Advantages of Role Play2

Role-Playing

Role-play is learning how to best handle a situation by practicing interactions and trying out different approaches. Students may act out situations, problems, and issues in a safe setting and develop skills that promote sexual health.Role-play is a very effective instructional method proven to increase self-efficacy and impact student behavior1. Role play requires careful preparation to ensure a structure emphasizing healthy sexuality through practicing basic learning's, for example abstinence negotiation.

Advantages of Role Play2

·  Provides opportunity for students to assume roles of others, therefore appreciating another person's point of view.

·  Allows for a safe exploration of solutions and an opportunity to practice sexual health skills.

·  Tends to motivate students to learn.

·  Promotes and develops critical and creative thinking, attitudes, values, and interpersonal and social skills.

Procedure2

1.  Prepare class for role-play

·  Present an artificial problem, situation or event that represents some aspect of reality.

·  Define the problem, situation and roles clearly.

2.  Give clear instructions

·  Determine whether role-plays will be carried out using student volunteers in front of the class (the teacher may or may not play a role), in partnerships/small groups with every student playing a role, or in small groups with role-players and observers.

·  Divide students into groups, if appropriate. Using Small Group Activities

·  Model the skill with a scripted role-play.

3.  Act out role-plays

·  Students follow the procedure outlined by the teacher to act out role-plays.

·  Unless the teacher is playing a role, it is helpful to walk around the room and observe how students are experiencing the role-play and offer coaching to students who are stuck.

4.  Discussion (small group and whole class)

·  Begin by allowing players to communicate feelings experienced during the role-play.

·  Have students identify sexual health skills that were demonstrated during the role-play.

·  Determine actions that strengthen or weaken these skills (i.e. body language).

·  Discuss how this role-play is or isn’t similar to real life.

·  Identify ways of using identified sexual health skills in real life situations.

Alternatives to Traditional Procedure

·  Have students write scripts for role-play1.

·  Have students write down responses and then role-play in front of the class.

·  Have students generate a list of challenging “lines”, then have a student read the lines to the class and have each student give a response.

·  Have students develop and act out plays1.

Tips for Using Role Play

·  Begin with fairly easy situations and work up to more challenging ones.

·  Be aware that some students may feel threatened or self-conscious.Using humor can help dispel embarrassment. Using role-plays that exaggerate weak responses might break the ice.

·  Reduce the level of abstraction or complexity so that the students may become directly involved with underlying concepts.

·  If students find it difficult to determine skills which model sexual health, they could observe successful role models or ask experts to suggest approaches.

·  If attempting an unscripted exercise, be sure it is the correct approach for your students comfort level.

Examples

More role playing activities can be found within the Lesson Plans. Activities are located at the end of each Lesson Plan.

Grade 7 Lesson 1-Choosing Abstinence-Abstinence Role-Play Scenarios-Teach students how to postpone sexual activity by developing their refusal skills.

Grade 9 Lesson 1-Safer Sex-Examining Assertive Communication-Students act out passive, assertive, and aggressive response to various communication scenarios.

CALM Lesson 1-Building Healthy Relationships-Relationship Role Play-Students learn and practice skills for building, maintaining and enhancing healthy, positive relationships.

CALM-Students develop skits on violence in relationships and compare healthy vs. unhealthy relationships.

REFERENCES:

1. ETR Associates (2011). Reducing adolescent sexual risk: A theoretical guide for developing and adapting curriculum based programs. United States of America: Kirby, Douglas.

2. Kizlik, Dr. Bob. (2012). Instructional Methods Information: Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.adprima.com/teachmeth.htm

Small Groups

Interaction makes learning powerful.Small group work, sometimes called cooperative learning5, has 3-5 students working together to exchange ideas, discuss and propose solutions. Small group work addresses both academic learning and social skill learning1. Teachers must give careful thought to how to manage the classroom during small group activities to ensure success5.

Advantages of Small Group

When students work in small groups, they think through an idea, present it to others so that they can understand, and often exchange alternative ideas and viewpoints.Students learn faster and more efficiently, have greater retention, and tend to be more positive about the lesson1. This:

·  Encourages positive attitudes toward sexual health

·  Allows more students to be involved,5

·  Promotes intellectual growth5, and

·  Enhances social and personal development.

