Need Ideas for teen teaching project

[LizzyL&DRN]

I need some help from some creative people out there. I am doing an education class for teens at a local school for pregnant/delivered teen girls. This school offers the girls the opportunity to bring their infants to school with them and prepares them for graduation. The class we are doing for them is covering the topics of labor and delivery, postpartum and infant care. According to the educator there, most of these girls feel judged by most of their health care team. Such as, the pediatrician, OB doc, nurses, etc when they ask simple questions that maybe these health care workers feel they should know since they are having a baby. Anyway, this judgmental attititude has left many of these girls intimidated to ask questions for fear of more judgment. During the class I want to make up a fun game or activity to involve them in the class and instil confidence and fun. I remember I was in a class once where the instructor based the infor on a Jeopardy game. Anyone have any fun ideas for a cool game appropriate for teens? Thanks for your help.

[BJZMom]

I teach Childbirth Education to teens in the community and the hospital. This is a tough, but fun group. The important thing to remember is to allow them to "shine" in areas where they are already knowledgable. I do a variety of activities from roll playing to charades to Q and A. ( I always submit questions of my own in the bunch, in the event they do not ask enough questions) This aids in sending the session in the direction I'd like to go. It is so important for this population to feel that "in charge" of their learning. It is also important to lecture for no more than 7-10 minutes at a time. This is the "fast food generation" that likes everything quick and on the go. Injoy's website has great resources and ideas to be used with teens. Bring lots of visuals i.e. catheters (foley and epidural), forceps, toco, amnio hook, model uterus and fetus, etc. Let them see and touch. A fun activity for infant care is to have dolls available and give them a list of tasks (important and unimportant - feed the baby, dress the baby, call your boyfriend, fold the clothes, tivo the movie...) Give them a limited amount of time and discuss what tasks could have been postponed. Also d/c the need to prioritize and how difiicult prioritizing can be, especially for the new mom! Also, if your budget allows, incentives (prizes) of any type are always appreciated. Good luck and have lots of fun!

[oslogirl]

I think a focus on assertiveness training would be right on target, as these girls probably have low self-esteem. Help them empower themselves and build confidence in their abilities!

Create scenarios, including that which you mentioned about being intimidated. Help them to seek what they need in an assertive manner.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I echo the above post mentioning In Joy's teaching resources. We use these in our childbirth classes and find them very helpful. I also do bring "show and tell" items to class, from all the internal monitors we use, epidural catheters, baby dolls to show them how to hold them, diaper and position for breastfeeding. Also colorful teaching posters are very helpful. I also agree short "sound bites" of information are best, not just for teens, but most people as they can only absorb so much. I try to engage interaction, by asking them their opinions and experiences and having them share them wherever possible.

To get the class going at the start, we put up a large sheet of paper on the wall, and divide it into two categories:

Hopes/Dreams

Concerns/Fears

Then, after we introduce ourselves, we go around the room, asking the expectant parents AND their support people to name at least one for each category. This tells us a LOT about our class demographic, education levels, ability for "forward thinking" and what areas really to stress in class. I have found this so helpful. Also "what questions or comments do you have for me about ______" is much better than simply asking IF they have questions. This almost always gets responses and discussion going.

Place the class in a "horse-shoe" shape, if possible, whereby everyone is facing in and included and try to engage quieter members by asking their thoughts and experiences in a given area/subject. Sometimes, you get feedback that both surprises and entertains.....but certainly allows you to correct misconceptions, wives' tales and help allay fears. You can also give them a sense of mastery when you praise their participation and opinion-sharing. Praise, praise, praise is HUGE for any class, but particularly the adolescent population.

Lastly, I find that sitting WITH them, rather than standing OVER them while I teach, conveys a lack of "superiority" that many people, particularly teens, find off-putting.

Good luck.

PS: there are ready-made games for childbirth classes out there you can get to play, if time allows, I believe, at

http://www.icea.org and some other sites.

[CLC172]

First of all, kudos to you for getting involved and helping these girls. There is a lot of judgment out there, and as much as I don't want to encourage teenage pregnancy, what's done is done and because they are kids having kids, they have special needs and it's so important, IMO for them to be able to speak out and ask questions in a non-judgmental environment. Ultimately, it will be the best for their own health and for their baby's, if they feel they have a place where they can feel safe.

I was thinking of the "Jeopardy" forum while I was reading your post, before I got to the end of it and saw that you had already thought of that. I can remember many times in my high school and some colleges classes where we played games in that format and everyone seems to really like it and have fun. You could divide the class up into two teams. They would probably get a kick out of it!

Other games that would be easy to do and fun would include crossword puzzles or timed fill-in-the-blank team games. I like the idea of splitting into teams because it's a good ice-breaker and they may feel more comfortable speaking out if they are with a group of their peers.

Good luck!!