Courses: This semester-long project can be included in a general health communication course, a health campaigns course, upper-level mass-media courses, and advanced courses on communication and social justice. This can also be used as a semester-long assignment in a course that fulfills a diversity requirement. Objectives: After completing this…

Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits that are important for mental and emotional well-being. Learning how to cope, manage emotions, problem solve, and develop interpersonal skills strengthens resilience, and promotes healthy lifestyle behaviors. Various health coaching techniques can be applied to the…

Courses: Introduction to Communication Behavior, Health Communication, Public Communication Campaigns, Persuasion, Public Relations. Objectives: Students gain practice determining various components of a health communication campaign (e.g. selecting appropriate target population(s), media channels), while noting the need for synergy across key…

A fundamental challenge for all instructors in higher education is demonstrating the relevance of the material for our students. With the implementation of new technologies, and facing ever-increasing challenges, instructors need to adapt their approach, especially in the teaching of theory. This presentation provides one such approach. Instead of…

Coaches are often focused on the physical training and the x's and o's associated with their sport, but there are clear benefits associated with teaching and encouraging proper nutrition and hydration for optimal performance. Certainly, the benefits can be seen, but how can coaches become more educated in nutrition and pass on this information to…

The Minneapolis Green Zone Initiative was created in 2016 with the goal of "improving health and supporting economic development using environmentally conscious efforts in communities that face the cumulative effects of environmental pollution, as well as social, political and economic vulnerability" (Green Zone Initiative 2019). Two…

This lesson plan is designed to help participants learn how to partner with their healthcare providers to improve their sexual health. This lesson plan describes how to achieve this goal with cis-gender Black adolescent girls and adult women (ages 16 and older).

Evolution can be a difficult concept for students, even though it is an organizing principle in biology. It can also be a challenge for teachers to cover evolution properly (or at all) in the classroom, whether due to personal attitudes or lack of knowledge or confidence in the material (Rutledge and Mitchell 2002). Even in some states where…

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication, Intercultural Communication. Objectives: After completing this semester-long activity students, should be able to (1) apply course concepts (i.e., stereotypes, identity, listening, language, and conflict) to diverse real-world scenarios; (2) explain the utility of intergroup contact…

Students in communication, and particularly in advertising, are encouraged to value creativity. However, even in programs that value creativity, it can be difficult to encourage creativity in the process of research that guides communication efforts. The project described in this paper--"Street Crossing"--is used in upper-division and…

The "Keep It Simple" package, which includes a short animated film (available online for streaming or download), a lesson plan, and supporting materials, was designed to be used with adolescents ages 15-19 to empower them to seek sexual and reproductive health care, and emphasize the availability of long-acting reversible contraception…

Preventative health has become central to contemporary health care, identifying youth physical activity as a key factor in determining health and functioning. Schools offer a unique research setting due to distinctive methodological circumstances. However, school-based researchers face several obstacles in their endeavour to complete successful…

The health habits of high school students affect not only their current health but also their future risk for obesity and cardiovascular disease. The "Heart Smart Discussion Activity" was developed to provide information about heart health, good nutrition, physical activity, and stress management. It encourages students to discuss…

Many public health students receive little, if any, formal training in communicating health information to the public. Public health practitioners, however, are regularly asked to use communication strategies to convey health information. The lesson plan was designed to teach students mass communication strategies in the context of sexual health…

In this lesson, a ready-to-teach cooperative reading activity, students learn about the effects of plastics in our environment, specifically that certain petrochemicals act as artificial estrogens and impact hormonal activities. Much of the content in this lesson was synthesized from recent medical research about the impact of xenoestrogens and…