Procedure

There is no one "right way" to approach small group activities. Teachers must choose models and methods that match their particular teaching styles, their students and lesson content. Ensure that groups are heterogeneous. In diverse groups students are able to benefit from each other. Weaker students are tutored by the stronger student, reinforcing learning for both students2. Following some basic steps at the beginning will help all small group activities be more effective3.

These basic elements of cooperative learning should help you get started3

1. Positive interdependence

2. Social skills

3. Individual accountability

4. Group processing

1.  Positive interdependence

Students need to work cooperatively with all members of the team and contribute to the goal. To increase comfort level of students working in groups they are unfamiliar with set up an ice breaker for them to get to know each other before the lesson begins1.

Two truths and a lie: Have each student make three statements about themselves, two are truths and one is a lie. The group then has to decide which statement is not true.

2.  Social skills

Small group work requires students to listen to one another, ask questions, clarify issues, and re-state points of view. Teach students these skills through demonstration and direct instruction1.

·  Listening when others speak

·  Eye contact and positive body language

·  Encouragement and respect

·  Speaking quietly and without hostility

3. Individual accountability

For small group work to be successful teachers must ensure that the lesson includes an opportunity for individual accountability. Each member of the group must be motivated to contribute to the final goal.1

4. Group processing

Have students reflect on the positive ways the group interacted together to achieve their goal. Ask students to write down what was helpful in getting the group to achieve their goal. This opportunity for reflection will clarify the processes and improve their cooperative learning skills3.

Types of Cooperative Learning Activities

Think-Pair-Share: Students work independently to write down thoughts or ideas about a topic, and then share these ideas with a partner. Partners probe one another to ensure complete understanding4.

Jigsaw: Divide class into groups. Assign each group a separate topic. Everyone in each group must be become an expert on the topic by the end of a given time. Form new groups made up of one member of each original group. "Experts" share findings from various topics from their original groups with the new group members4.

Circle of Voices: Students are given a topic and a few minutes to organize their thoughts. Each student has uninterrupted time to speak to their small group. Each person should be assigned and required to stick to the same amount of time. After everyone has had a turn, the group can now discuss the topic. During the general discussion students are only allowed to build on what someone else has said and not their original ideas6.

An Important Note About Assessment: If work accomplished within a group is to be used as part of the student's mark, it is important to remember to use two levels of accountability. The group must be accountable for achieving its goals, and each member must be accountable for contributing his or her share of the work1.

Tips for Using Small Groups

·  Work must be directed towards a clear goal or set of goals.

·  Tasks should be specific and outlined in detail1.

·  Give each group member a specific task (leader, recorder reporter, monitor, etc.)5

·  Groups need to be interdependent - relying on all group members to accomplish a goal.

·  Provide groups with appropriate workspace where they can work face-to-face without disruption.

·  Keep close observation during group activities to ensure students remain on task and on track1.

Examples

More small group activities can be found within the Lesson Plans. Activities are located at the end of each Lesson Plan.

Grade 4 Lesson 1-Body Changes. Assign each group to a category to brainstorm all of the changes that occur during puberty under that category. Categories include Body Changes, Thought Changes, Relationship Changes.

Grade 7 Lesson 1-When I Was Your Age… Have the groups brainstorm a list of questions they would ask a trusted adult about their adolescent experience.

Grade 8 Lesson 1-Is This Abuse? Case study with questions a small group works together to answer.

Grade 9 Lesson 1-Healthy/Unhealthy/Abusive Relationship. Each group is given cards with characteristics of Healthy/Unhealthy/Abusive Relationships and together they decide which characteristic matches which relationship.

CALM Lesson 1-Setting Sexual Limits. Ask the student questions and have them share their response with the class.

