UNIT 1: LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • To create a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere; beginning to develop a sense of group cohesion.
  • For participants to gain a clear idea of the demands and opportunities provided by the course.
  • To begin to establish a particular style of learning, starting from people’s own knowledge. This can be used to identify more general themes, contradictions and initiate debates.
  • To explore the distinction between medical and social perspectives in relation to health.
Exercise
Number		 Exercises Handouts Approximate Timings
1 Welcome, Introduction
and Ice-Breaker		 15 mins
2 What the Course is About A & B 30 mins
3 Hopes and Concerns 20 mins
4 Introduction to Groups 30 mins
5 What Affects our Health? 60 mins
6 Medical and Social
Explanations		 C 30 mins
7 Recap and Summary Learning Logs 15 mins
Total Time approx. 3 hours 20 mins

UNIT 1: TUTOR SUMMARY NOTES

GENERAL

There is a fair amount of information you need to get over about the course in this unit. You may want to run a separate induction/information session that deals with this, which would then allow you more time to cover Exercises 4, 5 and 6.

EXERCISE 1: WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND ICE-BREAKER (15 minutes)

The content of this will depend on many factors, for example, how familiar the group members are with one another. A basic ice-breaker is described but you may want to use one of your own. Additional ideas for ice-breakers and warm-ups can be found at:

  1. Businessballs
  2. Princes Trust

EXERCISE 2: WHAT THE COURSE IS ABOUT (30 minutes)

Spending a fair amount of time on looking at what is involved in the course now, can prevent problems later on. Things like the group presentation and the course assignment can be daunting at this stage so reassurance will be needed for the participants.

EXERCISE 3: HOPES AND CONCERNS (20 minutes)

The idea of this exercise is to identify hopes and concerns, common themes and particular issues that you as the tutor may need to address as the course progresses. It should also give participants a chance to see that at least some of their hopes and concerns are shared by others.

EXERCISE 4: INTRODUCTION TO GROUPS (30 minutes)

This may be the first time that this group of people has met. As much of the coursework involves working together, it is important that basic ground rules and group dynamics are addressed at this stage. If the right environment is created in terms of mutual trust and respect, then the quality of the participants’ experience will be greatly enhanced.

 EXERCISE 5: WHAT AFFECTS OUR HEALTH (60 minutes)

This exercise is a scene-setter for the course in terms of people identifying and describing their health issues. It also sets the pattern for the group’s participation and can be a lively and energetic way of introducing serious issues.

(It can also be used as a stand-alone exercise with a variety of groups)

EXERCISE 6: MEDICAL AND SOCIAL EXPLANATIONS (30 minutes)

This exercise can be an eye-opener for people who have always believed that only the NHS deals with health concerns. The aim of this exercise is to encourage people to think about what impacts on our health and recognize the mismatch between this and what the health service provides.

EXERCISE 7: RECAP AND SUMMARY (15 minutes)

It is important that the group gets an opportunity to reflect on what they have covered at the end of the session. This is also an opportunity to introduce the learning logs and for participants to complete them before they leave, if possible.