Individual Courses
Lauri DeRuiter-Willems and Stacey Knight-Davis
Lauri DeRuiter-Willems and Stacey Knight-Davis (both from Eastern Illinois University) (bios)
Introduction
When making textbook decisions for college courses there are many issues to consider and questions to ask. First, does the course need a textbook? Is the course focused on standard content or on applying content to ill-structured problems or projects? If the course does need a textbook, what will be the purpose of the book? Will it serve as supplemental instruction or the primary source of content? Is the textbook author also the instructor? Do students purchase textbooks, or rent them?
The primary question when deciding which, if any, textbook to adopt is this: What value does the textbook add to the course?
The primary question when deciding which, if any, textbook to adopt is this: What value does the textbook add to the course? For the two courses discussed here, a textbook was less valuable than a carefully curated selection of articles and other professional sources. Our discussion has a heavy emphasis on health promotion, because that’s our field, but we also try to generalize our thoughts so the decision process can be used in other disciplines. The decision not to use a textbook for these two courses at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) has allowed us to follow the guidelines of the course proposals while modifying the content resources to reflect current practices in the field.
Marketing Concepts for Health Promotion Professionals
Developed over the last ten years, the curriculum of Marketing Concepts for Health Promotion Professionals (DeRuiter-Willems, 2017a) addresses skills identified by interns and recent graduates as being important to have practiced and trained to use on the job. These topics were identified in several ways: by the Health Promotion department chair, who holds “exit” interviews with soon-to-be graduates (those who have completed all coursework and internship requirements), by faculty conversations with graduates through social media, by discussions with colleagues in the field, and by occasional advisory group activities.
To explore health promotion and health marketing, the course uses content in online training modules, videos and e-textbooks available through the library, and industry websites and professional organizations. After course content has been examined with the students, application of concepts happens through group and/or individual projects that follow a basic instructional plan from one semester to the next, but with a new topic or focus. The projects occur in a controlled setting in which the instructor leads the projects and offers comprehensive research support.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2017b) offers a health literacy online training program that includes several modules and videos, and a training series offered by the University of Minnesota provides supplemental information on health literacy wh