DISCUSSION ESSAY
In order to apply knowledge gained in this course to personal experience and assist in future personal and professional development, you are expected to monitor and attempt a health behavior change in this class throughout the four weeks. It is recommended that you track your behavior for the first week and then choose a specific behavior to change.
Identifying a behavior: Identify a behavior change to be attempted for at least three weeks. Behavior change options include, but are not limited to: starting or significantly changing an exercise program, drastically reducing caffeine intake (if you consume caffeine daily), quitting or reducing tobacco use, adhering to a specific diet plan or meeting specific caloric intake goals, etc. Whichever option you choose, it must be approved by the instructor prior to initiating the behavior change program. You will also identify at least one outcome goal and at least three process goals you will use to achieve the behavior change. Identification of your behavior and goal identification was done via a Week 1 Discussion Board thread.
Behavior Change Paper (4-8 pages): The final behavior change paper is an integration of personal experience and knowledge gained from this course. It should include personal successes and struggles throughout the behavior change process, a discussion of at least one theory of behavior change relevant to your personal experience, discussion of other relevant course content as applicable to your personal experience (e.g., personality characteristics, social influence/support, motivation, perceived benefits, etc.), and future intentions to improve or maintain behavior change and anticipated modifications to the behavior change program.
Directions
Briefly describe your overall experience. Address your attitude, motivation, and specific goals at the onset of the program. As an introduction, this section should include why the behavior was chosen for change, and your state of mind as you began this journey. The introduction should be approximately 1 page in length.
Discuss at least one theoretical model of behavior change and its relevance to your behavior change program. Be specific about how this model can be applied to your specific situation (i.e., discuss specific examples that illustrate how the model can be applied to your behavior change journey). Although, highlight persistent barriers and your success/failure at handling them. If you were successful, what contributed to your success (e.g., coping skills)? If you relapsed, what contributed to that? What could you do differently to overcome the barrier(s) in the future? Theory/Course Content integration should be 2-5 pages in length.
Finally, explain your journey; how did it go? Evaluate your success/failure and contributing factors to your success/failure. Also, discuss your intentions for (dis)continued attempts/maintenance of your behavior change. Where do you see yourself 3 months from now? 6 months? A year? Include modifications you would/intend to make to your goals or strategies to make the change permanent.
Summary and future plans should be 1-2 pages in length.
