy and andragogy programs. Based on several assumptions, andragogical models differ from pedagogical models in various ways (Knowles, 1990 pg 57). They include; the need to know, learners self concept, the role of learner’s experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. Adult learning theories help in explaining this variance. A good example is the Age and Stage theory that has proved that as people aged, they did not stop learning (Trotter 2006, pg8). The National Tobacco Strategy 2005-2009 is a program developed by Australian government to counteract the consequences of smoking and meet the challenges of that five year period. Its goal is to significantly improve health and reduce the social costs caused by tobacco among the people of New South Wales. The program is developed to achieve its objectives in three sessions. The first section provides an overview on the current status of uptake of tobacco. The second section of the program is set to identify the disadvantages of uptake in Australia. ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION ABOUT OBJECTIVES The stated objectives of this program are; among all social groups: To prevent uptake of smoking To encourage and assist as many smokers as possible to quit as soon as possible To eliminate harmful exposure to tobacco smoke among non-smokers Where feasible, to reduce harm associated with continuing use of and dependence on tobacco and nicotine The objectives are formulated based on the need to curb dangers and disadvantages brought about by smoking as stipulated by the aim of the entire program. The program was formulated under these objectives directed towards improving the health of residents of eastern Australia and curbing the social costs instigated by tobacco. These objectives are formulated to serve as benchmarks for evaluating the progress and success. In addition to this, they are created to guide the whole program. One of the major purposes of for having the program objectives is to provide concrete guidelines for further program development (Sork & caffarella 1990, pg 238). Formulated objectives for this program are measurable because at the end of it, evaluation needs to be done based on observable characteristics of the learners. According to Bloom’s taxonomy, objectives can either be cognitive, psychomotor or behavioral (affective). Behavioural or affective objectives are those objectives that have notable effects on the behaviour of a learner. The above objectives are related to learner’s attitudes towards smoking. They have been formulated as behavioural educational objectives. The affective domain of formulating objectives includes manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations and attitudes (Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1973). Affective objectives can be segregated into an order. The hierarchy comprises of receiving, responding, valuing, and internalization of values. Internalization is a process where an individual’s general awareness is transformed to affection and the knowledge gained is used to control the behaviour (Seels & Glasgow, 1990, pg.28). In this program, the learner begins with reception of instructional content which is the first step in hierarchy. At this step, learners are informed in order for them to sense stimuli. Receiving refers to the learner’s willingness to pay attention to particular phenomena (Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1973). The initial part of the program involved convincing smokers to participate in the program and informing them of the importance. At the end of it all, they are able to internalize relevant values by quitting smoking. The internalization of values can be depicted from the reduction in those who smoke tobacco. Perhaps, program planners ought to have used different verbs when defining these objectives. Verbs such as eliminate and prevent are vague to some extent. Instead, verbs such as avoid and resist could have been used. The project also needs more objectives that can enable it running for the five year period. The objectives formulated empower both learners and teachers. DISSECT AND DEPICT NATURE OF THE CONTENT AND TOPICS Adult and young learners vary in their instructional content needs. Adult learners have high expectations for sensible and relevant learning. Unlike pedagogy where the learner depends on the teacher, andragogy is the opposite. Andragogy views the learner as self-directed, capable of making decisions about what should be learned, as well as actively constructing meaning rather than passively receiving it from others (Wang & Victor, 2008 Pg 14). Adult learners are intrinsically motivated unlike the young learners who are extrinsically motivated. They also vary in the purpose of their learning. Robinson (1995) proposes five purposes for adult learning. They include; learning for social transformation, cultivation of the intellect, individual growth and development, personal and social improvement and organizational effectiveness (Robinson, 1995). Generally, they pursue learning in order to address real life problems and manage change. When designing a program that can fit adult learners, all these factors ought to be put into consideration. Educators must work to create environments comfortable for diverse learners; use a variety of teaching strategies to reach various learning styles; build in varied activities to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs and goals, and activity levels (Wang & Victor, 2008 Pg 