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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1Overview of Project

Our project involves a panel maze which consists of three different stations that

emphasize the different aspects of healthy lifestyle. Participants would learn about the

theoretical aspects of healthy lifestyle and be involved in various physical exercises

during the activities. We aim to change the behaviours of Primary 3 and 4 students,

especially the obese ones, and raise their awareness towards healthy lifestyle. We feel the

need to address the problem of obesity due to its detrimental consequences1,2 and its

prevalence among school children in Singapore3. We hope that through our programme,

they would understand and the importance of healthy lifestyle and cultivate habits of

exercising regularly and eating healthily. To achieve our objective, we have studied a

case-study of a similar problem, namely: environmental degradation.

1.2 Brief Overview of Case-study

Our group has decided to investigate the problem of environmental degradation since its

widespread consequential adverse impact4

has evoked our concerns towards the issue. In

order to address the problem of lack of awareness towards environmental degradation,

1 Dietz, William H. . "Health Consequences of Obesity in Youth: Childhood Predictors of Adult Disease Pediatrics

101. 3 (1998), 518-525, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/101/3/S1/518. (Accessed August 7,2010).2 Lee, Warren. "Fighting fat: with TAF in SingaporeDiabetes Voice (International Diabetes Federation) (2003), 49-50,http://www.diabetesvoice.org/files/attachments/article_82_en.pdf. (Accessed June 22, 2010).3Singapore, Ministry of Defence. "Obesity in Children."http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/elifestyle/articles/miscellaneous/obesity_in_children.html

(accessed Aug 7, 2010).4 Roberts, Leslie. "Environmental Degradation is contributing to health threats worldwide." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May2010.

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our group has considered a static approach, the Project WILD, and an experiential

approach, ecotourism in Africa.

1.3 Methodology

After analysing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, we have come up

with a two-pronged approach which yields the best possible outcome. By applying what

we have learnt, our objective can be achieved in a similar way.

1.4Outline of Subsequent Chapters

In subsequent chapters, we shall discuss in details about what are the advantages and

disadvantages of the aforementioned approaches and how we derived a two-pronged

approach from the analysis conducted. We will also explain in details our full proposal

plan, the evaluation of the project and the conclusion to this report.

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CHAPTER 2

SAVE MOTHER EARTH

2.1 Case-study: Environmental Degradation

Environmental degradation is a situation in which a part of the natural environment is

damaged or a loss of biodiversity and natural resources in an area 5. Environmental

degradation problem is contributing to health threats (similar consequence to obesity)

worldwide6, ozone depletion and disruption of food chains7. Hence, we need to cultivate

the need for environmental conservation before the problem aggravates any further.

2.2 Static Approach

In order to curb the problem, static approach 8, like Project WILD, has been adopted to

educate the public about the adverse effects of environmental degradation and emphasize

on importance of environmentally friendly behaviour. Project WILD is an

interdisciplinary conservation and environmental education program emphasizing wildlife

and is widely used among educators of students in kindergarten through high school9.

2.2.1 Advantages

5 Seen Environmental Learning, "Environmental Degradation." http://www.nied.edu.na/divisions/projects/SEEN/SEEN

%20Publications/Environmental%20Information%20Sheets/Natural%20Resources/5.%20Land%20Degradation.pdf(accessed 8 September 2010)

6Dietz, William H. . "Health Consequences of Obesity in Youth: Childhood Predictors of Adult Disease Pediatrics101. 3 (1998), 518-525, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/101/3/S1/518. (Accessed August 7,2010).7Ozone Depletion- Effects. Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 Jun 2010.

.8

"Choosing Curriculum That's Right For You." The Classroom Approach. Common Sense Press, 2009. Web. 23 Jun2010. .9

"Project WILD." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2010.

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This static approach can be developed to address deteriorating problems as they

arise and are able to reach out to the masses7. This provides a platform for the

public to learn about environmental conservation, thus reaching the aim of raising

awareness. Furthermore, participants learn to develop positive and responsible

attitudes towards environment10.

2.2.2 Disadvantages

Project WILD is a series of lessons based on guidebooks and curriculum materials

which adhere to those strict efforts for balance and objectivity

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and according to

Nation Master, education programmes are unappealing to children12. Since Project

WILD is an education programme that is held in school during curriculum time

and 51% of students find learning in school uninteresting13, this static approach is

unlikely to achieve an effective outcome.Having listed the downsides of the static

approach, an alternative approach (ecotourism) is needed so as to tackle the

problem of environmental degradation more effectively.

