Drugs & Alcohol in Schools:
Understanding Substance
Use & Abuse
Instructor Name: Dr. Karen Lea
Phone: 509-891-7219
Email: karen_lea@virtualeduc.com
Address: Virtual
Education Software
23403 E Mission Avenue, Suite 220F
Liberty Lake,
WA 99019
Technical Support: support@virtualeduc.com
Welcome
to Drugs & Alcohol in Schools, an
interactive computer-based instruction course, designed to give you a more
comprehensive understanding of alcohol, drugs, and their influences in your
classroom. Drugs & Alcohol in Schools
provides a contextual framework for understanding what students may be experiencing
through their own substance use or the impact of substance use around
them. The course provides a basic
historical perspective of substance use along with descriptions of biological,
psychological, and social factors that comprise the disease of addiction. This program will help you better understand
a multitude of complex dynamics that contribute to this biological and social
phenomenon.
This computer-based instruction course is
a self-supporting program that provides instruction, structured practice, and
evaluation all on your home or school computer.
Technical support information can be found in the Help section of your
course.
Title: Drugs & Alcohol in Schools:
Understanding Substance Use & Abuse
Instructor: Dr. Karen Lea
Publisher:
Virtual Education Software, inc.
2001, Revised 2008, Revised 2010, Revised 2013, Revised 2016, Revised 2019
Academic Work
Academic
work submitted by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests)
shall be the student’s own work or appropriately attributed in part or in whole
to its correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared)
materials as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable.
Aiding Honesty in Others
The individual will encourage honesty in
others by refraining from providing materials or information to another person
with knowledge these materials or information will be used improperly.
Violations
of these academic standards will result in the assignment of a failing grade
and subsequent loss of credit for the course.
Level of Application
This
course is designed to be an informational course, with application in work or
work-related settings. The intervention
strategies were designed to be used in the remediation of alcohol and
drug-related behavioral problems with students ranging in age from
approximately 10 to 18 years. Some alterations may be needed if working with
younger children.
Expected Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this
course students will be able to:
·
Develop a basic understanding of
the “biopsychosocial” nature of addiction
·
Understand the disease concept of
addiction
·
Identify different drugs and their
effects on the body
·
Understand the effects of substance
abuse on child development and family systems
·
Develop a foundation of
understanding of prevention, intervention and supports
Course
Description
Addiction is defined as a
“biopsychosocial” disease. Drugs &
Alcohol in Schools will explore each of these three elements individually,
and then, discuss their interactions and impact on the substance using
person. The information will be further
processed in order to more readily translate that information into practical
application in the classroom. To
establish a broader context for understanding substances and their addictive
qualities, the course will begin with the “social” component of the
“biopsychosocial” disease. This provides
a backdrop that looks at the history of drugs and alcohol in society and what
current societal perceptions prevail.
The second chapter of this course will
address the biological and physiological basis of addiction. Starting with general drug classifications,
we will study specific drugs and their effects.
While understanding the properties of the drugs, we will further examine
what happens to the basic physiology when chemicals are introduced. Finally, after understanding physiological
reactions, we will explore how use progresses into addiction and the evolution
of addiction as a “disease.”
The triad is complete as we examine the
psychological factors impacting the disease.
The main focus of this chapter is a brief study
of child development and the impact on stages of development if the child
begins using substances. Development
will be discussed also in terms of impact due to parental use of chemicals. From these issues, we will further explore
family roles and rules that emerge in the family system.
Since the course is designed to increase your
understanding and awareness of drugs and addiction, the final chapter builds
upon what you have learned and offers options for how to respond. These options look at how to most effectively
and appropriately manage the effects of substance use as it impacts your
students and classroom. A review of
various support groups and resources that are available is included.
As a student you will be expected to:
·
Complete all four information sections showing a competent understanding of the
material presented in each section.
·
Complete all four section examinations, showing a competent understanding of
the material presented. You must obtain
an overall score of 70% or higher,
with no individual exam score below
50%, and successfully complete ALL writing assignments to pass this course. *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by college or
university; therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to determine
what your minimum exam score requirements are.
·
Complete a review of any section on
which your examination score was below 50%.
·
Retake
any examination, after completing an information review, to increase that
examination score to a minimum of 50%, making sure to also be achieving an
overall exam score of a minimum 70% (maximum of three attempts). *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary by college
or university; therefore, you should refer to your course addendum to determine
what your minimum exam score requirements are.
·
Complete all course journal article
and essay writing assignments with the minimum word count shown for each
writing assignment.
·
Complete a course evaluation form
at the end of the course.
Chapter
1: Introduction
Instructor
Video
Introduction
History
What
Are We Facing?
Common
Terms
Use,
Abuse & Addiction
Chapter
2: A Journey Into the Mind
Instructor
Video
Genetics
The
Disease of Addiction
Neurochemistry
Neural
System
Neurons,
Axons and Dendrites
Neurotransmitters
Quest
for Pleasure
Brain
Circuits in Youth
Chapter
3: Substances & Their Effects
Instructor
Video
Alcohol
Alcohol
in the Body
Nicotine
Marijuana
Inhalants
& Hallucinogens
Stimulants
Opiates
Performance
Enhancing Drugs
Over
the Counter & Prescription Drugs
Chapter
4: Wrapping It Up
Instructor Video
What
Now?