29). Adult development theories help program developers to understand how adult learners are dissimilar from young learners. Learning is effective when an educator blends different activities promoting all the three domains of learning. In addition to this, it is effective when it engages the whole person: body, mind and soul (Jarvis, 1992 Pg 11). The last section of the program will run for three years and it involves direct contact between the people and the program educators. In the first one year of the third section, educators will be involved with education and motivation of people with the help of social marketing programs. This will fall into the cognitive domain of learning. Cognitive domain involves the development of knowledge and skills. With this domain of learning people are being notified on the dangers and disadvantages of smoking. They undergo the six levels of cognitive development. This domain is followed by the affective or behavioral domain which carries a greater percentage of this program. Affective domain is known for internalization of knowledge content. Affective domain authors elected to employ the concept of internalization as their central regulative device (Krathwohl, Bloom & Masia, 1964 Pg 167). This domain involved asking the smokers about smoking at every opportunity, advising them to stop, assessing their willingness to stop, assisting them to stop this habit and arranging for a follow-up activity on the learners. Generally, it involves the application of knowledge of the cognitive domain. The predominant program’s content falls into Emancipatory knowledge tradition. It as a radical tradition in adult learning concerned with how knowledge, learning and education can be used to assist individuals and groups to overcome educational disadvantages, counteract social exclusion and discrimination, and challenge economic and political inequalities (Thompson, 2000). This domain of knowledge is concerned with self-reflection that leads to a corresponding change in consciousness and it involves experiential learning. Fenwick (2012) points out the fact that experiential learning is imperative in adult education. The dominant approach to understanding experiential learning in adult education has revolved around cognitive reflection possessed by emancipatory perspective (Fenwick, 2012). Most of the program’s content is planned to take the emancipator perspective. ABOUT THE LEARNERS AND THE PROGRAM PLANNERS Adult learning is a complex process consisting of a framework that brings adult educators’ and learners’ concerns to the fore front in the instructional design process (Wang & Victor, 2008, Pg 8). Adult educators should, therefore seek to intensify their theoretical understanding about these factors. Adult learning framework consists of; the educator, the learner, the learning process and the learning context. It is built considering the educator, the learner, the process and the context (Wang & Victor, 2008, Pg 8). Educator is the initial facet of this framework. They are the epitome of lifelong learners and through their learning engagement continually to improve their ability learners (Wang & Victor, 2008 Pg 11). On the other hand, learners are important aspect of instructional design. It is therefore crucial for educational planners to have a clear understanding on the identity of the learners. Having this understanding will help in choosing the best instructional method. Adult learners are different from young learners. A good example of how they vary is in terms of motivation. Adult learners are intrinsically motivated while young are influenced by external motivating factors. Adults are motivated to devote energy to learn something to the extent that they perceive that it will help them perform tasks or deal with problems that they confront in their life situations (Knowles, 1990 Pg 61). This will have an outstanding implication on how they learn. Positionality also matters when it comes to program development. It refers to: capability, age, class, culture, gender, power, race, religion and sexual orientation (Wang & Victor, 2008 Pg 20). People vary in terms of their social perceptions. Some are troubled by other peoples’ social positions. Social contexts and positionality are crucial issues to consider in modern education and in the learning process of adults because they impact adult life (Wang & Victor, 2008 Pg 21). The National Tobacco Strategy 2005-2009 is a program plan developed by NSW government’s consultation and management committee. The members of this committee included; representatives from NSW department of health, The cancer council of NSW, National Heart Foundation of Australia, Action on smoking and health, The Cancer Institute and reformed smokers. They all participated in developing this program. Stakeholders of this program came from diverse; classes, ethnic groups in eastern part of Australia, religions and language backgrounds. In addition to this, the development team comprised of persons from all genders. Their interest was improving the health of the people of NSW; both smokers and non smokers. This is clearly stipulated in the program goal. Smoking is a habit likely to have all persons of all genders and ages. Most of them are adults and youths. Program development for this category of learners is quite technical. In general sense, the program focuses on adult education. Knowles (1990) posits the fact that adults learn by virtue of experience and this poses different challenges at the same time