Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

AIDS OUTREACH: Goals

This course has two principle goals. The primary goal is to provide education about HIV/AIDS to Nashville area high-school and middle school students in order to help them make informed choices. In addition, it is our hope that this course provides the participating medical, nursing, and graduate students with a broadened view of the importance of teaching and community service in the biomedical career. This course is inspired and co-directed by medical, nursing, and graduate students in the biomedical sciences.

AIDS OUTREACH: Objectives

To foster community service by providing instruction about HIV/AIDS to local high-school and middle-school students.
To learn interactive teaching techniques.
To foster team-building skills through a coordinated instructional program.
To create opportunities of mentorship between Vanderbilt students and high-school and middle-school students.

AIDS OUTREACH: Format

This elective is divided into two main sections. In the first section of the course, participants will be introduced to basic teaching techniques that will enable them to create an interactive learning environment. These techniques will be taught by area high school teachers and by past participants in this elective. In addition, each participant will have the opportunity to take part in the entire high school curriculum as it will be performed in the classroom.

In the second section of the course, participants will apply these teaching skills in area high schools and middle schools. Teams of four to five medical and graduate students will be organized and will spend two sets of four, one-hour sessions in two different classrooms. A full course meeting, during which anecdotes, questions, and frustrations can be discussed, will occur between these two sets of sessions.