South Carolina Teachers Pilot Test Diabetes Curriculum

Three South Carolina teachers are taking part in a national pilot test for a grades K-12 school science curriculum about type 2 diabetes. Fairfield School District teachers Allison Jordan and Sonya Kennedy, and Lexington School District teacher Laurie Jordan were three of 21 teachers selected to participate in the pilot test, which is part of a curriculum development project funded by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (part of the National Institutes of Health).
 
BSCS is developing the supplements. Teachers were recruited from across the country to take part in the pilot test, which involves orientation meetings at BSCS, testing the materials with students, providing data to BSCS project developers, and BSCS science educator site visits to schools.
 
Pictured above: pilot-test teachers Allison Jordan
(left) and Sonya Kennedy.

The curriculum supplements will focus on improving understanding about the biology of type 2 diabetes, the factors that affect people’s risk for the disease, and how individuals can make decisions that affect their health. Each unit will include hands-on and web-based activities. The supplements will be distributed free of charge and will include materials for parents and community members to raise awareness about the disease. The materials have an emphasis on reaching Latino and African-American audiences, populations that have a higher-than-average incidence of type 2 diabetes.
 
Sonya Kennedy, who pilot-tested the materials with her 1st and 2nd graders at Fairfield Elementary in Winnsboro, said, “Being a health teacher, I am very interested in the wellness of my students. The sooner they are informed of such diseases as type 2 diabetes the sooner they can choose to make good choices concerning their health. Also, any time I am given an opportunity to increase my knowledge by learning something new that will enhance my students’ learning, I am for it!”

Allison Jordan, who pilot-tested the materials with her 4th graders at Fairfield, said, “I found the program to be very useful in my classroom already. Now that I have informed my students of how to take care of their body and what to look for with diabetes, they are very careful of what they eat and if they are getting enough exercise. I have also had many students come to me and tell me how diabetes has affected their family members."

Pictured above: pilot-test teacher Lauire Jordan (left) and BSCS Science Educator Brooke Bourdélat-Parks.

BSCS Science Educator Anne Westbrook, who serves as Principal Investigator of the diabetes curriculum project, said, “By understanding the science of type 2 diabetes, students should have a better understanding of why some people have a higher chance of getting the disease and how making good choices in nutrition and activity can help reduce the chances that they will get type 2 diabetes. Pilot testing of our curriculum materials is a very important part of a process to ensure that the curriculum helps student understand important information about science and their health. Without the input from pilot-test teachers like Sonya Kennedy, Allison Jordan, and Laurie Jordan and their students, we would not be able to develop the highest quality materials."

Laurie Jordan pilot-tested the curriculum materials with two sets of 8th graders at White Knoll Middle School in West Columbia. “The South is a high risk area for poor dietary habits, which could lead to type 2 diabetes,” she said. “Teaching students positive life habits will help lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. They were also excited to participate in a study that could affect so many people’s lives.”
 
For more information about the new program, contact BSCS at info@bscs.org or visit BSCS Diabetes Education.