Back to Learning Catalog

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

1 segment/16-18 weeks

Enroll/Extend in Adult Education Life Management Skills click here

Overview

This course is all about you and the important decisions you make. It’s also about having the correct information before making those decisions. We’ll deal with real issues like nutrition, substance abuse, coping with stress, and what to do about sex.

Good health is both mental and physical. Making good decisions starts with knowing the facts, understanding the consequences, and having the confidence to choose well. A series of signposts will take you through the course providing information, direction, and a little encouragement. We’ll also offer some important tools for communicating your feelings and opinions. We’ll even talk about being a savvy consumer in a world of advertising, credit cards, and designer blue jeans.

This course comes with a long-term payoff. The good decisions you make now will set a positive direction you can follow for a lifetime.

 

Note: content varies depending on course version. For currently enrolled students, please refer to the syllabus located in the course information area for curriculum specifics.

 

Course Requirements

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, VLACS guides students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, writing assignments, projects, research papers, essays, labs, oral assessments, and discussions. Students are required to take CPR instruction, outside of the course. Instructors evaluate.

Major Topics and Concepts

Segment 1:

  • Nurturing self esteem in self and family
  • Effective parenting skills and responsibilities
  • Nutrition based on food guide pyramid, dietary guidelines and food label laws, nutrient functions and sources
  • Eating disorders and weight management
  • Food safety and prevention of food-born illness
  • Effective communication skills including “I” messages, active listening, communication barriers, communication styles, and the importance of family communication
  • Cultural influences on communication
  • Nonverbal communication
  • Refusal skills for peer pressure and other influences
  • Conflict resolution process
  • The physical, mental, emotional, social and economic, and legal consequences of use, misuse, and abuse of drugs, including alcohol, and tobacco
  • Identifying addictions and finding help for them
  • Causes and effects of stress on the body and management techniques for stress
  • Time management tools and personal application
  • Value identification, personal application of values
  • Goal setting and personal applications
  • Decision Making
  • Suicide prevention and depression
  • Advertising influences and techniques
  • Consumer rights and responsibilities and governmental consumer protection agencies
  • Healthcare savvy
  • Credit card rights, responsibilities, costs, dangers and fraud prevention
  • Checking/Saving account procedures
  • Environment and conservation procedures
  • Reproductive system structures functions and disorders
  • Males- self exam for testicular cancer prevention
  • Females – self exam for breast cancer prevention
  • Teen Pregnancy health risks and consequences, sexual activity costs vs. abstinence
  • Sexually transmitted diseases, their cycle and consequences
  • CPR performance

 

Career

Youth Counselor

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

3-4 weeks

Competency

Access and Communicate: Student will demonstrate the ability to access health information and use communication skills to enhance health and reduce health risks.

Project

You are a Youth Counselor who has been tasked with creating communication resources for youth in the form of example scenario dialogues. You will create at least 3 scenario dialogues which will be available at facilities across the state. You will also create debrief guides that can be used by school staff when working with students. Your goal is to convey a message about the importance of teenagers accessing information for healthy choices and utilizing effective communication in avoiding health risks.

You will be highlighting how your scenarios can inform teens about an important teen issue (of your choice) and enable them to engage in effective communication and access credible information to make better choices.

Career

Life Coach

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

3-4 weeks

Competency

Decision Making and Goal Setting: Student will demonstrate the ability to use decision making and goal setting skills to enhance health and reduce health risks.

Project

You are a Life Coach who has been hired at a newly opened health and wellness center in your city. Your main responsibilities will be to help your clients with decision making and goal setting in areas to improve their health.

Career

Public Health Coordinator

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

3-4 weeks

Competency

Health Behaviors: Student will demonstrate comprehension of health topics and ability to promote health enhancing behaviors to promote health and reduce health risks.

Project

You are a Public Health Coordinator in an elderly setting. One of your tasks is to address rising concerns regarding health care into the later stages of life.

As the Public Health Coordinator, your responsibility is to provide accurate information regarding preventative health services to the residents. This means not only educating this group on the health risks of their age, but also promoting and advocating for the practice of health enhancing behaviors.

Career

Sports Nutritionist

Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

3-4 weeks

Competency

Influence and Advocate: Student will demonstrate the ability to analyze influences on health behaviors and use self-advocacy skills to enhance health and reduce health risks.

Project

You work for a successful semi-pro sports organization as a Sports Nutritionist. In this field, you work with athletes individually to discuss their nutritional needs, educate them on how to make healthy nutritional choices as a consumer, and discuss the impact of food, beverages, and supplements on their athletic performance.

Credits .5

Competencies

  • Avoiding and Minimizing Risky Behaviors
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of avoiding and minimizing risky behaviors by summarizing factors that influence behavior, explaining the access of information and services to enhance health, and describing disease prevention.
  • Creating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of creating and maintaining healthy relationships by explaining the importance of treatment of others with dignity and respect, explaining the avoidance of substance abuse, and summarizing the daily practices of health-enhancing behaviors.  
  • Family and Community Health
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of family and community health by describing the use of interpersonal communication skills to enhance health, explaining the elements of health care plans, and explaining advocacy for family and community health to avoid health risks.
  • Healthy Eating
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of healthy eating by explaining the benefits of healthy eating habits, explaining tools for eating healthy, and summarizing strategies for healthy food choices.   Ratings table Proficiency Rating Points Description for mastery level 1: MasteredMastered Points for mastery level 1: 11 Description for mastery level 2: Not MasteredNot Mastered Points for mastery level 2: 00 Mastery at: 1 points Proficiency Calculation: Achieve mastery 2 times Select outcome 4642 Managing Physical and Mental Health 4642 Managing Physical and Mental Health Students will demonstrate an understanding of managing physical and mental health by explaining the impact of healthy habits on overall wellness, explaining the body and mind connection and describing strategies for meeting health goals.
  • Managing Physical and Mental Health
    Students will demonstrate an understanding of managing physical and mental health by explaining the impact of healthy habits on overall wellness, explaining the body and mind connection and describing strategies for meeting health goals.

Pre-Requisites

None

Enroll Now

Attend a virtual open house

We offer regular online open house webinars where VLACS staff members provide parents and students with an overview of our programs and answer questions about online learning.

Register Today