Keywords

Naturopathy; Remedies; Cancer; Essential oils; Fast foods; Lesson planning; Health education; Healthcare; Theory; Adolescents; Adults; Seniors

Introduction

This paper discusses the following groupings in relationship to health curriculum design: (1) Adolescent (13 -19), (2) Young Adult (20 - 39), (3) Adulthood (40 - 64), and (4) Maturity (65+). Furthermore, two distinct lesson plans are included to address these categories in the lifespan of individuals. Lesson Plan 1: Fast Food and Cancer Link was designed for adolescents and young adults [1-11]. Lesson Plan 2: Essential Oils are Natural Cures and Healing Remedies was designed for adulthood and maturity. Both lesson plans can be interchangeable and taught to any of the lifespan categories highlighted in this report. The inclusion of: (1) scaffolding techniques, (2) instructional differentiated strategies, (3) interactive technology, and (4) authentic, problembased, project-based, peer-learning opportunities accommodate for effortless instruction to all lifespan groups [12-14].

Background: Erikson’s Psychosocial Development

The eight stage theory

For the purpose of this paper, the two lesson plans were designed with four stages of development in the lifespan. Those stages and corresponding characteristics are highlighted below. When designing curriculum and lesson plans, health educators should be aware of these characterizes and how to incorporate instructional strategies that address each developmental lifespan. In addition, learning styles, ability levels, diversity, sociocultural, socioeconomic, special needs learners, and technology should be components considered as well. Erikson posited that when challenges are not met in each lifespan stage, problems could occur later in the lifespan. In addition, mastery of a stage is not compulsory to move forward to additional stages. A psychosocial crisis is characterized in each stage whereby two conflicting forces can force individuals to reconcile those opposing forces and gain a virtue. The following visual graphic describes the process (Figures 1-3) (See Appendix).

Figure 1: Psychosocial Stages.

Figure 2: Multiple Learning Styles #1.

Figure 3: Multiple Learning Styles #2.

Adolescent (13 - 19)

Erikson’s eight stages of human development for Adolescents (13 - 19) is Stage 5: Ego Identity versus Role Confusion. The conflict at this stage of life is ego identity versus role confusion with fidelity as the virtue obtained. This stage characterizes a search for identity. Identity and role confusion can mark this stage and conflict might present a crossroads. When positive learning opportunities are provided with exploration and experimentation, adolescents can develop with a strong sense of identity. When these types of positive learning opportunities are not provided, adolescents might confront an identity crisis.

Young adult (20 - 39)

Erikson’s eight stages of human development for Young Adults (20 - 39) is Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation. The conflict at this stage of life is intimacy versus isolation and the virtue that can be attained is love. When reciprocal, intimate relationships can be formed at this stage, the result can be the development of positive intimacy skills. When these skills are not formed properly a sense of isolation can be the result.

Adulthood (40 - 64)

Erikson’s eight stages of human development for Adulthood (40 - 64) is Stage 7: Generativity versus Role Stagnation. The conflict at this stage of life is generativity versus role stagnation with care being the obtained virtue. Generativity is an interest in guiding future generations. When individuals make contributions to society during this lifespan, a feeling of generativity can be obtained. When an individual is reluctant to help society, stagnation can be the result.

Maturity (65+)

Erikson’s eight stages of human development for Maturity (65+) is Stage 8: Ego Integrity versus Despair. The conflict at this stage of life is ego integrity versus despair with wisdom attained as the virtue. When an individualthinks back upon his or her life with a sense or feeling of productivity, solidifying one’s ego integrity may be the result. If individuals at this stage look back on a life of disappointments, the feelings of despair can be the result (Figures 4-6).

Figure 4: Social Constructivism.

Figure 5: Four Stages of Development.

Figure 6: Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) and Scaffolding.

