UGST 497: Reflection #1

My course is a re-adaptation of HLTH 342- Human Sexuality. We are transitioning the course from a research and academia-oriented course into a pedagogical course. The goal is for students to not only be able to learn about human sexuality but be able to talk and teach human sexuality topics to children and young adults from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

In the development of the course, the main issue is to transition the course material into the pedagogical perspective. Another issue I am personally tackling is to make sure the course material is as inclusive as possible. Something important to me is that with reproductive health, people with uteruses can get pregnant and experience fertility cycles, not just cis-gendered women. Making sure the language of the course is reflective of that while acknowledging that gendered language is currently used in the literature is something I want to make abundantly clear in the material.

I am interested in my capstone project because I am planning on pursuing graduate school, specifically an MPH or MSPH in Maternal and Child Health or Reproductive and Sexual Health. I know research is a major portion of graduate school, but I am interested in teaching the next generation of health professionals and arming them with the tools to make a positive change in the world. I hope to learn more about the academic process through this capstone and see whether I might want to pursue a teaching assistantship during my time in graduate school.

During the development of this project, I hope to develop my interpersonal skills. I hope to extensively work on my communication skills and be able to hold my own in a lecture or in a conversation with my faculty advisor. I also hope to develop pedagogical skills more and be able to teach a subject to people with differing knowledge levels. These skills will probably serve me well in my preparation for graduate school studies.

This project connects to my core values by helping me identify what change I want to see in my community. In this sphere, I know I can make a change by positively impacting the next generation of health educators and helping them carry conversations and lessons in human sexuality to people of all ages. This especially motivates my selfless service, as I know I can give back to the A&M community with this course modification.

Three words that come to mind are adaptation, inclusivity, and pedagogy.