CLP 4XXX: Eating Disorders

Transcription

1 CLP 4XXX: Eating Disorders Instructor: Greg J. Neimeyer, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Phone: Office Hours: M W 3 rd period Course Description & Structure Description: Welcome to Eating Disorders. This course is offered as a web-based course. It uses the E- Learning platform and includes online lectures, PowerPoints, and video streaming, as well as interactive quizzes, discussion boards, and course assignments. Everything you need for this course is available online, which means that you will have access to the course 24/7 and can progress through it according to your availability and interest. We will have a final, in-class examination at the end of the course, too, which is described below with all of the other graded aspects of the course. We have developed what we feel is an engaging, interactive, and highly informative educational experience for you, and we are delighted to have you on board. Eating Disorders provides an introduction to the characteristics and criteria associated with a variety of forms of disordered eating. We cover anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorders, and overeating, among others, and overview key features of their causes, presentation, and treatment. Special attention is dedicated to understanding eating disorders in women, men, athletes, and multicultural populations. Attention is given to critical factors in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. These include personality features and family characteristics, as well as sexual orientation, sociocultural, genetic, and family influences. Further, the medical and physiological consequences of eating disorders will be covered. Treatment strategies for those with eating disorders are also reviewed, including: nutritional, psychological, and pharmacological forms of treatment. Finally, strategies for preventing eating disorders will be explored. The causes, conceptualizations, and interventions related to eating disorders can be understood at many different levels, ranging from biological and genetic to sociocultural and political, and our goal is to give you an overview of a broad spectrum of these different perspectives and the scholarly and scientific research literatures that support them. This course is designed for students in health education, nursing, pre-med, dietary science, and counselor education, as well as in psychology, and we are excited to have the opportunity to introduce you to this important area of study. So again, welcome aboard! Structure: The course is structured into a series of sixteen lessons so that you can complete it within the time frame of a traditional semester. Online Quizzes, Tests, In-Class Exam, Assignments and Discussion Boards (discussed below) will be available for you to complete during specific windows of time. These due dates are listed below as well as in the Lesson section of the class and also in the Calendar. Due dates are strictly enforced so please review them and make note of when items are due.

2 To get started, go back to the Home Page and click on the "Lessons" icon. This is where the course materials are located. When you are ready click on Week #1 and get started. If you have any questions or concerns the TA via the link (found on the Tool Bar). To do this go back to the Home Page, click on the icon, click on compose mail, then click on the browse button, choose Jennifer Sullivan in the class list and compose the and send it. The announcement section and the section will be the link between you and the course TA so make sure you are checking both on a regular basis. Due Dates Lessons 1-4 (Assignment, Assessments, and Discussion Board) -. Lessons 5-8 ( Assessments) Test 1 - Lessons 9-12 (Assignment, Assessments, and Discussion Board) -. Knowledge Card Assignment - Lessons ( Assessments) -. Extra Credit Quizzes - Final In Class Exam -. Our goal is to provide you with a balance of structure and freedom so that you can maximize your control over the nature of your learning experience and continue to demonstrate progress in the course at the same time. Both research and experience have shown that distributed learning is much more effective than mass learning (i.e. "cramming"), so we have designed a course that gives you freedom to pursue the former without lapsing into the latter! To assist you in your learning, your course has an assigned Teaching Assistant (T.A.). The role of the T.A. is to help evaluate your assignments, maintain the grade book, and manage the course. If you have questions or concerns please contact your TA first. If necessary she will follow-up with the professor. We have worked hard to design a course that is interactive, engaging, and highly informative, and we welcome your comments, reactions, and participation in it. Course Goals 1. Be able to identify the range of eating disorders, their characteristics and their criteria 2. Be able to describe several factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of disordered patterns of eating 3. Learn how eating disorders manifest in different populations 4. Understand the relationship between aspects of nutrition and emotional disorders 5. Identify several treatment strategies for those with eating disorders 6. Learn ways of preventing eating disorders 7. Become familiar with the professional and scientific literatures related to understanding and treating disordered eating Caveat This course requires considerable ongoing work on your part. It requires the completion of a total

3 of 25 Quizzes, 2 Tests, 2 Discussion Board Assignments, a Book Report, a Nutrition Tracking Assignment, a Personal Project Assignment and a Final Examination. For this reason it is important that you access the course regularly and make consistent progress throughout the semester on it. Do not allow yourself to fall behind. Incomplete grades will only be given under exceptional circumstances requiring documentation of hardship in consultation with the course instructor. Course Materials The following course materials are needed for this class. Please order materials now. Eating Disorders Review & Eating Disorders Today (E-Pack) - Eating Disorders Review (EDR) is a bi-monthly publication that provides short reviews of research in the area of eating disorders. Eating Disorders Today (EDT) is a quarterly publication that combines helpful clinical facts and self-help advice from respected experts in the field of eating disorders. Both publications come bundled together as an e-pack and should be ordered immediately because the first set of quizzes in relation to them occur very early in the course. Distorted: How a Mother and Daughter Unraveled the Truth, the Lies, and the Realities of an Eating Disorder by Lorri Amtosz Benson and Taryn Leigh Benson You will be doing a book report on this book using a form provided within the course. The purpose of this assignment is to give you a first-person account of an eating disorder and its effects on the family. Order this book now so that you will have time to complete it by the time the book report is due. Body Wars: Making Peace with Women s Bodies by Margo Maine, Ph.D. You will have an in-class final exam based on this book. Please get this book at this time and begin reading it according to the course schedule. Topical Schedule Each week s content is oriented around a give topic pertaining to Eating Disorders. These include the following: An Overview of Disordered Eating Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa Binge-Eating Disorder, Compulsive Overeating and Eating Restraint Cross-Cultural Considerations in Eating Disorders Sociocultural Considerations in Eating Disorders Family Issues and Eating Disorders Gender and Eating Disorders Medical Complications and Eating Disorders Contemporary Research on Eating Disorders Prevention of Eating Disorders Treatment of Eating Disorders