Lesson plan development

Both lesson plans developed for each lifespan discussed in this paper were created to incorporate the learning aspects and abilities for each group. Both lesson plans incorporated various aspects of the theories presented in this paper as well. Differentiated instructional best practices, technology integration, scaffolding, multiple projects, group work, sharing opportunities, engagement and motivational techniques, and problem-based, project-based authentic activities were developed in both lesson plans to meet the diverse needs of learners (Tables 1 and 2). Finally, instructors should include personalized and individualized assessment/feedback techniques to promote and foster lifelong learning and high motivation. Instructors can do this by personalizing technology feedback tools such as online, visual and audio, recorded assessments. In this way, instructors can give personalized, verbal praise and suggestions for improvement that students can listen to and view multiple times and save as a URL link to their phone, tablet, or computer.

Table 1: Learners can view the presentation as many times as needed during the group work portion of this lesson on their computer, cell phone, or tablet. In addition, a web-link to the full article online can be provided as well as a transcript.

Table 2: Learners can view the presentation as many times as needed during the group work portion of this lesson on their computer, cell phone, or tablet.

Dewey’s constructivist theory

This theory helps health educators work with learners coming from different experiences and backgrounds. Working with diverse learners requires one to: (1) understand human development, (2) understand content, and (3) understand content sequence. In addition, various instructional abilities are required when designing curriculum with a Constructivist perspective such as: (1) how to activate prior knowledge in learners, (2) knowing the learner, (3) knowing the health educational content, and (4) including purposeful and meaningful content in engaging, interactive ways. Constructivist health educators design curriculum with the following components in mind: “Meaningful learning, Real-world connections, Knowledge of children and educational content, Importance of prior knowledge, Processoriented approach, Dynamic learning, Multiple applications” [15].

The task of the health educator is to activate prior knowledge, build upon that knowledge, and help learners exchange misinformation with accurate information. When curriculum and lesson planning is designed with these components and theories in mind, learning is dynamic as students work toward application and mastery of skills. Each of the Constructivist components listed above should be addressed with very specific activities and deliverables designed into the curriculum. Those components should be based in two categories of lesson planning for example, “Teacher does…” and “Student does…” How will the teacher create “meaningful learning?” How will the student obtain “meaningful learning? How will the teacher convey “real-world connections?” How will the student obtain or practice “realworld connections?” How will the teacher obtain “knowledge of children and educational content?” How will the student convey information about themselves to the teacher? How will the student obtain “educational content?” How will the teacher collect and assess student’s “prior knowledge?” How will the student share his or her ““prior knowledge” with the instructor. How will the teacher convey a “process-oriented approach” in his or her actions? What activities will the student be participating in that reflect a “process-oriented approach?” What activities will the teacher be facilitating to create a “dynamic learning” environment? What activities will the student be practicing to illustrate a “dynamic learning” environment? What activities will the teacher do or have in place to facilitate the concept of “multiple applications? ” What activities will the student engage with to characterize the concept of “multiple applications?” When designing lesson plans, each category listed above should be developed into the curriculum to address the needs of the leaner at any age. Both teacher and student components are important. Often times, educators can miss one or the other component and not focus on a holistic perspective with both teacher and student activities in place.

Piaget’s theory

Jean Piaget was a child development theorist who posited four stages of development. Piaget explained that children proceed through four fundamental stages of development which include sensory, motor, and mental abilities that influence growth and learning. Those stages are: “(1) Sensorimotor Stage (ages 0-2), (2) Preoperational Stage (ages 2-7), (3) Concrete Operational Thought (7-11), and (4) Formal Operational Stage (11- Adulthood)” [16].

Piaget’s stages of development: Formal operational (11 to adulthood)

Later stages of development focus on mental ability. This is the stage the enclosed lesson plans were created for. Moral development and the understanding of abstract concepts are characteristics of this stage of development. In addition, logical reasoning can be tapped into with this age group to discuss world problems and issues.

Piaget believed information is gathered and organized in the following ways

Assimilation, Accommodation, Disequilibrium, Equilibrium. Although Piaget had various educational contributions, for the purpose of this theoretical paper, the focus on engaging environments to meet learner needs is of particular importance when building lesson plans for any age and any lifespan including adolescents, adults, and seniors.

Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory: The development of individuals and families can be impacted by environment and culture. This should be a consideration for health educators when designing curriculum and lesson plans. When working with any age group, individual backgrounds and experiences are important factors. Language and development are built together. With this in mind, it is important to build new vocabulary into lesson plans as well. In addition, interaction with peers should be part of lesson planning with interactive activities, interactive deliverables, and differentiated, authentic, problem-based, project-based learning opportunities. Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) explains the maximum tier of learning an individual might accomplish without difficulty or frustration [17]. Content should be neither too difficult nor too easy characterizing a dynamic view of learning. The advanced learner can become just as bored and tuned-out as the challenged learner when content is either too difficult or too easy. Learners at the top of the band or learning curve can tune-out just as quickly as those at the bottom or middle of the learning curve. This is an important consideration when developing lessons. Scaffolding is a research-based, differentiated instructional strategy educators use to break-up or chunk new information in smaller pieces or sections to help learners move forward and attain mastery of skills. Scaffolding can be used to help learners reach ZDP [18]. In addition, peer mentoring or support can be another type of authentic, differentiated instructional activity [19]. Constructivist educators include various types of group work, hands-on activities, discussions, and active learning models to enhance and encouraged collaboration [20]. Scaffolding problems, thinking critically, and testing hypotheses are valued interactive learning processes that can be designed into any lesson plan for every age group. Constructivist educators value the interactive process that occurs when learners share language and culture.

Methods and Findings

Fast food and cancer link

A naturopathy lesson plan for adolescents: Fast food and a poor diet causes Cancer, Diabetes, Lupus, and many other diseases. This lesson plan will prove the undisputable links between all disease and a common Western diet [21,22]. Cancer and many diseases are also caused by other factors in the environment such as genetically modified foods (GMO’s), flu shots, child and adult vaccines, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter drugs. The categories listed have been found to be laced with heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, ammonia, formaldehyde, Glyphosate, green monkey kidneys, human male baby foreskin, and many other well-known Cancer causing agents [23-30]. For this lesson plan, fast foods and poor diet will be addressed. For the other categories mentioned, more lesson plans can be developed to target those specific areas.

The learning cycle

Course name: Fast food and cancer link: This is a health and wellness course designed for adolescents in how disease manifests and grows in the body with an unhealthy, toxic, poisonous, Western, fast food diet. This lesson plan can be used to instruct adults of all ages as well. The instructional practices in this lesson plan can benefit the lifespan of any age group. A focus will be placed on why fast foods and common Western diet snacks are far from nutritional, and in fact, quite toxic. This lesson plan can be delivered via: (1) a face-to-face traditional classroom environment, (2) a synchronous online classroom environment, or (3) an asynchronous online classroom environment. As a health and wellness educator, I am always building online health curriculum with asynchronous instructional modules that anyone can access and complete globally and free of charge. Furthermore, I provide tools, resources, real news, real research, and current information to help anyone seeking help with understanding health-related topics, cures, remedies, and naturopathy services. Unhealthy food choices can be explored via interactive, intuitive, technology-based, asynchronous, differentiated instructional best practices. Furthermore, engagement and motivational techniques are included using interactive, technology and problem-based authentic learning opportunities. The lesson begins with learners viewing the following Voki avatar presentation called Ten horrifying ingredients that prove McDonald’s is not fit for consumption. Learners can view the presentation as many times as needed during the group work portion of this lesson on their computer, cell phone, or tablet. In addition, a web-link to the full article online can be provided as well as a transcript (in References section).

Rationale

This lesson plan created for adolescents is an aid to help educators and learners understand the real facts, the real science, and the real news behind the fast food industry in Western nations. Most health education lesson plans concentrate on helping people identify foods that are healthier to eat and exercise plans. Most health lesson plans do not focus on the dangerous, toxic, and even poisonous ingredients found in popular fast food chain restaurants. This lesson plan is created to fill that gap and help individuals understand what is really in the fast foods they are consuming too often. In addition, this lesson plan provides many resources to help learners understand and research the many toxic ingredients that can be found in most fast foods, pre-made, pre-packaged, grocery store foods, snacks, and sodas and how to protect themselves and their families.

