HED 4650: Drug Education and Prevention
| Course Home Page | Instructor’s E-mail | Introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Assignments | Course Mechanics |
| E-mail Etiquette | Lessons | |
Introduction
The primary focus of this course is to introduce the complex social, psychological, pharmacological, cultural, and political aspects of drug use, abuse, dependency, treatment and education. In addition, the methods, materials and theories of drug abuse prevention in the school and community will be presented.
As you progress through the course, you will:
- explore the various aspects of drug-related issues
- examine the impact of the major drugs of use and abuse
- learn the characteristics of the “modern drug problem”
- critically analyze drug abuse prevention strategies, including the “war on drugs”
- identify and use the resources available to drug education personnel
- gather and evaluate information pertaining to drug effects, treatment, the impact of abuse, and education.
Materials
There are two required texts for the course:
- Hanson, G., Venturelli, P., & Fleckenstein, A. (2006). Drugs and society (9th ed.). Boston: Jones & Bartlett. ISBN 978-0-7637-3732-0. This well-written and nicely illustrated book will provide you with unique and comprehensive information for teaching drug education and will serve as an excellent reference for substance abuse information. The publisher provides a free companion Web site, which you will use to complete some assignments. Resources on the companion site include self-assessments, exercises, interactive summaries, animated flashcards, crossword puzzles, interactive glossaries, and links to more resources.
- Perrin, R. (2007). Pocket guide to APA style, 2nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-69119-7, or an equivalent printed guide to APA style. In the behavioral sciences, we write, document, and present papers in American Psychological Association (APA) style. Most assignments in this course will require at least two citations from a professional journal, book, magazine, or Web site, and references must be cited using APA format.
The textbooks can be obtained from Friday Center Books & Gifts by ordering online or by printing and mailing the book order form.
Assignments
You will submit eight assignments, which include self-assessments of substance abuse, case studies and clinical issues for major drugs, and chapter research questions. The assignments will help you assimilate material from the textbook and put it into action. Some assignments may help you identify an area in which your own behavior should change. Assignments using current drug education articles, or that feature real-world news stories, will demonstrate the relevance of health issues to your and your students’ everyday lives. You will also write a health education lesson plan that meets objectives stated in the NC Healthful Living Standard Course of Study.
There is no final exam in this course.
Assignment Length Philosophy Statement
When writing assignments, I prefer you to exceed the minimum required page length in order to comprehensively answer the questions and obtain the best grade. Also, single space your name/heading and move the text up so I do not have to split hairs, so to speak, when counting pages as I look for comprehensive length and content. Answer all questions to the best of your ability. I will briefly use my professional experiences here to convince you that more is better. Years ago, as a doctoral student, I completed a take-home exam in an advanced nutrition class. Ruth, my neighbor/friend (and very busy mother of four children) was also enrolled in the course and asked to see my exam prior to turning it in before class began. After looking through my twenty-page plus exam, Ruth exclaimed: “My God John, why did you write so much?” A bit confused by her remark, I asked why she made the comment, and her reply was “I only wrote three pages.” My answer to her was that I wanted to remove all doubt in the professor's mind (who had just entered the classroom) what grade I wanted; “A.” Many of you have attained success in academic, cultural endeavors and in competitive sports so you know what I mean when I say that hard work pays off. The moral of this story is, always try to hit a home run on the first pitch, and if you don't succeed, try again. Give each assignment your best college try, paying attention to length, content, grammar, spelling, APA references, and so forth.
Grading Scale for Written Assignments
Please note that all assignments will be graded on a 20-point scale, which is equivalent to the following percentages. For example: Please don’t think that a score of 17 out of 20 points is outstanding, as you can see that this is the equivalent of getting an 85/100 or a B–.
20 points out of 20 possible points = 100/100 (A)
19/20 = 95/100 (A)
18/20 = 90/100 (B+)
17/20 = 85/100 (B–)
16/20 = 80/100 (C+)
15/20 = 75/100 (C–)
14/20 = 70/100 (D+)
13/20 = 65/100 (D–)
12/20 = 60/100 (F)
Your course grade is based on the following:
| 8 Written Assignments | (at 20 points each) | 160 points |
Letter grades will be based on the following percentages:
| A | 97–100 |
| A – | 93–96 |
| B + | 90–92 |
| B | 87–89 |
| B – | 83–86 |
| C + | 80–82 |
| C | 77–79 |
| C – | 73–76 |
| D + | 70–72 |
| D | 67–69 |
| D – | 63–66 |
| F | 0–62 |
Submitting Assignments
- Write the assignment using Microsoft Word. If you have Word 2007, save the document as a 2003 version (.doc) —I will be opening your document using a Mac computer that does not currently support the PC Word 2007 version. Name the file yourlastname-lesson#.doc.
- Include your full name, date, course title, and a heading at the top of the first page. For example:
Peggy Greene
June 9, 2008
HED 4650 Drug Education and Prevention
Lesson # - Meet or exceed the required number of pages. Use a standard 12-point font such as Times New Roman. Double-space the text.
- Use 1" margins on all four sides of the page.
- Use Microsoft Word's Spelling and Grammar tool to correct any errors.
- As a final step, read and use the proper e-mail etiquette as articulated on this home page. Please note: I will not grade assignments or respond to e-mails sent without professional/formal and polite communication as explained in the E-mail Etiquette section.