REFERENCES:

1. California department of education. (2011). Cooperative learning: successful cooperative learning elements. Retrieved August 15 from the California Department of Education website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/cooplrng.asp

2. Oakley, B., Felder, R.M., Brent, R., & and Elhajj, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2(1), 9–34.

3. Saskatoon Pubic Schools: Online Learning Centre. (2003). Instructional strategies online: self guided tutorial. Retrieved August 20, 2013 from Saskatoon Public Schools website http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/coop/index.html

4. Saskatoon Pubic Schools: Online Learning Centre. (2009). Instructional strategies online: An alphabetized listing of instructional methods. Retrieved August 20, 2013 from Saskatoon Public Schools website http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/alpha.html

5. Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching. (1999). Speaking of Teaching. Vol. 10, No.2. Retrieved August 8, 2012 from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/Newsletter/cooperative.pdf.

6. University of Waterloo: Centre for Teaching Excellence: (n.d.). Group work in the classroom: small group tasks. Retrieved August 8, 2012 from University of Waterloo website: http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/group_work_in_the_classroom_small_group_tasks.html

Class Discussion

Discussions are often led by a facilitator. Discussions take place after the facilitator has provided material through a lecture, digital media, or reading1. Talking about sexuality with students can be challenging because it is a subject that touches on our personal values and beliefs2.

Advantages of Classroom Discussion

·  Helps build a positive classroom climate

·  Leads to personalization and interest in sexual health1

·  Leads to recall1

·  Leads to analysis1

·  Normalizes changes students may be experiencing

·  Allows more students to be involved and express their ideas

Procedure

1.  Set up an atmosphere ensuring sensitivity during the activity.

·  Ensure ground rules are in place that ensure respectful interactions during discussions2.

·  Facilitator should introduce topic for discussion, through a short lecture, video, or skit1

·  Defining terms is important, to ensure all students are at a similar level of understanding.

·  Address student and teacher apprehension around discussing human sexuality2

2.  Hold the discussion.

·  Encourage students to participate in the discussion by asking questions, making suggestions and expressing ideas.

·  Encourage dialogue by probing, prompting and redirecting students3.

·  Encourage students to recall, analyze, generalize and personalize the information1.

3.  Conclude the discussion.

·  Find consensus, a solution, clarification of insights gained, or a summary (preferably one provided by the students).

Tips

·  Introduce facts and refute inaccuracies and myths.

·  Be consistent with ground rules.

·  Maintain students' integrity through respecting their questions and responses3.

·  Incorporate pauses to encourage students to fill in the empty space3.

·  Use open-ended questions to encourage higher level thinking.

·  Ensure your own values and reactions do not impact the discussion2.

·  Respect that your student will have their own values and beliefs2.

Examples

More class discussion activities can be found within the Lesson Plans. Activities are located at the end of each Lesson Plan.

Grade 4 Lesson 1-Puberty Changes-Newsprint Display-Normalize the great and difficult things about growing -up, through having a group discussion.

Grade 7-9 Quick Lesson—Sexual Development- Puberty Discussion Questions-Help students identify puberty as a time of change and development through discussion questions.

Grade 9 Lesson 1- Coping with Development-Evaluating Self-esteem-Students examine the impact of negative self-esteem; negative feelings; and coping strategies.

REFERENCES:

1. ETR Associates (2011). Reducing adolescent sexual risk: A theoretical guide for developing and adapting curriculum based programs. United States of America: Kirby, Douglas.

2. Peel Region. (n.d.).Helping teens lesson plans: Entire Manual. Retrieved August 20, 2013 from http://www.peelregion.ca/health/helping-teens/download/geninfo/pdf/entire-manual-lesson-plans.pdf

3. Saskatoon Pubic Schools: Online Learning Centre. (2009). Instructional strategies online: An alphabetized listing of instructional methods. Retrieved August 20, 2013 from Saskatoon Public Schools website http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/alpha.html

Digital Media

Videos and digital media can be an entertaining way to introduce content and raise issues in the sexual health classroom.Many digital media formats and videos are available. It is important to find the right media and to use it effectively to ensure student learning is optimized. It is always a good idea to have digital media approved by administration.

Advantages

·  Keeps group's attention.

·  Stimulates discussion1.

·  Illustrates complex, abstract concepts through animated, 3-D images or technologically advanced media.

·  Reinforces learnings1

Procedure

1.  Preview the media2

·  Use only those parts of the media that match the lesson's objectives.

·  Ensure the media is appropriate for the grade and age.

·  Provide an opportunity for parents or other community members to preview the media.