Updated: Nov 2000

Anti-Drug Advertisement Task Phase of Development:  Early Adolescence The following matrix describes the key learning area outcomes that were focused upon in this unit of work.  It should be recognised that many other outcomes, from this and other learning areas, will also be achieved during the course of the unit. Learning Area Outcomes from the Curriculum Framework Strand Statements from the Outcomes & Standards Framework Knowledge and Understandings Students know and understand health and physical activity concepts that enable informed decisions for a healthy, active lifestyle. Concepts for a Healthy Lifestyle (CHL) Students know and understand health and physical activity concepts that enable informed decisions for a healthy, active lifestyle. Self-management Skills (SMS) Students demonstrate self-management skills which enable them to make informed decisions for healthy, active lifestyles. Interpersonal Skills (IS) Students demonstrate the interpersonal skills necessary for effective relationships and healthy, active lifestyles.   Context                                                                                          School: A large metropolitan senior high school, middle class, and with a large multicultural community. Students: Approximately 30 Year 9 students ranging from Level 3 to Level 5 in CHL, IS and SMS, with the majority working at Levels 3 and 4.  The students varied in their experience with using learning technologies, from very little to quite advanced. Learning Technologies Students had access to computers and the Internet in the school library for research and design purposes.  Some students also had access to various learning technology resources at home.   Teacher: Stephen Tipping I have taught HPE for nine years but have had limited experience in teaching using learning technologies to achieve student outcomes        Brief Description of the Program:   In this unit I asked students to develop an anti-drug promotional advertisement in their Health Education class.  Students: selected a drug that is potentially harmful to users; researched information about it in the library; developed a promotional strategy to attempt to reduce community misuse; considered the persuasive power of advertising and the impact of drug misuse on one’s self concept.  I encouraged students to use learning technologies to research a particular drug and then to develop their advertisement. Project Duration 3 x 1hr lessons in preparation activities, then 3 x 1hr lessons creating the advertisements.  I also expected students to complete some research and design in their own time. Purpose I designed the lessons in order to have students:       identify various methods of health promotion in different areas of the media       identify the immediate, short-term and long-term effects of drug misuse        recognise the reasons why people choose to misuse drugs       develop strategies to improve community awareness of the problems associated with drug misuse        develop strategies to improve community awareness of the benefits of harm reduction techniques concerning drug use         develop their skills in decision making, and recognise that the decision not to misuse drugs is part of an overall healthy lifestyle (SMS)         develop their skills in communication, cooperation and collaboration in groups (IS). Through the introduction of learning technologies, I also hoped to encourage more students to perform at Level 5 and beyond in the CHL, IS and SMS strand outcomes.  The majority of students were then working at Levels 3 and 4 in these strands. Learning Experiences I introduced this task to students as part of the topic of Advertising and the Media. Stage 1: Preparation I spent three lessons on information and activities that critically examined different advertising techniques in various media. This included looking at magazine articles, TV commercials and radio advertisements, with my students identifying and analysing methods used, including testimonials, image creation and humour.  In particular, they explored how these methods worked to persuade young people of their message. Assessment:   Monitoring of selected students’ performance in the IS strand outcomes during their group discussion sessions, and in the SMS strand outcomes when they discussed the influence of the media on young people’s decision making. It is possible to monitor the performance of 5-6 students during a group discussion session, and annotate an Observation Criteria Sheet with ticks and brief comments after each lesson.  Stage 2: Design I then introduced the task of students creating their own anti-drug promotional advertisement.  First, I asked students to select a form of media that they wished to use to promote their advertisement.  Suggestions included:          Poster          Booklet          Audio          Web page          Video            PowerPoint presentation We then spent a one-hour session on advertisement design.  This included looking at the visual and/or audio format that the advertisement would take and the advertising methods they would use. They considered, in particular, what methods they would use to persuade their audience of their message. Assessment: Group work—Monitoring of selected students’ performance in the IS strand outcomes.   Click here for the Observation Criteria Document for this activity. Stage 3: Research After they formulated their initial design for the advertisement, students spent another one-hour session researching their topic in detail, to ensure they had sufficient information to effectively promote anti-drug messages.  They had access to the library to use the Internet, CD-ROM and text resources to gather relevant information.  Click here for some useful Internet sites. I emphasised at the beginning of the lesson, and again as I worked with individual students, that they needed to be discriminating about the sites they visited.  In looking at each new site students should consider the person who had created it:       what his or her values seemed to be regarding the  particular drug;       his or her authority or expertise in the area.  I pointed out that they could often tell this by the URL of the site—“edu” indicating educational institutions, “gov” for government bodies, and “org” for organisations; and       whether the person appeared to be sponsored by a manufacturer of the drug in question (for example, some academic research is sponsored by tobacco companies) Click here for a useful  pro-forma  to help students evaluate websites. I also reminded those who were preparing a webpage to take note of sites to which they wanted to make links. Click www.fortunecity.com/lavender/atkinson/960/bb.html  to see an example of this being done very effectively. They then had to complete their advertisements and prepare to present them to the class in the next lesson. Stage 4: Presentation This presentation involved students showing their advertisements to their peers, and identifying the methods of advertising they chose, how they worked and, simply, why they thought their advertisements were effective. Assessment: Students assessed themselves and each other on their advertisements with this Peer Checklist.  I also assessed their final products (CHL and SMS strand outcomes) with the Observation Criteria Document. For those who chose to present their advertisements to the class, I also assessed their oral performance (IS strand outcomes) with the Observation Criteria Document. Stage 5: Sum-Up In group and class discussion, students: conducted a general discussion of the advertisement presented to the class discussed the power of media advertisements for various drugs, and why these have a strong effect on them and their peers reviewed previous work on the influence of drugs and how they can influence self esteem Assessment: Link to Observation Criteria Document in order to monitor selected students’ performance in discussion (CHL, SMS and IS strand outcomes). Student Work: www.fortunecity.com/lavender/atkinson/960/bb.htm www.angelfire.com/mt/smokingproject/start.htm         Useful Websites for Student Research into Drugs Drug West www.wa.gov.au/drugwestaus/   Australian Drug Foundation www.adf.org.au/   Australian Sports Drug Agency                           www.ausport.gov.au/asda/ The Centre for Education and Information on Drugs & Alcohol (CEIDA) www.ceida.net.au/ WA Health Dept: Public Health Div.                 www.public.health.wa.gov.au/   School Drug Education Project                  www.sdep.wa.edu.au/                           Back to Stage 3:  Research   Assessment At the beginning of the unit I informed students that their assessment would be based on the CHL, SMS and IS strand outcomes and made them aware of the various level outcome statements. See Observation Criteria Document.  If they performed presentations to the class I would also assess them further in the IS strand outcomes. I assessed performance in both the CHL and SMS Strand outcomes when my students submitted their work.  I assessed the IS strand outcomes during group and collaborative work, and during the students’ advertisement presentation.   The students evaluated each others presentation with this pro-forma. Reflection As a result of providing an opportunity for students to utilize learning technologies, I found that a number of them managed to enhance or reinforce their performance at Levels 3, 4 or 5 of the relevant strand outcomes.  Most importantly, it was very clear to me that the students were more motivated, put in much more work, with more willingness, and enjoyed the task a lot more. As a result of developing this task, I have pursued and successfully acquired computer hardware for the Health class for next year, improving accessibility. I feel comfortable with using the Strand Outcome Statements, and hope to develop a simpler set of criteria that students can easily follow to assist them in working to higher levels.   Identifying Information Stephen Tipping   Mt Lawley SHS   Ph: 9272 1311   Email: tipps@iinet.net.au