What
Else Can I Do?
Conclusion
At the end of each chapter, you will be
expected to complete an examination designed to assess your knowledge. You may
take these exams a total of three times. Your last score will save, not the
highest score. After your third attempt, each examination will lock and not allow
further access. The average from
your exam scores will be printed on your certificate. However, this is not your final grade since
your required writing assignments have not been reviewed. Exceptionally written or poorly written required
writing assignments, or violation of the academic integrity policy in the
course syllabus, will affect your grade. As this is a
self-paced computerized instruction program, you may review course information
as often as necessary. You will not be able to exit any examinations until you
have answered all questions. If you try to exit the exam section before you
complete all questions, your information will be lost. You are expected to
complete the entire exam in one sitting.
Writing
Assignments
All assignments
are reviewed and may impact your final grade.
Exceptionally or poorly written
assignments, or violation of the Academic Integrity Policy (see course syllabus
for policy), will affect your grade. Fifty percent of your grade is determined
by your writing assignments, and your overall exam score determines the other
fifty percent. Refer to the Essay Grading Guidelines which were sent as
an attachment with your original course link. You should also refer to the Course Syllabus Addendum which was sent as
an attachment with your original course link, to determine if you have any
writing assignments in addition to the Critical Thinking Questions (CTQ) and
Journal Article Summations (JAS). If you
do, the Essay Grading Guidelines will
also apply.
Your
writing assignments must meet the minimum word count and are not to include the
question or your final citations as part of your word count. In other words, the question and citations
are not to be used as a means to meet the minimum word
count.
Critical
Thinking Questions
There are four CTQs that you are required
to complete. You will need to write a
minimum of 500 words (maximum 1,000) per essay. You should explain how the information that you gained
from the course will be applied and clearly convey a strong understanding of
the course content as it relates to each CTQ. To view the questions, click on
REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the CTQ that you are ready to complete; this will
bring up a screen where you may enter your essay. Prior to course submission, you may
go back at any point to edit your essay, but you must be certain to click SAVE
once you are done with your edits.
You must
click SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the
course.
Journal
Article Summations
You are required to write, in your own
words, a summary on a total of three peer-reviewed or scholarly journal
articles (one article per JAS), written by an author with a Ph.D., Ed.D. or
similar, on the topic outlined within each JAS section in the “Required Essays”
portion of the course (blogs, abstracts, news articles or similar are not
acceptable). Your article choice must relate specifically to the discussion
topic listed in each individual JAS. You will choose a total of three
relevant articles (one article per JAS) and write a
thorough summary of the information presented in each article (you must
write a minimum of 200 words with a 400
word maximum per JAS). Be sure to provide the URL or the journal name, volume,
date, and any other critical information to allow the facilitator to access and
review each article.
To write your summary, click on REQUIRED
ESSAYS and choose the JAS that you would like to complete. A writing program will automatically launch where you
can write your summary. When you are ready to stop, click SAVE. Prior to course
submission you may go back at any point to edit your summaries but you must be
certain to click SAVE once you are done with your edits. For more information
on the features of this assignment, please consult the HELP menu.
You
must click SAVE before you write another summary or move on to another part of
the course.
Karen Lea holds a Ph.D. in education, has TEFL certification, and is Project Management Professional certified. Dr. Lea has fifteen years’ experience teaching at the K–12 level and another seventeen years’ experience teaching education and leadership courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Currently she is an Assessment Developer at Western Governor's University. Dr. Lea has been professionally published over fifteen times and has served on more than a dozen panels and boards, including serving on the NCATE (CAEP) Board of Examiners.
Contacting the
Instructor
You
may contact the instructor by emailing karen_lea@virtualeduc.com or by
calling (509) 891-7219 Monday through Friday. Calls made during office hours
will be answered within 24 hours. Phone conferences will be limited to ten
minutes per student, per day, given that this is a self-paced instructional
program. Please do not contact the instructor about technical problems, course
glitches, or other issues that involve the operation of the course.
If you have questions or problems related
to the operation of this course, please try everything twice. If the problem persists please check our support pages for FAQs and known
issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help section of your course.
If you need personal assistance
then email support@virtualeduc.com
or call (509) 891-7219. When contacting
technical support, please know your course version number (it is located at the
bottom left side of the Welcome Screen) and your operating
system, and be seated in front of the computer at the time of your
call.
Minimum Computer
Requirements
Please
refer to VESi’s website: www.virtualeduc.com or contact VESi if
you have further questions about the compatibility of your operating system.
Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion
Information, Items to be Submitted and how to submit your completed information.
The addendum will also note any additional course assignments that you may be
required to complete that are not listed in
this syllabus.
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Course content is updated every three years.
Due to this update timeline, some URL links may no longer be active or may have
changed. Please type the title of the organization into the command line of any
Internet browser search window and you will be able to find whether the URL
link is still active or any new link to the corresponding organization's web
home page.
3/13/19 JN