Chapter 5
Designing Courses for Health Professionals
Part I
Guidebook
CONTENTS
Chapter
1. Defining Competency Based Goals
2. Developing Learning Objectives
3. Linking Evaluation with Objectives
4. Using Evaluation to Design Instructional Activities
5. Planning Sessions
CHAPTER 5
PLANNING SESSIONS
A. Develop a Course Syllabus
B. Reading Assignments and Preparation Activities for Future Sessions
Chapter Purpose
In the last chapter you planned a set of learning activities for your course. These activities must now be grouped into class sessions. Sessions are the units, periods or building blocks of your course. Each session must be planned in sufficient detail to show how the activities of that session will be carried out and to relate one session to others.
Overview
This chapter provides guidelines for grouping or “packaging” activities into individual class sessions, the course syllabus.
The SYLLABUS will be developed as follows:
ú “In-class activities” from the ACTIVITIES PLAN are grouped according to the time constraints of each session.
ú “Outside activities” are grouped to correspond with in-class activities.
ú A checklist is used to plan the approach for carrying out the activities for each session.
ú References and resources are noted for each session.
A. Develop a Course Syllabus
Think of the syllabus as a set of guidelines for your students. Students will use the syllabus to:
1. Remind them what they have studies as they proceed through the course and tell them what they will study as the course progresses.
2. Determine what they must do to prepare for coming sessions in the course. A session is a block of time usually one or two hours, but it may be shorter or longer. A session should contain learning activities focusing on a single idea or topic.
3. The syllabus should be retained by students following completion of the course as their permanent record of the course.
Here are some important assumptions and considerations at this point:
1. This step assumes that you do have individual sessions and that the number and length of the sessions are fixed. If, one the other hand, you have freedom in the number and length of sessions, then simply specify how many sessions you need and how long each should be.
2. Realizing that some activities are designed to be carried out “back-to-back” or following each other, without a time break… that other activities require a time break between them… and that still other activities may each take several calls sessions to complete… adjust hour division of sessions to reflect these factors.
3. Based on realistic time estimates for each activity, and in view of the length of class sessions, separate activities to indicate which activities are in a given session.
4. When you must decide between grouping activities… so that a particular session is not overloaded, you are deciding between teaching some things thoroughly as opposed to teaching more things not so thoroughly.
GUIDELINES:
Steps to follow in developing a SYLLABUS:
Develop a Course Syllabus
1. Start with your INSTRUCTIONAL/EVALUATION ACTIVITIES, Form 4 and the following example.
2. Complete Session 1 which, all or part of, it usually:
a. Contains an introduction to the course:
- purposes
- how it will be taught
- what is expected of the students
- special information such as the time and venue
- materials students should have etc.
b. Provides opportunities for the instructor and students to become acquainted with each other.
c. Is when pretests and entry tests are administered.
3. After you complete session 1 complete the rest of the syllabus by:
a. Grouping activities into topics or related areas. At the same time be certain the sequence in which the tasks will be taught is not destroyed.
b. For each session in the Instructional Activities/Evaluation column:
ú describe what the instructor will do
ú what the students will learn
ú what will occur in the session.
ú if the session will occur in the field, describe where the session will be held.
outline the activities in the field.
ú list reading assignments or problem sets which must be completed before the next session.
ú list library or laboratory assignments
d. Estimate the time required to complete each session.
B. Reading Assignments and Preparation Activities for Future Sessions
When you assign reading materials for future sessions, keep these points in mind:
1. Students may resist reading more than a few pages of materials. Reading materials should be brief, perhaps no more than 10-20 pages a session.
2. Reading materials should be directly concerned with the session.
3. When reading materials are assigned it is important that the instructor discuss the material in the class. If this is not done, students will conclude they need not read the materials.
4. When discussing reading materials, be certain to:
a. link the materials with classroom activities.
b. clarify questions students have about the materials.
There are other ways students can prepare for a session. Some are:
1. Students can be assigned an activity to observe. Suppose one is teaching a course in community health. Students can be assigned to walk about the community and identify the chief community health problems.
2. Students can be asked to collect information by bringing samples to the class, by interviewing people and by performing procedures in the laboratory.
