Outlines and Curriculum Development
One of the challenges of developing
curriculums for childbirth preparation classes is that each hospital or each
community class setting has a slightly different arrangement for their classes,
or a number of different formats. So, an educator has to figure out how to
present the same information in 8 hours, or 12 hours, or 16 hours. I have
developed several different outlines for different formats, which I share here.
Please feel free to use these as springboards for ideas about organizing your
own classes.
Curriculum Development
When I began teaching, I would make
three versions of each outline:
a) A script. My full notes where I really
thought through every different section of the class: exactly what I wanted to
cover, how I wanted to cover it (making sure that each class had a balance of
lecture, videos, hands-on practice, and interactive learning), and how long
each section would take. I would practice each section at home to make sure my
timing estimates were in line with the reality.
b) My brief notes summarizing this… the
brief notes are what I actually took to class to work off of as I taught. These
sometimes got cut and pasted on computer, as you’ll see here, sometimes I
copied them out onto index cards.
c) The class outline. A handout hat
students get, or that is written on the board, which summarizes the plan for
class.
If you are working at a hospital or in
a setting which has a pre-ordained class outline, you start there, then flesh
it out to a full script, then back to your brief notes.
Yes, this is a time consuming process.
Doing each of these three levels takes a lot of prep work prior to a class. But
I found all that time to be worthwhile, because when it came time to actually
stand up in front of class, I knew exactly what I was going to say, and felt
really prepared and competent. And if the inevitable surprises arose during
class (the VCR breaks, I forgot to bring some supplies from home), it was
easier to problem-solve that one little detail because I knew everything else
was under control.
These days, I am thoroughly grounded
in all the different ways to cover any given topic and exactly how much time
each will take. So, if I need to develop a new class, or want to rearrange my
lesson plan, I can do it in a few minutes of scribbling out ideas on an index
card. I also frequently adapt my plans as a class goes on, depending on the
needs of the day, and on my own whim. But that degree of confidence and
flexibility has only come as a result of all the earlier focused preparation.
Childbirth Preparation Classes
The first two formats contain sections
on newborn care and breastfeeding. The rest of the childbirth prep series cover
only pregnancy, labor, and birth.
7 week childbirth preparation seminar
(14 hours of class time.) I have my full notes for the class and also the outline I give out
to the students. (word doc, pdf,)
4 Saturdays
Childbirth Preparation Series (12 hours of class time)
A One-Day
Childbirth Preparation Seminar (8 hours).
Includes outline that is given to students as well as my personal notes.
Lunchtime Labor Review (word, PDF)
4 Evenings Childbirth
Preparation Series (8 hours of class time.)
My brief notes to myself.
2 Saturdays Labor
and Birth Class. (8 hours) The students’ outline, and my version with notes on
timing.
6 Evenings
Childbirth Preparation Series (12 hours).
I haven’t actually ever taught this format, but developed the outline
long ago as a practice exercise.
Pain
Meds: a 45 minute presentation on pain medication. (New to website: posted
8/06)
Breastfeeding and Newborn Care
Breastfeeding Class. Outline,
Notes, Handouts,
Review Quiz (2.5 hour class) Notes for 90 minute
class. Powerpoint for 75 minute presentation on Infant
Sleep.
Newborn Care Class. My
notes. Review Quiz. (3 hours)
Newborn Prep Class (6 hours) My notes, plus students’ outline. More recent revision of outline. Review quiz: 2 page
version, 3 page version.
The outlines on this page are all
freely available for you to use and adapt in whatever way you would like.
If you find that you are making
extensive use of my outlines, I would encourage you to consider making a donation to the organization
I work for, Great Starts Birth &
Family Education in
Note, some of these outlines were
developed four or five years ago, and may need to be updated. Some are fairly
complete outlines, others are my notes from curriculum in development. My most
recent lesson plans have all been developed for Great Starts Birth & Family
Education, and are property of that organization, so are not available on this
website. However, if you are interested in purchasing a fully-fleshed out,
detailed, and up-to-date curriculum featuring all the best ideas found on this
website, the Great Starts curriculum can be purchased for $100. That includes: Labor
and Birth Classes in three formats (2 four-hour sessions, 3 3.5-hour sessions,
or 5 2-hour sessions), a Newborn Care class, and a breastfeeding class. Each
comes with a student version of an outline (1 page), the teacher's brief
version of the outline (3 - 4 pages) and the fully detailed teacher's version
(about 40 pages for the birth classes). These lesson plans can be used on their
own, or they pair very nicely with our book: Pregnancy, Childbirth and
the Newborn, and our workbook:
Having a Baby, which are available in bulk discounts for
distribution in your classes.
All outlines developed by Janelle Durham,
MSW, ICCE, LCCE, CD.