Oral Rehydration Therapy and the Control of Diarrheal Diseases (Peace Corps, 1985, 566 pages): Module Six: Community health education: Session 22 - Practicing and evaluation health education sessions

Oral Rehydration Therapy and the Control of Diarrheal Diseases (Peace Corps, 1985, 566 pages)

Module Six: Community health education

		(introductory text...)
		Session 15 - Planning and evaluating health education projects in ort for controlling diarrheal diseases
		Session 16 - Selecting and using non-formal education techniques to promote the control of diarrheal diseases
		Session 17 - Selecting and using visual aids to promote CDD
		Session 18 - adapting and pretesting health education materials on ORT for controlling diarrheal diseases
		Session 19: Designing and evaluating health education sessions on ORT for CDD
		Session 20 - Health campaigns for oral rehydration and prevention of diarrhea
		Session 21 - Resources for health education on controlling diarrheal diseases
		Session 22 - Practicing and evaluation health education sessions

Session 22 - Practicing and evaluation health education sessions

TOTAL TIME

3 hours

OVERVIEW

It is always helpful to try out a planned session with a group willing to offer suggestions about what is good about the activity and what could be improved. Peer critiques also are a means of sharing ideas and approaches that can be used by all the participants when they return to their work sites. Conducting health education sessions also gives participants a sense of accomplishment and a moons to assess what they have learned about health education in the post few cloys. Finally, it provides practice in giving constructive criticism. In this session, co-facilitators present their project plans end conduct the health education session that they planned earlier in the training. Following each session the participants evaluate their peers' work.

OBJECTIVES

· To conduct a 20 minute health education session, working in pairs. (Step 1, 2)
· To evaluate the health education session using criteria established during the training course. (Step 2)

RESOURCES

As determined by participants.

Handouts:

- 19C Guidelines for Practice Sessions
- 19C Evaluation of Practice Session (both from Session 19)

MATERIALS

As determined by participants.

PROCEDURE

Trainer Note

Prior to this session, emphasize the importance of practicing before carrying out the session. Also urge participants to organize the materials needed for the session so they can reach them easily when they need them during the session.

You may want to invite some community members to attend the presentations to have a more realistic try out of the session. Even more effective is to conduct the activities in the community, if participants have the necessary language skills. If participants pretested materials in the school, some may vent to return there to do health education. Arrangements could be made with local officials to include a health education session in a community meeting. Participants with a health training could teach local health workers about ORT or dehydration. One trainer and as many participants as possible should attend all the sessions held in the community so that they can provide feedback later. Although this approach to the presentations requires considerably more arrangements by the trainer and the participants, it is much more rewarding for them and for the local community.

Try to "let go" and give participants as much freedom as possible to set the overall tone and present these activities. You may vent to ask someone to act as moderator for the session.

It is usually best to appoint a timekeeper so that none of the activities run over the time allocated. It is also helpful to the presenters to know when they have only five minutes left in their session.

Unless the group is small, it will be necessary to schedule two concurrent sessions with at least one trainer observing each session.

Step 1 (15 min.)

Setting up the Format for Practice Sessions

Assemble the group and explain the procedure for the practice sessions. Each pair of participants will conduct their 20 minute session according to the schedule posted on the wall. Immediately afterwards, the trainer will facilitate a 15 minute evaluation of the session among all participants and staff.

Ask each group to begin their session with a brief review of their health education project plan and explain where their practice session fits into that overall plan. Ask them to post large versions of their project plans and session plans. Remind them to explain how they plan to evaluate the session.

Distribute several copies of Handout 19E (Evaluation of Practice Session) to each participant. (Each person should have as many copies as there are practice sessions.)

Step 2 (1 hr 30 min)

Facilitating and Evaluating Practice Sessions

Have participants conduct their sessions. After each one, facilitate a 15 minute evaluation of the session. Encourage discussion of ways the session could be adapted for different situations.

Trainer Note

The following is a suggested procedure for the evaluation of each session:

- The pair who facilitated the session begin the process with self-evaluations.
- The participants then provide commentary identifying effective and ineffective aspects of the session and giving suggestions for improvement.
- As appropriate, the trainer provides feedback in areas not yet mentioned by, participants and gives his or her response to what has already been said.

Step 3 (25 min)

Applying New Ideas to the Field

Ask the group to reflect on the new ideas and information they gained during the practice sessions. Have them briefly discuss how they might use or adept the new session strategy for specific opportunities and situations in the field.

Trainer Note

Display the visual aids and plans produced for these activities. If possible, duplicate the plans for each project and session so that each participant has a copy of all the plans.

Depending on the schedule and the setting, you may want to hold a closing reception at the end of the training and invite people working on CDD programs in the country. In many settings Counterparts and Volunteers appreciate receiving certificates at the end of a training course.