4 Course Assignments & Grading Assignments: Lecture Quizzes (Total 150 pts.): 15 multiple choice quizzes (10 pts. each ) based on the weekly presentations. Each audio presentation is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation; associated Quizzes are found in the "Assessment" section of the course. Tests (Total 50 pts.): Two tests worth 25 pts. each will be given. Each test will consist of 25 multiple-choice questions. Test 1 is based on the readings found in Lessons 1-8 from the book, Eating Disorders: A Reference Sourcebook. Test 2 is based on the readings in Lessons 9-15 of the same book. The text from this book are already loaded into your course. Discussion Board Assignments (Total 20 pts.): This class will include the use of two (2) Discussion Board Assignments. These assignments are found in the "Lesson" section of the course and in the Discussion Board. You are required to submit an entry to the Discussion Board for each of the assignments. The goal is to cultivate informed discussion of course material and related experience. We want to draw on the collective interests and experiences that you bring to this course, so please feel free to be an active contributor. We will not be leading the discussions, but we will be monitoring and contributing periodically, so please help make this a valuable part of the course. Eating Disorders Review & Eating Disorders Today Publications & Quizzes (Total 50 pts.): Read the 2007 issues of Eating Disorders Review (6 issues) and the 2007 Eating Disorders Today (4 issues) and complete the associated quizzes found in the "Assessment" section of the course. Each quiz consists of 5 multiple-choice items and is worth a maximum of 5 points in the course, for a total of 50 possible points. Book Report (Total 30 pts.): Read the book, Distorted: How a Mother and Daughter Unraveled the Truth, the Lies, and the Realities of an Eating Disorder, and complete the reaction sheet found in the "Assignment" section. Personal Project (Total 20 pts.): In order to encourage your personal involvement in the course material, you will complete a Personal Project. The Personal Project will consist of developing an original set of 10 "Knowledge Cards" pertaining to the world of disordered eating. The knowledge cards should be approximately the same size as regular playing cards, and should have a picture or other visual feature on one side, and information on the other. You should exercise your creativity in developing your knowledge cards, using this Personal Project as a way to deepen your understanding or relationship to relevant course material. Examples of knowledge cards might include things like 10 famous individuals who have suffered from eating disorders, 10 historical developments in the field of eating disorders, 10 different forms of treatment for eating disorders, 10 different media representations or slogans that promote eating disorders, 10 different treatment centers for eating disorders, 10 different types of eating disorders, 10 diagnostic issues in relation to eating disorders, etc. The point is for you to pursue your own interests and demonstrate your own creativity in relation to this Personal Project.

5 Knowledge Cards will be worth maximum of 20 possible points, and will be judged on the basis of their creativity, information value, and overall quality. Exploring your Nutritional Needs and Tracking your Eating Patterns Assignment (Total 30 pts.): Description and Instructions are found in the Assignment section of the course. Final Examination. (Total 50 pts.): The Final Examination consists of 25 multiple-choice questions based on the book Body Wars. Extra Credit: We have loaded two presentations concerning diagnostic issues in the eating disorders. You can watch each of these presentations for extra-credit and receive up to five (5) points each by taking the quiz associated with that presentation. You can complete these extra credit points at any time during the course, and they are there for you to take advantage of. If you wind up being on the cusp of the next-higher grade in this course, the extra-credit points can make a difference, so I encourage you to complete them as soon as possible. These points get added directly to the final number of points that you accumulate in the course which, in turn, determines your grade in the course. Make-ups: The course includes an extra-credit opportunities in lieu of providing the opportunity for make-ups of missed assignments. No make-ups will be given, except by prior arrangement or subsequent medical documentation. Course Attendance: Course attendance is not taken nor does attendance per se count into your grade. Grading: points: A points: B points: B points: C points: C points: D points: D 251 and below: F For further information on UF's Grading Policy, see: Academic Honesty Online classes are subject to the same guidelines of academic honesty as all on-campus classes. Please review and be familiar with the Student Honor Code, which can be found at Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

6 Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Student s Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the course Instructor when requesting an accommodation. Contact the Disability Resources Center ( for information about available resources for students with disabilities.