having advantages. The National Tobacco Strategy 2005-2009 addresses issues from persons of all social groups. Additionally, the curriculum is purposed for all persons. DIAGRAMMATIC SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF PROGRAM’S TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES Activity Number of hours per month Class work activities 7 hours Training activities 3 hours According to this program, seven hours were to be used for class work activities per month. The class work activities included; theoretical discussion of effects of tobacco and different quitting methods. In addition to this learners were to be taught on various expected challenges of smoking cessation. The goal of this program is to the improve health and reduce the social costs caused by tobacco among the people of New South Wales. Effective strategies are those involving the learners. Langenbach (1988) points out that some learning strategies are more suitable for some goals. It is therefore crucial for program planners to choose an appropriate strategy for certain goals and strategies. Training activities included a monitored adherence to smoking cessation prescription and quit line program. These activities begin with tailored advice from the educator. Follow-up ought to be done after every seven days of quit date. These teaching and learning strategies involved the learners to a great extent. Additionally, it is appropriate for adult learners being intrinsically motivated by the need to quit smoking. DESCRIBE AND DISCUSS WHICH THEORIES OF LEARNING SHAPE YOUR CHOSEN PROGRAM The National Tobacco Strategy 2005-2009 is a program involving learning by experience. The learning activities used can be attributed to self-directed and experiential learning. Self-directed learning is a type of learning in which the learners take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating their goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes (Langenbach, 1988 Pg 163). This is due to the fact that learning to quit smoking is a virtue of willingness. The learners for this case are intrinsically motivated or motivated by their own purposes rather than by external sources. Experiential learning on the other hand operates on the principle of learning by experience. Sissel & Peggy (2001) postulates the fact that much of adult learning is from experience. However, learning will not only occur from experience, but through reflective thoughts and internal processing. Feedback from Reformed Smokers about this program “I’m getting on really well and haven’t needed the patches and handle any thoughts about cigarettes really well.  This is the best I’ve felt about quitting so thank you.” Brittany “I had initially stopped smoking but started again after some time”.  After one session with Alfred I now know I will never start again” Peter “My husband and I were both smokers, he was worse than me.  I could stop if there were no cigarettes around, but he would go and buy some then I would smoke again too.  We decided to invest in our health and both had hypnotherapy.  It was the best investment we ever made.” Alana “No matter how determined I was, every time I went for drinks with the boys, I would light up again and feel rotten the next day.  Alfred was able to help me break through this pattern” Alex “I went to Alfred for his knowledge and skills to help me stop smoking.  Every step of the process was challenging for me but with Alfred’s great help and his ability to keep me involved and inspired.  I was impressed with his knowledge, sensitivity and professionalism.  The best part of all this I am now a non-smoker and only breathe fresh air!” Joanna References Fenwick, J. T., 2012. Experiential Learning: A Theoretical Critique Explored Through Five Perspectives. Foley, 2004.Dimensions of Adult Learning, McGraw-Hill International. Jarvis, P., 1992. Paradoxes of learning: On becoming an individual in society. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Knowles, M., 1990. The Adult learner: A Neglected Species. Houston: Gulf publishing. Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S. & Masia, B. B., 1964. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Handbook II: Affective Domain. New York: David McKay Company. Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B., 1973. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook II: Affective Domain. New York: David McKay Co., Inc. Langenbach, M., 1988. ‘Knowles’ self-directed learning’, in Curriculum models in adult education. Florida: Kriegler Publishing Co. Peggy, A. & Sissel, V., 2001. Merging Theory and Practice in Adult Education Sheared. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Press. Promoting Adult Learning: Emancipatory Learning. , March 2000. Thompson, J. Leicester: NIACE. Retrieved from Retrieved from < http://www.ualberta.ca/~tfenwick/ext/pubs/print/ERIC-new2.htm> Robinson, R. D., 1995. An introduction to helping adults learn and change (Rev ed). West Bend, WI: Omnibook Co. Seels, B. & Glasgow, Zita, 1990. Exercises in instructional Design. Columbus Ohio: Merril Publishing Co. Sork, T. J. & Caffarella, R. S 1990, ‘Planning programs for adult learners’, in Handbook of adult and continuing education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Trotter, Y. D., 2006. Adult Learning Theories: Impacting Professional Development Programs. H. W. Wilson Company. Wang, M & Victor, C. X., 2008. Curriculum Development for adult Learners in the Global community. Kriegler Pub. Co. Read More