The proposed teaching project outlined in the given community education curriculum primarily focuses on educating adolescents and young adults in New York City, USA, about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It is stated that “the best strategy for preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is by educating the young. It is considered effective to provide such education by the age of 15-16 years” (Arakawa, 2021, p. 1375). STDs are significant health hazards that can be avoided if proper and effective safety measures are practiced and integrated into one life. The target audience is comprised of the most vulnerable groups, who are likely to engage in sexual interactions but might lack the necessary knowledge to ensure their safety against STDs.
Firstly, the key variables included in the curriculum to address the identified public health conditions involve terminology, statistics, biological mechanisms, testing, preventative measures, discussion and reflection, and final assessment. For resources, the most important and essential ones are sources of information, which include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, academic journal articles, and credible health-focused websites written in a more accessible language. In addition, the basic teaching instruments, such as a classroom, a board, and presentation software, as well as rubber gloves and condoms, will be needed for demonstrative purposes. The latter two will be used to show the learners how to properly use a condom since it will be among the most recommended STD prevention methods proposed in the curriculum.
The selected communication method will be the turn-taking communication framework. It is stated that a “turn-taking communicative strategy requires that each speaker speaks only when it is his/her turn during an interaction” (Elcomblus, 2020, para. 6). Such an approach will be crucial to stimulate active discussion and to learn in the classroom. Since the topic is sensitive and it might even be uncomfortable for the audience, the teacher will have to set the tone of the lesson to be serious and devoid of humor. Engaging every student in the conversation will ensure that learners show their understanding and comprehension of the subject. It will additionally provide them with opportunities to ask critical questions, which will help them avoid STDs in the future.
The curriculum will begin with a short introduction to the topic to inform the students about STDs. It will be a critical moment that must be utilized to set the general tone for the project. The latter needs to be serious and non-humorous but engaging and active at the same time. The next phase needs to introduce factual statistical data on STDs by quoting CDC: “youth ages 15-24 account for almost half of the 26 million new sexually transmitted infections that occurred in the United States” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022, para. 1). The third stage will be focused on ways the learners can prevent STDs according to CDC, which include condoms, mutual monogamy, sex partner number reduction, vaccination, and abstinence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). All the materials will be credible sources, such as CDC and academic journal articles. The final stage will be the assessment, which will be summative and usually conducted at the end of the curriculum (Zook, 2021). In the case of the contents of the assessment procedure, it will be based on reflective writing as well as a multiple choice test.
References
Arakawa, S. (2021). Education for prevention of STIs to young people (2021 version) standardized slides in youth education for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections-for high school students and for junior high school students. Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy, 27(10), 1375-1383.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Adolescents and young adults.
Elcomblus. (2020). How to use the types of communicative strategies?
Zook, C. (2021). Formative vs. summative assessments: What’s the difference?Applied Education Systems.