EXAMPLE
Form 4: Course Syllabus
|
Session |
Topic/Activity/Assignment |
|
Part I Radiation Physics |
|
|
1. |
Introduction to the Course. Presentation; Review of course objectives and syllabus. |
|
2. |
Pretest. Objectives of the test; standard emergency care. Students’ specific expectations of the course. |
|
3. |
Scope of the problem. Lecture or guest interview |
|
4. |
Practical radiation physics for emergency personnel. Programmed lecture with slides based on handout. |
|
5. |
Monitoring instruments and their uses. Explanation and demonstration. |
|
6. |
Radiation detection, monitoring and protection. Hands on practice session. |
|
7. |
Debriefing Part I. Self assessment; radiation physics/measurement critique of Part I. |
|
Assignment in Preparation for Part I. Assigned readings and exercises on radio biology and contamination. |
|
|
Part II Contamination and Its Control |
|
|
8. |
Radio biology of man. Programmed lecture with slides, based on handout. |
|
9. |
Acute Radiation Injury: 1. Total body 2. Partial body, local. Lecture, discussion, clinical vignettes. |
|
10. |
Contamination and its Control. Explanation of basic protocols; practice session |
|
11. |
Assessment and treatment for internal contamination. Programmed lecture based on handout |
|
12. |
Debriefing of Part II. Self assessment: radio biology/contamination critique of Part II. |
|
Assignment in preparation for Part III. Readings and exercises on pre hospital and hospital emergency are in radiation accidents. |
|
|
Part III Adapting Emergency Care |
|
|
13. |
Adapting emergency care for injured and contaminated patients. Lecture or panel discussion of cases. |
|
14. |
Elements of emergency planning. Lecture based on handout; Discussion of cases. |
|
15. |
Hospital emergency management of radiation accidents. Video, Discussion in small groups. |
|
Session |
Topic/Activity/Assignment |
|
16. |
Pre-hospital management of radiation accidents. Video; discussion in small groups. |
|
17. |
Contamination control for ambulance personnel. Review of principles; practice session. |
|
18. |
Protection of emergency medical personnel. mini lecture; demonstration, practice session. |
|
19. |
Emergency team organization. mini lecture, discussion, role plays. |
|
20. |
Debriefing of Part III. Self Assessment: Pre hospital and hospital based management in radiation accidents; Critique of part III. |
|
Part IV Radiation Drills |
|
|
21. |
Drill walk-through and demonstration. Explanation and demonstration of radiation drills. |
|
22. |
Emergency drill. Simulation exercise. |
|
23. |
Debriefing and report on drill. Simulation exercise. |
|
24. |
Debriefing on part IV. Self assessment: radiation drills critique of Part IV. |
|
Assignment preparation for Part V. Assigned readings and exercises on multi-casualty incidents preparation for open session. |
|
|
Part V Public Health Aspects |
|
|
25. |
Multi casualty incidents including radiation learning from exposure. Discussion of cases in small groups. |
|
26. |
Adapting response in multi casualty accidents. Lecture or panel discussion. |
|
27. |
Communication in radiation accident. Mini lecture and/or video, role plays, simulation exercise. |
|
28. |
Open session. Questions and answers; review of key themes; opportunity to practice basic skills. |
|
29. |
Post Test. Written examination. |
|
30. |
Debriefing of the Course. Overall critique of the course; Suggestions for improvement; Summing up by Course director and student. |
|
31. |
Closing ceremony. Presentation of certificates; invited guest |
Develop Course Syllabus
Look at your COURSE DESCRIPTION, ACTIVITIES PLAN, COURSE SYLLABUS AND SESSION PLANS:
Self-Check and Review
Check to make sure you have done each of the following:
2. Listed both in-class and outside activities
. 3. Chosen instructional methods which correspond to the skill, knowledge or inter-personal/communication objective you are focusing on.
4. Included Evaluation activities to test entry level , progress and post course skills and knowledge.
5. Included Session numbers and, if needed, time allotments for each session.
6. Included Assignments: reading, library, laboratory and or field as is appropriate for your course.
You have now completed Part I, the Guidebook, (Chapters 1-5) in Designing Courses for Health Professionals. These five chapters present the model for course design.
Part II, Methods follows below. Part II includes information to help you design your own courses. Specific tools for job analysis and verification, evaluation and teaching methods will be presented.
At the end of the book (p. 81) forms 1 to 4, for you to use or adapt, are included.
