Written by: Sara Rhode - DHS Health Sciences Instructor
March is 'Brain Injury Awareness Month,' and the Health Science 2 seniors help promote it. The Dickinson High School seniors in the Health Science 2 class learned about traumatic brain injuries and prevention via a Zoom presentation set on by Carly Endres, Outreach Coordinator with the North Dakota Traumatic Brain Injury Network (NDBIN). The seniors took the information they learned and developed a lesson to present to elementary students at Prairie Rose Elementary.
Paige Balliet, a DHS Health Science 2 senior, shared her thoughts on the overall experience, "Going out into our community to teach elementary students about TBI's was an important experience to not only teach the students what TBI's are, but to also inform the prevention measures that they can take to prevent TBI's. The experience of teaching the elementary students was fulfilling since most of the students were interactive with the presentations and activities. Most of the students responded and already knew some basic information about the brain, but by doing interactive activities, I was able to see how to apply their knowledge to new information for them to learn. I learned that taking TBI's and breaking them down to a level that they can understand was important for them to retain and apply the prevention methods we taught. Overall connecting with elementary students and teaching them about TBI's was a great opportunity to expand the knowledge of how to prevent TBI's starting at a young age."
Groups of three high schoolers took on the task of presenting information and brain injury prevention strategies to Mrs. Palacio's 1st graders and Mrs. Rambousek and Mrs. Holznagel's 5th graders. Landon Aman highlights the importance of educating elementary students, "Teaching kids about TBI's at a young age can help them in the future with being safe and smart when it comes to activities they do. I enjoyed teaching them about TBI's because I never learned about TBI's till I was a teenager, and if I knew about them earlier, I would have been safer when I was younger about wearing a helmet or wearing my seatbelt more often. These students can now mature and grow older knowing the risks of activities they do if they are not being safe."
The presentations consisted of trivia questions, card games, and snacks representing a human brain's consistency. To extend the lesson, the elementary students were asked to create a piece of artwork showing brain injury prevention. NDBIN showcased the artwork during their Webinar presentations on Wednesday, March 24th. Attendees voted on their favorite art, with MaKenna Tippet winning the competition with 70% of the votes cast. She won a Lego Helmet, and NDBIN will use her winning poster within some of their resources and possibly a billboard.