2.3 Experiential Approach

The alternative approach is the Experiential Approach which is illustrated by Ecotourism

in Africa14. Ecotourism is considered as an experiential approach as through the act of

10 "Project WILD (Wildlife in Learning Design)." http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1900.html (accessed September 11,2010)

11 "Project WILD (Wildlife in Learning Design)." http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1900.html (accessed September 11,2010)

12"Percentage of students who do find school boring. NationMaster, n.d. Web. 22 May 2010.

13 "Percentage of students who do f ind school boring. NationMaster, n.d. Web. 22 May 2010.

14"Learning Africa Case Study." Conserve Africa, n.d. Web. 22 May 2010.

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travelling to natural areas that are conserved, people are able to learn more about

conserving the environment itself15.

2.3.1 Advantages

Ecotourism raises consciousness towards environmental degradation as it allows

tourists to interact directly with the nature16. Increased awareness moves people

into action, as seen in the increased rate of reforestation17.

2.3.2 Disadvantages

However, facilitating ecotourism requires stringent management18. If not,

environmental conservation will not be as successful and misuse of these natural

areas may occur. This leads to further degradation as formally secluded pristine

areas become accessible for exploitation. Furthermore, with the increase in human

flow, more resources are being used up, depriving the local population.19

2.4 Analysis of Approaches and Lessons Learnt

Both approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses. The static approach reaches

out to the masses but does not attract much attention. The experiential approach, on the

15"Learning Centre." What is ecotourism? The Internat ional Ecotourism Society, n.d. Web. 9 Jun2010..

16 Crist Inman, Ph.D., "Impacts on Developing Countries of Changing Production and Consumption Patterns inDeveloped Countries: The Case of Ecotourism in Costa Rica27-28, http://www.inti.gov.ar/cadenasdevalor/ecotour.pdf.(accessed September 10, 2010).

17 Berliant, Leslie. "Reforestation Taking Root in Projects Around the World." Aug 19,

2009.http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090819/reforestation-taking-root-projects-around-world (accessed October 12,2010).

18Sujata Narayan, . "Below the Surface: The impacts of Ecotourism in Costa Rica." N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2010.

.19 Eco India, "Risks and Benefits of Eco Tourism." 2008.http://www.ecoindia.com/sustainable-tourism/risks-and-benefits-of-eco-tourism.html (accessed September 11, 2010)

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other hand, provides direct interaction but requires more resources (like manpower) and

thus is relatively more complicated to carry out. A combination of the two approaches

will therefore be likely to maximise learning.

From the analysis of the ecotourism in Africa, we have learnt that by being directly

involved in the efforts of conserving the environment, participants will be more likely to

be interested in the activity and assimilate the lessons taught more effectively.

In addition, we have also understood that the combination two-pronged approach

adopted, which is an educational-cum-experiential approach, is apt and effectual as each

prong complements another to yield the best possible outcome.

2.5 Our Identified Problem

Another problem which can be considered in a similar way is the lack of awareness of

healthy lifestyle among primary school children in Singapore. The obesity prevalence

among school children in Singapore has not decreased for the past three years 20. Being

obese also has various detrimental health and emotional consequences21,22. Immediate

attention is thus required for both problems so as to minimise the detrimental effects of

these problems.

2.6 The Need for an Alternative Solution

20 Singapore, Ministry of Defence. "Obesity in Children."http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/elifestyle/articles/miscellaneous/obesity_in_children.html (accessed Aug 7, 2010).

21 Dietz, William H. . "Health Consequences of Obesity in Youth: Childhood Predictors of AdultDisease"Pediatrics 101. 3 (1998), 518-525,http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/101/3/S1/518. (accessed August 7, 2010).

22 Lee, Warren. "Fighting fat: with TAF in SingaporeDiabetes Voice (International Diabetes Federation)(2003), 49-50, http://www.diabetesvoice.org/files/attachments/article_82_en.pdf. (accessed June 22, 2010).

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In an effort to reduce childhood obesity, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has

implemented two schemes, the Trim and Fit (TAF) scheme which used the approach of

physical training23. TAF, although successfully reduced obesity in many cases24, was

scraped in 2007. TAF Club is merely an experiential approach which does not teach the

participants theoretical aspects of healthy lifestyle. Moreover, TAF Club often comes at a

psychological and health cost of members25. This further proves the inadequacy of the

approach. Thus it is necessary to implement a programme that possesses less of the

adverse effects.

2.8 Application of Lessons Learnt

Lesson learnt #1: Experiential learning helps participants to internalise the lessons

taught more effectively.

The alternative programme aims to cater to the interest of the obese primary school

students. This is with hope that they would participate in the interactive competitions and

games prepared, thus integrate the lessons taught more effectively.

