GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU HIGHLIGHTS
Track 3
THIS TRACK
Overview
TRACK 3 Goal: Investigate specific health-related questions relating to our partner organizations.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND MAKE SURE YOU’VE SENT US YOUR QUESTION It is important that we have your question so that we can link you to related chapters. Please email it to globalhealthU@globemed.org. MAKE A PLAN Develop a plan for what your chapter will do each week. The more detailed the plan you come up with, the better this Track will be. PLAN A PROJECT, BE CREATIVE AND TAKE PICTURES Create your plan with this in mind, and be as creative as possible! Also, the timing of this should correspond with World Day of Social Justice so, if possible, coordinate a way to show what you’ve done to your campus.
Track 3 Overview
During the past two Tracks of ghU, we explored poverty, its relationship to poor health, and various theories on the alleviation of poverty. In Track 3, we narrow our focus and undertake an in-depth investigation of a topic pertaining to our specific partner communities. Each chapter will choose a question about their partner organization or community that they want to explore, conduct in-depth research as a chapter about this question, and present their findings in a project. The greater independence that this investigation entails lets each chapter show its creativity and passion. By focusing on detailed questions concerning our partner organizations, chapter members are empowered with a deeper and more focused understanding of a specific issue.
The Question Unlike the other Tracks, the National Office will not provide a set curriculum; it will be entirely determined at the chapter level. It is your chance to really guide the direction of ghU at your chapter. What do you want to know about your partner organization or partner community? How this question is chosen is important. It is crucial that ghU engages the entire chapter in choosing the question. Come up with a few options as an E-Board to present to the chapter and vote, brainstorm with the entire chapter and then vote, or come up with your own system. Either way, try to make it as democratic as possible, so that a maximum amount of people are intrigued by the topic. The question can relate to any aspect of your partner organization or community. It should be precise and tangible enough that you can find a legitimate answer, but not so specific that you cannot find enough resources with which to answer it. Try to choose a question that you think will have many different resources in a variety of media forms, in order to engage your entire chapter. See the sample questions below for a jumping-off point to your question. Remember though, they are suggestions and you are in no way limited to these topics. ✦
CONTACT US
Rachel Markon & Neal Emery, co-Directors of ghU globalhealthU@globemed.org.
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What does the healthcare system look like in your partner country? Does it exist at all? How does it impact your partner community? What were the social, economic, and political determinants of this system? (You could either focus only on your Are the Millennium Development goals achievable in your partner country or community? What is their current status? 1
GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU ✦
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How has their country responded to try to achieve the MDGs? Are they on track to be fulfilled? If not, how could this be achieved? What is the global history of a health problem in your partner community and country? How has HIV/AIDS changed worldwide, in their country, and their community over the past 30 years? Or tuberculosis? Why have NCDs risen from obscurity to a major focal point of global health policy? What role has advocacy played in promoting health in your partner country/community? Are there active campaigns that strive to improve the health of citizens? What are the role of non-profits in providing health services? What is the role of the government? International Organizations? Which issues are the most pressing health concerns in your partner country/community? What is the historical context of these issues? If it is malnutrition, why? If it is lack of clean water, why? How does the burden of disease split between communicable and noncommunicable diseases and how has this changed over time? What can be done to improve these problems?
The KWL After your chapter has decided upon a specific question, you may want to create a KWL chart. This stands for “Know,” “Want to Know,” and “Learned.” The chapter should begin by filling in the first two columns. What do you already know about this question or topic? What do you want know, or don’t even know you don’t know, about this question or topic? The final column, “Learned,” will be filled in at the end of this track. This exercise is totally optional and can easily be integrated into the Timeline below, with the ‘K’ and ‘W’ components being completed during Week 1 and the ‘L’ component during Week 4. Resources ✦ KWL sheet
The Plan Before Track 3 begins, your chapter should decide on a question and then ghU coordinators should develop a detailed plan of how you are going to research and present this project. The specific structure whether you want to break your chapter into research groups, or give everyone a specific resource to find, or have different people look at different perspectives of this problem - is up to you. Make sure that everyone knows their role; what resources they will look at, materials they will bring to the next couple of meetings, and how they fit into the full chapter exploration. The more comprehensive your game-plan for the next four weeks, the better this track will be. Make sure that this plan takes into account creating a project. All your hard work and research should culminate in a project that displays the findings of your independent investigation. This project can take many forms so be creative - video, powerpoint, collage, poster, etc. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Please take pictures, both of the finished project and the entire process itself, and send them to the National Office. Your
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GLOBEMED’S GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
globalhealthU project will be shared with the network, so pictures are essential. This is an opportunity to display what you have learned about your partner community in a creative way. By the end of Track 2, Week 2, you should know the answers to the following questions: ✦ ✦ ✦
How will chapter members be divided? Will there be an expectation to do outside research? If not, does your plan allow for the investigation to happen solely in meetings?
Timeline Track 2: Week 2: Decide on a question/topic and email it to the National Office - globalhealthU@globemed.org Week 2 - Track 2, Week 4: Develop a detailed plan outlining how your chapter is going to investigate the question/topic chosen. Track 3: Week 1: The way you run this week is entirely up to you. Our only requirement is that you begin researching the answer to your question. The National Office is here to provide guidance and support if you are struggling to answer you question. We can provide resources, direction, advice, and suggestions. Remember, though, that your project should be chapter-driven. Week 2: Continue answering your question and start to think about how to present it. Once again, the way you run this week is entirely up to you. Week 3: This week, we recommend that, along with doing more research, you begin creating your project so that your chapter members do not need to complete too much outside work. The project can be in any format you want; it just needs to answer the question you asked and contain the results of your research in enough detail that someone with no previous knowledge of your topic can understand the answer to your question. Week 4: During this week, your chapter should finish the project. This can be organized in any way you like. This is a great time to regroup as a chapter to present and discuss your findings. It is important to try to synthesize the specifics of your investigation into a conclusive finding. This does not mean that you have to have answered your question, but that you should discuss what you have learned and how it is important moving forward.
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