UCCI Course Description

1. Narrative Writing: Character Journal

In cooperative work groups (Literature Circles), students will participate in close reading activities such as graphic organizers, annotations and journaling. Students will study one character’s mental health development within a text to form a greater understanding and knowledge base about a particular mental disorder (for example, if students read The Things They Carried, they might examine how Tim O’Brien is affected by PTSD). Through the lens of the character, students will express empathy as they create a 10 entry, first person narrative journal using  appropriate and precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language. Students will later use this journal to analyze the character’s mental health in order to develop a patient treatment plan.

2. Research Essay: Understanding Issues in Mental Health

Students will use their character analyses to construct a focused and self-generated research question and conduct research in order to answer their question, taking into consideration the various factors that contribute to the mental health disorder. Students will write a two page research essay, using a minimum of three sources in addition to the novel or text. The research essay will define the disorder, list identifying factors, and will explore viable treatment options. Included in their research is an appropriate method of citation based on the situation.

3. Expository: Research, Analysis and Multimedia Presentation: Mental Health Treatment Plan

This activity assesses student knowledge of the four stages of mental health recovery, as, after researching the format of mental health treatment plans, students will create a treatment plan for their character based on their subjects’ mental health status which the student will determine from their reading of the text from assignment one. In addition, since students will inform the development of their treatment plan with research about the recovery process for mental disorders, this will gauge student ability to perform research, use techniques for seeking help and support, and select appropriate resources. In a three to five minute multimedia presentation, students will present their research and their character’s mental health treatment plan. They will present their findings and suggested treatment plan to a panel of healthcare professionals  in a logical and clear way, providing justifications and reasoning for their recommendations regarding patient care.

Building on the foundational knowledge developed in unit 1, this unit brings the issue of mental and behavioral health to the personal perspective. Students will choose and research one mental or behavioral challenge that teens encounter, such as body image issues, self-esteem, drug use, peer pressure or stress. Students will use associated medical terminology while synthesizing information from multiple types of resources to research their chosen topic. Based upon their chosen topic, students will analyze and evaluate a variety of related literature such as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson or The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake, as well as contemporary informational texts, such as the National Drug Statistics Summary or Adolescent Health at http://www.cdc.gov.  Students work individually to develop an informational research paper on a chosen topic, using information-gathering and question generation, formulated from the research. To further the impact of the project, via cooperative grouping, students will create and deliver a multimedia presentation that will inform the audience about community resources so that they can then be empowered to act as advocates for mental health issues.

1. Research Paper: A Teen Mental Health Issue

Based on previously discussed issues, students will choose one teen-specific mental health issue/challenge to research and write a four-page research  paper. Using information gathering skills to synthesize a variety of resources, students will generate one critical thinking question relevant to that chosen topic. They will write a one-paragraph research paper proposal that clearly articulates the essential research question, topic, possible key ideas, and potential sources.  They may examine such questions as: How do defense mechanisms protect us? Or, how can professional intervention benefit someone who is experiencing some kind of personal crisis? Students will use literary sources to develop schema or background knowledge about the chosen mental health challenge and informational sources for data and historical facts to construct the final product. Using citation methods appropriate to the situation and text-based evidence, students will develop a four-page informational paper that addresses their self-generated question.

2. Cooperative Work Groups Oral Presentation: On an instructor-assigned community mental health resource

Based on the chosen health issues from the previous task, the Instructor will assign a community resource, such as a teen health clinic, teen drug and alcohol abuse program, or campus-based support group as topics for the group presentations. Student groups of four will choose a technology-based presentation method such as PowerPoint or Prezi, to inform student audience on the assigned community mental health resource. Student groups will work cooperatively, manage time effectively, and use research and organizational process skills to create a three to five minute oral presentation. This presentation will include information from the previous task to provide background information for describing the programs and services available at the community resource and for defending the argument of how it is or is not effective for the chosen population. They will present their findings to the student audience in order to empower them to act as advocates for mental health issues.

