Evander Childs High School

Living Environment

Ms. Rose

 

Youth Diabetes Epidemic In The U.S.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

AGENTS

 

A Public Health Emergency.  Listen  Up!

 

An epidemic is spreading like wildfire throughout our country.

People most at risk for developing this disease have little or no information about it.

Those people are YOU.

 

 

Type 2 diabetes is no longer considered “adult onset diabetes” because it is increasing at alarming rates among children and adolescents.  Rapid growth of diabetes in youth is greatest in the industrialized world.  Surprising?  For sure.  These are the nations most advanced in science, technology, communication, and education.  The question is WHY?

 

Consider this dear agents.  As an adolescent living in the US, you and your generation are the most vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes.  Moreover, many of the young people with this disease have few early symptoms and may remain undiagnosed and untreated for a long period of time.  During this period diabetes can start its devastating effects on the body which include damage to the heart and circulation, the kidneys, and the nerves, as well as vision impairment and amputations.

 

 

 

You are a 10th grade student who is anxious to get the word out about this scourge on your generation. Therefore you have volunteered to join a team of students from New York City who will attend a National Conference on Type 2 Diabetes in US Youth:  Prevention and Control.  You have been asked to research this topic.  Why is there a growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes in US teenagers?  What are the risk factors for this disease?  How do lifestyle behaviors, environment, and ethnicity play a part in this disease?  The answers to these and other questions will be the focus of your investigation for this WebQuest.

 

 

 


TASK                        

 

 

Agents, the mission for which you have volunteered is to conduct a WebQuest on Type 2 Diabetes in the US youth population.  You will use internet resources, the library, newspapers, magazines, and other media to research this problem and make recommendations for prevention and control. 

 

The work done on this assignment will prepare you for the National Conference on Diabetes scheduled for Washington DC in October.  You have the advantage of using your peers in this class as a sounding board who will offer feedback on the following three products that you will share in class and later at the Conference You will be using the TIPS Public Policy Analyst to help develop your report.

 

 

 


PROCESS               

 

This WebQuest will guide toward the completion of three different products:

1.    A group report of 3-5 pages using the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) as your guide         

2.    An oral presentation of about 5 minutes.

3.    A creative piece of work.   

 

Lest you be apprehensive about what you have undertaken my new recruits, relax, there is no need for fear.  Read on…..

 

 

Your successful completion of this project is assured in a number of ways.

a)      You will work on this task in teams of 4 students.

b)     The Introduction, Task, and other sections of this WebQuest provide links to an online dictionary to aid in the understanding of terms.

c)      The Process identifies the procedure and steps to follow in completing this assignment.

d)     The Resource section provides links to websites offering information on the topic.

e)      The Evaluation explains how your work will be graded.

f)       Our school librarian can assist you in locating local and national newspapers, journals, or other printed materials for your research.

g)     I will be guiding you throughout this project.

 

Also, remember that you can use your neighborhood library, friends and relatives with diabetes, and other class instructors as additional sources of information.

 

You have been divided into teams of 4 students.  Each team consists of a:

 

·       Team leader who makes sure all directions are followed, directs group discussions, and assembles and submits final documents to the teacher

·       Recorder who types  the final documents to be submitted

·       Timekeeper who monitors the time taken by each team member in group discussions, and aids team in meeting deadlines

·       Artistic director who supervises creation of the art product.

 

Your group report will consist of 4 sections.

 

Section 1

a)      What is Type 2 Diabetes?    TIPS PPA Worksheet 1 Define the Problem

b)     Why is it considered a “silent disease”?    Why is it no longer described as “adult onset diabetes”?  Provide statistical evidence.    TIPS PPA Worksheet 2 Gather evidence of the problem

 

 

Section 11

a)    What are the immediate effects of Type 2 Diabetes on the body?

b)    What are the long term effects of Type 2 Diabetes on the body?

 

Section 111

a)      Why is there a growing epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes in US children and adolescents?

b)     What are the risk factors that can lead to this disease?

c)      Explain how lifestyle behaviors, the environment, and ethnicity of youth in the US play a part in the development of this disease?    TIPS PPA Worksheet 3 Identifying causes of the problem

 

Section IV

a)      How can we prevent or control Type 2 Diabetes in US children and adolescents?

b)     What agencies in your community provide support for diabetic youth and their families?

TIPS PPA Worksheet 4 Determining existing policies that deal with the problem

c)      How can we raise public awareness about the severity of this disease?

TIPS PPA Worksheet 5 Developing Policy Solutions To Deal With The Problem

TIPS PPA Worksheet 6 Selecting the Best Public Policy Solution

 

 The group report should meet the following criteria:

·       be 3-5 typed, double spaced pages

·       have pages numbered in the center of the bottom of each page

·       photographs, charts, tables, or graphs may be included as an appendix to your report

·       cite references used

 

 

The group report must include a cover page which bears the following:

·       the title of the report

·       names of the team members

·       the subject class

·       the subject teacher

·       the date submitted

 

The 5-minute oral presentation will be made in class and will consist of 2 parts of information;

a)      One of the sections in your typed report. Your teacher will decide which section is presented by each team.

b)     The artistic work created.

 

Your creative piece of work can be a poster, a logo with a caption, a slogan, a poem, song, that will convey the message of diabetes awareness, prevention, and control You should try to make this eye-catching and attractive to students. Be sure to have the idea for this part of the project approved before you start. 