- Submit your work using the Submit Assignment button in each lesson, which will open a message addressed to both me and Student Services (so they can track your progress). It will also enter the course number and submission number in the subject line. Add your name to the end of the subject line, being careful not to erase the submission number.
Save Your Work
It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send via e-mail. If I don't receive your message, you must have a copy of the e-mail with the attached file, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails as well as the attached files, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.
Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to me, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.
Submit One at a Time
As your instructor, I would prefer that you submit no more than one assignment at a time and wait to receive that assignment back from me before submitting the next one. In addition, please do not attempt to complete too many assignments at the end of your enrollment period, as I may not be available or able to return grades to you in a timely manner.
Also, at certain times of the year, I may experience time constraints due to other courses that I teach at Appalachian State University, a holiday, or other professional obligations (such as presenting at a conference, and so on). If you wish to attempt completion of this course outside of my preferred outline above, you may discuss this with me. However, please note that the Friday Center for Continuing Education is interested in your success in the course, and the submission restrictions are in place for your benefit. To succeed in this course, you should take your time to get feedback from me along the way, and be patient with the delivery method that we use.
Course Mechanics
The primary method of communication in Self-paced Courses is through e-mail. It is essential to inform me and Student Services of any change in your e-mail address.
Contact me with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to me at the top of every lesson page.
Contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center with problems with this Web site, including bad links.
If you have any nontechnical logistical questions as you work through the course (credits, transfers, withdrawal, extensions, and so on), contact Student Services at the Friday Center, telephone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669.
Library Services and E-reserves
Students enrolled in Self-paced Courses can access online library resources from the UNC-Chapel Hill Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-journals. When you click on a restricted library resource, you may be prompted to enter your UNC-Chapel Hill Onyen. If you are unable to access the library's licensed resources, please contact the proxy team for further assistance, telling them you are taking a self-paced course through the Friday Center.
E-mail Etiquette
When you e-mail friends, you can be as informal as you wish. However, when you write to your employer, professor, or supervisor you should use proper and polite language. Why? You can communicate more effectively, and it gives people a better impression of your manners and abilities, which might be important if your supervisor is asked to write a reference for you in the future. In addition, by training yourself to write properly, you develop skills necessary to deal with future clients and supervisors, who are unlikely to tolerate bad e-mail manners. Please use the following guidelines when e-mailing me and other professors.
- Even telephone conversations start with “Hello” and end with “Goodbye.” Therefore, please use a formal salutation when e-mailing professors, such as:
Dear Dr. Janowiak
- When e-mailing faculty, remember that you are not communicating with a friend or relative, therefore do not use informal language in your e-mails.
- If you have a request, say it politely. You can start with “I would like to ...”, “I wonder if you can ...,” “May I ...,” “Is it possible to ...,” “Do you mind ....” DO NOT WRITE: “I want to know ...,” “I want you to…,” “Send this to me …,” “Tell me when ....” Just adding the word “please” does not mean that you are being polite. “Please” can be used in commands, for example, “Please behave yourself” or “Please finish the project tomorrow.”
- Your identity is an important clue to the context of the message. Every semester I teach approximately 100 students in four classes; therefore identify yourself as a student in the class you are enrolled in, such as:
Dear Dr. Janowiak,
I am a student enrolled in your Self-paced HED 4650: Drug Education and Prevention course.
- Be concise. Faculty get many e-mail messages every day, and often read them quickly. E-mails that are too lengthy may not be read carefully, or may be left unread until more time is available.
- Always, re-read your e-mails and check for spelling and grammatical mistakes before sending them.
- When making an appointment, you can suggest a few time slots, but always say something like “If these times do not suit you, please feel free to let me know any other time that you prefer / that is convenient to you.” If you cannot make the date suggested, say, “I am sorry, but I cannot come to see you on [Monday].” Do not say, “I am not available on [Monday].”
In conclusion, if you do not use a formal salutation and my name (Dr. Janowiak) or establish who you are and what class you are enrolled in, your e-mail message will not be read or responded to.
Lessons
The course schedule is up to you. You can complete the course in as few as twelve weeks or take as long as nine months.
Since this course is not held in a classroom, I may never meet you in person. Still, I would like to know something about you so that I can associate each e-mail message from you with something more than a name. Therefore, your first task is to send me a Personal Information Sheet: Save this Word Document to your hard drive (or copy and paste from this Web page into your word processing program), fill it out, and attach it to an e-mail to me. This also gives us a chance to make sure our lines of communication are working.
When you have reviewed the information on this home page, click on the Lesson 1 link below. Complete the reading assignment. When you are prepared, complete the written assignment. Be sure to follow the instructions in each lesson for submitting your assignment.
You will follow this procedure for each lesson in the course.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Drug Education and Prevention
Lesson 2: Teaching Methods and Theory
Lesson 3: Lesson Planning
Lesson 4: Stress Management and Substance Abuse
Lesson 5: How and Why Drugs Work
Lesson 6: Drugs and Popular Music
Lesson 7: Using Alcohol Responsibly
Lesson 8: Narcotics
Lesson 9: Stimulants
Lesson 10: Tobacco Prevention
Lesson 11: Hallucinogens
Lesson 12: Marijuana
Lesson 13: Over-the-Counter, Prescription, and Herbal Drugs
Lesson 14: Drug Abuse Prevention
Course Evaluation: Please complete a brief online evaluation form. We want to know if this course met your needs and expectations.