Essential oils are natural cures and healing remedies

A naturopathy lesson plan for adults: Individuals throughout the lifespan and into adulthood and senior years can change negative health patterns into positive, self-care, healthcare choices via proper education and interactive, instructional best practices [31-33]. This health and wellness course is designed for adults and seniors and addresses how essential oils can: (1) prevent and cure disease and illness, (2) heal the body, (3) detox the body from harmful toxins and pollutants in the food, water, air, and environment, (4) assist with inflammation and pain management, (4) assist with insulin management, and (5) provide important natural supplements to support immunity. The focus of this lesson plan is to help learners understand the basic concepts of the healing power of essential oils and how they can heal themselves, their families, and others within their sphere of influence. The lesson will provide various opportunities to interactive with peers while researching real medicinal benefits of essential oils. Furthermore, learners will create interactive webbased tools to share their new knowledge with family, friends, and the global community.

The learning cycle

Course name: Essential oils are natural cures and healing remedies: This lesson plan can be delivered via: (1) a face-toface traditional classroom environment, (2) a synchronous online classroom environment, or (3) an asynchronous online classroom environment. As a health and wellness educator, I am always building online health curriculum with asynchronous instructional modules that anyone can access and complete globally and free of charge. Furthermore, I provide tools, resources, real news, real research, and current information to help anyone seeking help with understanding health-related topics, cures, remedies, and naturopathy services. Naturopathy healing remedies and cures can be explored via interactive, intuitive, technologybased, asynchronous, differentiated instructional best practices [34]. Furthermore, engagement and motivational techniques are included using interactive technology and problem-based authentic learning opportunities. The lesson begins with learners viewing the following video presentation called Essential Oils as Medicine: Essential Oils Guide [35]. “Essential oils are organic compounds extracted from plants with tremendous healing properties. Using essential oils for healing purposes is often called aromatherapy. For over 5,000 years, many different cultures have used these healing plant oils for a variety of health conditions. They are often used for relaxation, beauty care, home cleaning and most often used as natural medicine. In this video, several different essential oils are discusses such as frankincense, turmeric, lavender, oregano, clove, tea tree, ylang ylang and many more. In addition, how to use each oil to help combat common illnesses is discussed. Watch the video and read the website listed above to learn about the power of essential oils as medicine.”

Rationale

Many studies conducted prove adults and seniors continue to learn and grow throughout the lifespan. This lesson plan is created for adults and seniors (adolescents can benefit as well) as an aid to help educators and learners understand the real facts, the real science, and the real news about the healing and curing benefits of naturopathy essential oils. Most health education lesson plans teach about dangerous, toxic, unethical, allopathic medicine, pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, and surgery interventions rather than naturopathy remedies known for centuries throughout the entire world in most old-world countries and cultures. Most health lesson plans never address the alternatives to the dangerous, toxic, unethical, allopathic medical system and the poisonous practices of corporate pharmaceutical drug companies. This lesson plan is created to fill the gap of knowledge and help individuals understand: (1) what the real health remedies and solutions are; (2) where to access resources; and (3) how to apply naturopathy remedies for any health concern known in Western nations today. In addition, this lesson plan scaffolds many supportive resources and tools in a differentiated, instructional best practices manner to help learners understand and research key concepts and topics related to naturopathy healing solutions. The goal of this lesson is to help individuals start their health research process so that they can continue to learn about the real remedies and solutions to all their health challenges. This lesson is a self-care, primer to open the door for individuals to begin a lifelong pursuit of correct health knowledge rather than the false direction they have been indoctrinated and brainwashed with in the unethical education, media, government, allopathic, and pharmaceutical systems so pervasive and dominant in Western nations.

Conclusions

Classic and new theories as well as theoretical foundations of learning are important when creating curriculum and building lesson plans [36-40]. Health educators should be able to: (1) understand and apply various educational theories to their instructional practice; (2) articulate theoretical limitations and strengths; (3) understand what makes theories unique; (4) understand where and how theories overlap; and (5) use that understanding in curriculum and lesson plan creation. These strategies and abilities can be applied when creating information resources for any age, all ability levels, and on any topic of interest or concern. To help learners construct new knowledge: (1) motivation, (2) engagement, (3) opportunities for practice, (4) individualized and personalized feedback, and (5) engagement in social interaction and collaboration should be included in every aspect of curriculum design.

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