In this unit, students return to the study of mental health in their community.  This unit gives students a better understanding of how undiagnosed mental and behavioral disorders can lead to violence and how communities can promote the prevention of that violence. Through the analysis of a variety of texts and multimedia such as but not limited to movies like “Bully”, research on mental and behavioral health, and analysis of current events related to the topic, students will develop a cognitive framework for understanding violence related to mental and behavioral disorders in the U.S. Students will evaluate contributors to violent actions, participate in a student-facilitated dialogue about the issues, and conduct academic research based on relevant, self-generated questions about the topic of mental and behavioral health. They will demonstrate the ability to communicate empathetically via formulation of a Socratic Seminar, an analytical paper, and a public service announcement.  Additionally, in this unit, they will employ leadership skills, in their collaborative discussion to create opinions and participate in group activities in order to communicate information which will inform their writing process. These activities that promote critical thinking and inquiry assist in students’ abilities to take an active role in understanding the complexities that surround mental and behavioral health issues, consequently promoting their ability to write proficiently about the given topic.

1. Discussion / Socratic Seminar

Using a film such as the 2001 documentary film, Bully directed by Lee Hirsch, which chronicles the real lives of young people who day-in and day-out are tormented by bullies, students will analyze the role mental health has on an individual’s actions and reactions.  Students answer teacher-generated comprehension questions regarding the personal and societal issues raised in the film. They also generate their own questions related to the issues of violence expressed in the film. Appropriate questions could be created by providing students with question stems such as “What if…”, “Why does…” or “How does...”.  Students use the answers to the teacher’s comprehension questions and their own open-ended questions as they participate in a Socratic Seminar in order to create a connection between the film and how it relates to what they have learned about the world of mental health. In the Seminar, they will also make connections between current news stories and articles and real-life events. During the discussion, students will evaluate factors that lead to violent actions and how undiagnosed mental health issues affect both individuals and a community. Students will document key points throughout the discussion, and compose a one to two-page reflection which focuses on how mental health issues impact their own lives.  

2. Character Journal

Students will create a character journal in order to gain a more empathetic understanding of the personal challenges related to mental and behavioral health issues.  This empathy is critical to understanding greater societal problems that stem from these issues, From the perspective of a patient admitted into a psychiatric facility for evaluation, using events from the film, or real-life individuals from current events (e.g. Miami Dolphins football, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooter, etc.), students create a daily journal of any character from the film or current event. Students will infer character responses to situations and express those inferences in narrative form, crafting a three day sequence of events to exemplify the actions and feelings of someone with mental or behavioral challenges. After completing the journal, students “step out” of the role they’ve assumed and formulate a persuasive document intended for people in positions of authority (including but not limited to parents, doctors, congress, school administration) who can help make changes to the marginalization that sometimes occurs with mental and behavioral health issues. Here persuasive strategies appropriate to the audience would be stressed and contrasted with the less formal narrative they previously wrote, helping underline the difference between the two forms of writing and the unique purposes they serve.  This activity will lead into the research paper.

3. Research Analysis Paper

Based on one of the open-ended questions from the Socratic Seminar and the discussion it produced, students formulate a more focused question to guide their research. Possible questions include “What are the precursors to violence in teenage boys and what are some prevention measures?”; “What are the pros and cons of the typical treatment for teenage depression in America?”; or “Which parenting methods tend to encourage anti-social behaviors in teenagers?”. Students then write a two-paragraph research paper proposal that clearly articulates the essential research question, topics, possible key ideas, and potential sources. Deepening the information-gathering and analytical skills learned in previous units, students research and synthesize information from a variety of resources to analyze the issues around their question and it relationship to how undiagnosed mental and behavioral disorders can lead to violence and how communities can prevent that violence. These issues might include signs of violence, conditions and behaviors that lead up to violent actions, bullying, recommendations for managing a violent scenario, and prevention measures.  Using citation methods appropriate to the situation and text-based evidence, students will develop a six-page analytical paper that addresses their self-generated question.

4. Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Using the information from their research, students create a two minute PSA to bring awareness of their topic. The focus of the PSA will be to encourage action of some sort to prevent violence. Students will determine the most relevant and essential information from their research and condense the information for their chosen audience. They will apply the appropriate literary elements for persuasion (knowledge of audience, tone, rhetoric, figurative language, anecdotes) in a way that is appropriate to their choice of requested action and delivery method (brochure, video, blog). Students will present their PSA to the student governing body (or other appropriate panel) for approval to promote the PSA on campus or at an approved venue for its target audience (doctors’ offices, real estate waiting rooms, cable TV, school news broadcasting). Extending presentation skills developed in earlier units, students explain to the panel how the PSA effectively conveys the intended dual message of awareness and prevention.  If given permission, the PSA will be promoted to its intended audience.

This unit will move students from discussing individual issues of mental health to the disparities in the treatment and services for underserved populations. Students will read and analyze literary texts such as Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Health Care Madness, which provides an analysis of bureaucracy and confinement versus care, and other informational texts (articles, qualitative and quantitative case studies). They will compare and analyze discrepancies and disparities in mental health care for underserved populations (such as LGBT, lower SES, undocumented, ELL’s, veterans, foster youth, and the homeless).  Through careful research and analysis of informational and multimedia sources (documentary programs, first person narratives, scholarly articles, websites and class discussions), using whole group and small group discussions, students will develop evidence based written arguments about barriers to mental health care and devise ways to increase community awareness about disparities in mental health care for underserved populations. Applying the various steps of the writing process to compose clear arguments that will facilitate appropriate writing conventions and analytical skills (such as formulation of sequenced pre-write, with textual evidence citation to support arguments), students will propose and design innovative strategies to advocate for underserved populations in their communities.

1. Argument Based Essay

Students will utilize the writing and research process to formulate an argument as to what they believe to be the causes of current mental health disparities in underserved populations. Students will develop a six to eight page argument essay responding to the prompt, “What do you believe to be the most significant causes of one current mental health disparity in an underserved population?” Students will complete a pre-write (such as an outline or visual graphic organizer), first draft, and second draft before submitting their final essay. In between drafts students will be required to peer revise and peer edit each other’s drafts. Students will be required to base their argument on evidence obtained from class readings, discussions, and research and therefore include appropriate citations according to appropriate formatting guidelines.   

2. Community Campaign Written Proposal and Presentation

Students will design a community based campaign proposal that recommends strategies to increase awareness of mental health disparities in their community and ways to advocate for such populations. This assignment has two different components. Part of this assignment will require students to draft a six to eight page written proposal that details their strategies and campaign action plan grounded in evidence from class readings, discussions, and research. Finally, students will present their proposal to industry and community partners through the effective use of technology such as PowerPoint or Prezi. Through this assignment students will demonstrate their knowledge of the writing and research process, as well as their content knowledge of disparities in the mental health care system in their community.

This capstone unit continues the expression of the skills and concepts addressed throughout the course with the Public Health Media Campaign proposal. Students will analyze and critique various successful public health arguments, such as Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” childhood obesity prevention program or the “Red” campaign to raise AIDS awareness in order to learn the components and characteristics of an effective campaign, as well as effective use of rhetoric and development of claims and counterclaims. Applying what they have learned from researching advocacy campaigns, students will then design and construct their own advocacy and awareness campaign. By synthesizing what was learned about Community Campaign Proposals from the previous unit with various instructional texts on how to implement a public campaign, such as EarthShare’s “Campaign Manual” or “Theories and Principles of Public Communication Campaigns,” students will design and implement an advocacy and awareness campaign. They will use various types of digital media to present their campaign to a specific population in order to create a credible social presence.

1. Public Health Campaign Review

Students will demonstrate critical reading and thinking skills by evaluating the arguments and claims in three self-selected existing public service campaigns, using a rubric that requires them to assess the reasoning, evidence, and effectiveness of a campaign by considering the following categories: target audience, use of rhetoric, clarity of goals (and whether or not they were achieved), targeted behaviors, and effective use of images, and social media / technology, and finally writing a one page analysis of the effectiveness of each campaign.

2. Public Health Media Campaign

Students will be required to work in groups to design a media strategy to publicize or advertise their proposed mental health campaign from Unit 4. They will be required to use a media outlet such as a blog, podcast, or social media to publicize their chosen cause. Finally, students will present their campaign design to industry and community partners through the effective use of technology such as PowerPoint or Prezi. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of the writing and research process as well as their content knowledge of disparities in the mental health care system in their community.