Mental Health and Teen Suicide
Stephanie Di Maria, Alex Forsyth, Braydon Gordon, Kendra Sowinski, Josh Steffens
We chose this topic because teen suicide is becoming an increasing issue in today’s society. According to the World Health Organization (2014), “Suicide is the second leading cause of death globally among 15-29 year olds.”
The onset of multiple forms of social media has created a space for cyber bullying, body image concerns, and the passage of inappropriate material that can have lasting effects.
We feel it’s important to implement strategies for young kids in order for them to have the appropriate skills and knowledge to cope with everyday stresses. Mental health affects all Canadians, however, adolescents are more vulnerable (Center of Addiction and Mental Health, 2012).
Research conducted at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (2012) indicates that, “70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence, young people aged from 15-24 are more likely to experience mental illness...than any other age group.” After hearing this statistic we had a clear sense of where we wanted our project to go.
We’ve chosen to focus the unit on media, community and relationships, and self-care so that students can critically analyze the world around them, and come up with solutions to strengthen their resiliencies.
Interdisciplinary Theory
Rationale
Interdisciplinary teaching gives students more to learn because the problems are more engaging and relevant to their lives. Students develop stronger insights, self-confidence, and a deeper knowledge of the problem and the solution (Friesen et al., 2015). Interdisciplinary learning leads to increased creativity, productivity, and problem solving because students are using multiple perspectives to analyze the problems (Strober, 2009). Mathison and Freeman (1997) go a little further in outlining the benefits of an integrated studies program. Positive educational outcomes include:
1. increased understanding, retention and application of general concepts
2. better overall comprehension of global interdependencies, along with the development of multiple perspectives and points of view, as well as values
3. increased ability to make decisions, think critically and creatively, and synthesize knowledge beyond the disciplines
4. enhanced ability to identify, assess and transfer significant information needed for solving novel problems
5. promotion of cooperative learning and a better attitude toward oneself as a learner and as a meaningful member of a community
6. increased motivation.
"All these positive outcomes suggest that interdisciplinary studies enhance student learning," states Alberta Education, "enhancements...[that] seem even more crucial in today’s world" (p. 159, 2012).
Inspiring Education
One of the values in Inspiring Action on Education is Opportunity where learners are exposed to rich learning experiences that enable them to discover their passions and achieve their highest potential (p. 7, 2010). The majority of the project is learning-centred and the decisions will be made with the students in mind (p.8). Throughout the unit, students will have to critical think about different topics as well as have the opportunity to reflect on their learning (p. 8, 2010).
References
Alberta Education. (2012). Interdisciplinary learning and interdisciplinary curriculum. From knowledge to action (Ch. 5), pp. 157-174. Edmonton, AB;
Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2012). Mental illness and addictions: facts and statistics. Retrieved from (2014 World Health Organization report on suicide prevention) http://crisiscentre.bc.ca/statistics/
Friesen, S., Saar, C., Burns, A., Marcotte, C., Hampshire, T., Martin, B. and Brown B. (2015). The place of interdisciplinarity. Retrieved from: http://inquiry.galileo.org/ch2/interdisciplinarity/
Goverment of Alberta. (2010) Inspiring Action on Education.http://ideas.education.alberta.ca/media/2905/inspiringaction%20eng.pdf
Strober, M. H. (2010). Interdisciplinary conversations: Challenging habits of thought. Palo Alto, CA, USA: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1hqcttA
We have accommodated our lessons for English Language Learners in a variety of ways.
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Pairing ELL students with peers that they may be more comfortable with or those that are able to offer more assistance.
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Including Team Building Activities – These activities will strengthen peer relationships so that ELL students can form a stronger bond with their classmates
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Hands on activities – Through our unit we offer many opportunities for students to engage in hands on activities that help ELL students learn through experiential learning.
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Through our lesson plans, students will be asked to repeat the instructions back to the teacher to ensure that it is clear what is expected of them, and so students can hear the instructions from a peer’s perspective.
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We have also accommodated for ELL students by giving them options in how they wish to demonstrate their learning.