Lesson learnt #2: Static learning which includes teaching participants theoretical aspects

of the issue will complement the experiential approach.

23 Lee, Warren, op. cit. Lee, Warren. "Fighting fat: with TAF in SingaporeDiabetes Voice (InternationalDiabetes Federation) (2003), 49-50, http://www.diabetesvoice.org/files/attachments/article_82_en.pdf.(accessed June 22, 2010).

24 Lee, Warren. "Fighting fat: with TAF in SingaporeDiabetes Voice (International Diabetes Federation)

(2003), 49-50, http://www.diabetesvoice.org/files/attachments/article_82_en.pdf. (accessed June 22, 2010).25 AFP. "Singapore schools' weight-loss program linked to eating disorders: study." May,2005.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200505/ai_n14750552/ (accessed May 22, 2010).

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They would be involved in various fun physical activities while learning about healthy

lifestyle such as the nutritional values of some vegetables and fruits.

The complementing two-pronged approach (experiential plus static) is expected to yield

the best possible outcome.

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CHAPTER 3

PROJECT aMAZEd

3.1 Aim

Our project aims to change the behaviours as well as to increase the awareness of students

towards healthy lifestyle by teaching them tips on how to lead a healthy lifestyle (i.e.

choosing healthy nutritious food and exercising healthily).

3.2 Target Audience

Our target audience is Primary 3 and 4 students, especially the obese ones. Since habits

are built up from young26, therefore it is important to start instilling in them the various

healthy living habits early.

3.3 Details of Proposal

Our proposal covers three aspects of healthy lifestyle - balanced diet, regular exercise,

and building positive self-image. By providing various platforms where students can

relate to, they are likely to pick up information on the various aspects of healthy lifestyle

more effectively27.

26Mary Lim, "Start good eating habits from young." 07 012010.http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/healthyliving/childrenhealth/Pages/Start-good-eating-habits-from-young.aspx(accessed 28 08 2010).27

Rita, Dunn, Jeffrey S., Beaudry, & Klavas, Angela. (2002). Survey of Research on Learning Styles. What

Do we know about how people learn. Retrieved (2010, June 9) fromhttp://www.marric.us/files/CSTA_learnjournal.pdf#page=76

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3.3.1 Pre-event

Before engaging in the activities in

the maze, we will be getting the

students to do a pre event survey

so that we will get an idea of their

views towards physical activities and

healthy lifestyle (see figure 1).

To allow our participants to be exposed to the nutritional benefits of the various

food used during the maze, bookmarks (NEED PICTURE!) containing nutrition

facts will be distributed. This allows students to constantly refer and thus

familiarize themselves with the information, even after the event. The bookmarks

would be colourful and attractively decorated so as to make it more visually

appealing to the children.

A package containing the necessary materials and instructions to construct the

maze and to facilitate the programme will be sent to the schools before the event.

This ensures the sustainability of the programme as the schools would be able to

carry out the programme as long as they have the package.

3.3.2 Event

The whole event will be conducted in the form of a panel maze. There will be 3

stations set up, namely: The Hungry, Just Jump, and Dancy Frenzy. By

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Figure 1: Participants attempting pre-event survey

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locating the various events in a maze, participants will have to cover a longer

distance and thus burns more calories. Upon completing each station, the station

master will debrief the students on the learning points of each activity. This allows

our participants to understand the objective behind each activity, thus achieving

our aim in raising awareness among the students. After the maze, participants will

enjoy a juicy treat followed by a reflection session.

Participants would also encounter Trappy while proceeding to different stations

in the maze (traps that requires them to answer questions using information from

the given bookmarks). This serves to increase chances of utilization of the

information, thus allowing them to remember better.

(NEED PICTURE of the maze, indicate route and positions of trappy as well)

Participants will first be arranged in groups of four. They are in small groups so

that each student will get their chance to get engage in the activity, and not be left

behind. After which, they will all start at the same time, at different stations. At

any point, there will only be two groups at one station. This minimizes the

possibility of congestion during the game.

The winning and losing teams of a particular station will be rewarded 100 points

and 50 points respectively. Station master will be positioned to do the judging.

Point system is put in place to motivate the students.

3.3.3 The Stations

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Hungry station

At the station, each group will be given a bowl of salad for them to finish (see

figure 2). The more varieties of foods the student consumes, the higher the points

gained. After the game, the station master will debrief them on the ways and the

importance of having a balanced diet as well as referring them to the bookmarks

given initially, to reinforce the idea of balanced diet.