 

Make sure that your oral presentation includes at least one visual.  This could be the art work developed.

 

DEADLINES (Check with your teacher for all deadline dates)

 

1.      Worksheets for the Six Steps of the PPA are due one week after the class session allotted for each one.

 

2.      The first draft of the group report is due on_______.

 

3.      The final draft of the group report is due on_______.

This should be revised based on the teacher comments made on the first draft.

 

4.      The oral presentations will be made in class on _____ and _____.

 

 

RESOURCES

 

Dear Agents, the following websites will link you to information needed to complete this assignment.  Just “click” on each address and you will be transported to the site.

 

DIABETES

American Diabetes Association

http://www.diabetes.org/type2/type2.jsp

 

DIABETES IN THE US

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/10/04/stats.usa.reut/

MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/975578.asp

 

DIABETES IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

National Diabetes Education Program

http://ndep.nih.gov/get-info/children.htm

CDC Diabetes Public Health Resource

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/cda2.htm

 

DIABETES IN MINORITIES

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/africanamerican/index.htm

 

DIABETES PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=EC2CD898-2A5E-7B6E-1375D6F43EB753FA

 

SEARCH ENGINES:  Agents you may use these sites to conduct your

own internet search on Type 2 Diabetes.

Google

Yahoo

AltaVista

 

 

EVALUATION

 

Agents, these are the rubrics I will use in grading the 3 parts of this assignment.

 

The Typed Report

 

 

Criteria

Points

 

4

3

2

1

 

Information 

Information is gathered from  8 sources and cited properly.

Information is gathered from  6 sources.

Information is gathered from 4 sources.

Information is gathered from  3 or less sources. 

 

____

Organization

Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence structure.

Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or sentence structure.

Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing and sentence structure.

Weakly organized.

____

Punctuation, Capitalization, & Spelling

Punctuation, spelling and capitalization are correct.

There are 1-3 errors in punctuation, spelling and/or capitalization.

There are 4-6 errors in punctuation, spelling and/or capitalization.

There are 7 or more errors in punctuation, spelling and/or capitalization.

____

Conclusion

Numerous detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.

Several detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.

Some detailed conclusions are reached from the evidence offered.

A conclusion is made from the evidence offered.

____
Completion

The report is neatly typed and a cover page is included. All questions and all worksheets are completed.

The report is typed and a cover page is included. All questions and some worksheets are completed.

The report is typed and a cover page is included.  Some questions and some worksheets are completed.

The report is not typed and a cover page is included.  Some questions and some worksheets are completed.

____

Teamwork

All team members did the research, discussed findings, and contributed to the writing of the report.

Some team members did the research, discussed findings, and contributed to the writing of the report.

A  few team members did the research, discussed findings, and contributed to the writing of the report.

Focused research and discussion were not done.  The  report does not indicate collaborative effort. 

____

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oral Presentation

&

Creative Work

 

 

Criteria

Points

 

4

3

2

1

 
Content

Accurate  information with all questions addressed.

Accurate information

with some questions unanswered.

Some errors in information with some questions unanswered.

Major errors in information with some questions unanswered.

____
Presentation

Direct eye contact with clear varied voice.

Direct eye contact; varies voice at times.

Little eye contact rarely varies voice.

No eye contact; no variation of voice.

____

Pacing

Delivery is appropriate and meets the scheduled time.

Delivery is appropriate, but does not meet the scheduled  time.

Delivery is in bursts and does not meet the scheduled time.

Delivery is either too quick or too slow and does not meet the scheduled time.

____

Understanding

Speaker demonstrates and excellent understanding of the topic.

Speaker demonstrates a good understanding of the topic.

Speaker lacks a complete understanding of the topic.

Speaker demonstrates a poor understanding of the topic.

____

Visual Aids

Neat and organized aids  which support the presentation.

Messy aids which support the presentation.

Messy, poorly organized aids which add little support to the presentation.

No aids used.

____
Creative work

Original work that holds students interest.

Original work that holds the interest of some students.

Original work that holds the interest of a few students.

Original work, but of little interest.

____

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York City Performance Standards

 

This WebQuest provides practice in the following Science Standards:

 

S5  Scientific Thinking

S5c  Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations, and models; and makes appropriate adjustments and improvements.

 

S5d  Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations; and distinguishes between fact and opinion.

 

S5e  Identifies problems; proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the accuracy, design, and outcomes of investigations.

 

S5f  Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.

 

 S6  Scientific Tools and Technologies

S6d  Acquires information from multiple sources.

 

 S7  Scientific Communication

S7a  Represents data and results in multiple ways.

 

S7b  Argues from evidence.

 

S7e  Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience.

 

This WebQuest also incorporates use of the following English Language Arts Standards:

 

E1c  Read and comprehend informational materials.

E2a  Produce a report of information.

E3c  Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.

E4b  Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

When you have completed activities in this WebQuest you will know the risk factors associated with Type 2 Diabetes and the effect this disease has on the human body.  You will be able to identify methods of prevention and control of this disease.  Of greatest importance, you will understand why this condition is increasing at alarming rates among US youth populations and you will develop educational materials to heighten awareness of this “silent disease”.

 

This WebQuest introduces you to the use of the PPA in researching and analyzing a problem in order to develop appropriate solutions and policies to address issues of public concern.  Have fun with this experience.