8 Dimensions of Wellness: Engaging Ways to Teach Students and Families About Ways to Increase Health and Wellness

Description

8 Dimensions of Wellness: Engaging Ways to Teach Students and Families
About Ways to Increase Health and Wellness
3 Inservice Credits/ 45 hours, Instructor: Valerie Hanley, January 3-30, February 1-28, March 1-30, May 1-30, June 1-28, July 1-30, August 1-30, October 1-30, November 1-30, December 1-30

This course will help you prepare an engaging and authentic wellness program for your school and local community by showing you how to teach students, families, and colleagues about the eight dimensions of wellness. Throughout the course, you will explore informational resources, reflect on yours and your students’ knowledge and understanding of wellness, survey sample groups to collect feedback on course topics, design lessons and learning activities, plan special events, interact with other course participants, present a final portfolio project, and more as you work to build a wellness program that increases understanding of wellness, improves students’ health and wellbeing, and increases student learning outcomes.

Course participants will actively participate in an online learning community to further develop their understanding of the eight dimensions of wellness and work together to discuss and share ideas on how to create a wellness program that meets the individual, cultural, and educational needs of students and their families.

Topics of study will include: the eight dimensions of wellness and their effects on students and teachers/working and learning; research and self-reflection work prior to lesson and resource development and planning; physical and environmental wellness learning activities and classroom and school environment considerations; social and emotional wellness discussion activities, self-assessments, and setting goals; intellectual and spiritual wellness research-based learning activities; financial and vocational wellness life skills-based learning activities for the school and local community; wellness event planning; and portfolio work to share wellness program plans, resources, and future goals.

Class assignments will include forum discussions and activities, lesson/activity/event planning, reflection work, research work on the eight dimensions of wellness and the importance of wellness for all, informational resource and survey design work, and other activities and research related to building a wellness program using a unique and personalized approach based on the individual and cultural needs of students, families and those in the school and local community.This course is appropriate for educators in all areas who want to develop a comprehensive and meaningful wellness program for their classroom, school, and/or local community.