Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

Box3-1Types of Activities to Increase Knowledge in Effective Pregnancy andSTD/HIV Prevention Curricula (Continued)10. Roleplays. Scripted and unscripted roleplays providean opportunity for youth to practice skills. Forexample, after learning the steps for refusal, youthmight act out a roleplay in which they actually applythe steps to a hypothetical scenario. Roleplays areparticularly effective at teaching skills and increasingself-efficacy in those skills.11. Brief Lectures. A lecture is a prepared oral presentationthat may or may not use visual aids (such ascharts, diagrams and slides). A lecture generally isused to present factual material in a direct and logicalmanner, to entertain or to inspire an audience. Lecturesappeal to those people who learn by listening.12. Skill Demonstrations. An important step in skillinstruction includes modeling the skill. In skill demonstrations,the facilitator models the steps of a givenskill (e.g., refusing sex, negotiating condom use, orusing a condom correctly). Afterward the facilitatorelicits feedback on his or her performance of the skillfrom students and sometimes has the students practicethe skill themselves.13. Skits. Skits are dramatic presentations of situationsthat can serve as input for a large- or small-groupdiscussion. Skits are effective at engaging an audiencebecause the performance is live and often involves theparticipants as actors. Skits can sometimes be usedinstead of videos.14. Small-Group Discussions or Other Activities. Smallgroupdiscussions generally allow for more youth tobe involved and express their ideas. Generally, themembers of a small group are given a set of guidelinesor instructions for completing a task together (e.g.,generate a list of reasons why teenagers have sex andwrite those reasons on flip charts). Often, small groupsthen summarize their work for the larger group.15. Simulations. Simulations attempt to demonstrate howsomething works in a hypothetical but realistic situation.For example, the “STD Handshake” is a classicsimulation activity where youth learn how an STD canspread through a group of people by shaking handswith group members and getting signatures on indexcards. The handshaking simulates sexual intercourse.Unbeknownst to one student, she/he has a mark onthe back of her index card that represents an STD.Anyone who has a signature from that student alsohas contracted an STD and anyone else who has thesignatures of those students may have an STD. Simulationsare often followed by large- or small-groupdiscussions of the major points.16. Statistics on Incidence and Prevalence. Incidence isthe number of new cases of a disease or condition in adefined population, within a specified period of time(often a year). Often they are expressed as rates (e.g.,a pregnancy rate or chlamydia rate). Prevalence is thenumber of events, e.g., instances of a given disease orother condition in a given population at a designatedtime (such as the number of people with HIV or thenumber of teen mothers). These also can be expressedas rates. Presenting data about teen pregnancy and/orSTD helps youth understand the scope of the problemand helps them understand their risk. Incidence andprevalence statistics can be found by doing a search onthe Internet. However, local statistics may need to beobtained from local or state health departments.17. Videos and Discussion. Various health educationvideos are available from health education organizations.Videos often are very popular with youth andare effectively used to stimulate group discussionsand reinforce learning. One challenge with videos isthat they can become outdated with respect to theinformation they provide and youth fashion, slang andculture.18. Worksheets. A worksheet requires youth to thinkabout the topic at hand and review important/criticalpoints. Worksheets are better used when the productis authentic. For example, asking youth to write a letterto a friend about preventing HIV is more authenticthan asking youth to answer 10 straightforward questionsabout HIV prevention methods.problems. Thus, sex and STD/HIV educationprograms have the potential to be perceived byyouth as very relevant.However, this potential may not be realized if theinstructional material does not match the students’needs and knowledge. If the instructionaltopics are not developmentally appropriate, theinstruction does not cover questions or broadertopics of interest to the students, and the mostimportant concepts are not covered, then studentsmay become disinterested and learn less.To increase knowledge (as well as improve attitudes,perceptions of peer norms, skills, etc.), theinstructional material needs to meet the particularneeds of the students. It is more importantthat students master the most important conceptsChapter 3 Increasing Knowledge 37