One aspect of healthy lifestyle is

to have balanced diet. Salad

comprises varieties of fruits and

vegetables, which contains low

fat and salt, and are good

sources of fibre, vitamins and

minerals28. Hence, we created

The Hungry so as to allow our students to know what is healthy balanced diet,

thereby teaching them what food to choose that is good for their health, hence

meeting our objective of increasing awareness of healthy lifestyle.

Just Jump station

Another aspect of healthy lifestyle

is to have regular exercise. At this

station, we included simple new

stance, known as Freestyle Rope

28 A. Roth, Ruth, & E. Townsend, Carolynn. (2003). Nutrition and diet therapy. Canada: Delmar Learning.

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Figure 3: Participants engaging in freestyle ropejump.

Figure 2: Participants rushing to be the first to finishtheir salad.

Figure 4: Participants rushing to be the first to finishtheir salad.

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Jumping into the conventional sport of skipping to ensure that students are capable

of performing the stances (see figure 3). With the variety of jumps and movements

taught, it encourages creativity and spontaneity, providing flexibility in our

workouts.

An unconventional way of carrying out rope jumping activities can reignite the

interest of our target audience towards exercise, stimulating our students to skip

more. With the new skills taught, students will be interested to apply the skills

learnt frequently, thus exercise regularly. After the game, the station master will

debrief them on the consequence of not exercising regularly, thus reminding them

of the importance of healthy lifestyle, meeting our objective in increasing

awareness of healthy lifestyle.

Station master will guide the students step by step to ensure that the students

are able to pick up the skills. More points would be allocated to the teams that

have performed the most number of stunts. The points given acts as incentives to

motivate students29 to learn the stunts seriously, in turn mastering some of the

stunts demonstrated.

Dancy frenzy station

29 Monique W. Morris, "Money for grades fails to motivate students in Harvard study."06/22/2010.http://www.thegrio.com/opinion/money-for-grades-fails-to-motivate-students-in-harvard-study.php (accessed 08/02/2010).

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Another aspect of healthy lifestyle is

building positive self image.

Dancy Frenzy has been created to

build up on the self confidence of

our target audience. Study has shown

that dancing contribute to high self-

esteem and a positive outlook30.

During the teaching of dance steps, students will be communicating and teaching

each other dance step. Subsequently, this will encourage our target audience to

speak up more, thus building up on their self esteem. Besides teaching, station

master will take the lead to encourage students to speak up and motivate each

other, thus meeting our objective in increasing awareness on healthy lifestyle.

In the first year, we are teaching the students dance steps that we have

choreographed to set an example of the typical kind of dance (see figure 4). This

ensures that the dance choreographed by students in future would be appropriate

for the purpose of encouraging activeness via dancing. Subsequently, for the next

few years, primary 6 participants would choreograph a dance to be taught to the

incoming participants that year. Primary 6 students are the oldest, thus would be

able to handle the responsibility. This enables students to stimulate their

creativeness and explore more interesting steps that they can include in the dance,

increasing interestingness of the dance.

30 Treva Bedinghaus, Treva. (n.d.). Top 4 health benefits of dance. Retrieved fromhttp://dance.about.com/od/danceandyourhealth/tp/Health-Benefits.htm

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Figure 5: Participants taught to dance the massdance.

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We will create a video of our dance to be sent to the school. This allows the school

to use it for weekly dance lessons, where students will learn, practice and master

dance steps in preparation for the event. Students will then be required to dance

and judged during the event. Judging criteria will be on teamwork (60%) and

proficiency (40%). Teachers-in-charged would be invited to be the judges.

Teamwork is our main objective of this game as it promotes socializing, thus

building up self confidence, which is another aspect of healthy lifestyle.

Proficiency is being chosen to ensure that our participants put in their best effort

for the competition. The winning team will then have the honor of becoming the

dance coach for the next years competition.

1.1. Juicy Treat

At the end of the day, students get to choose from a variety of fruits ( same fruits

as those in The Hungry station ), which will be served as drinks. Since at The

Hungry station, students have an idea of what is balanced diet, hence by letting

them choose their own fruit juice drink, they will be able to apply what they have

just learn and make a wise decision, thus meeting our objective in increasing

awareness of healthy lifestyle.

1.2. Reflection Session

Station master will each have a video recorder to record the whole process at each

station. The whole video will be viewed by the students at the end of the day. After

which, the students will be asked to write their thoughts and feelings on colored

cards which would be collated and pasted on a big cardboard. The board would

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serve as a reminder to participants about their experiences in the event, thereby

remember what they have learnt about healthy lifestyle.

( Include Darices first para )

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