The Gift of Motherhood, one of CCI’s longest-running titles, has just undergone a significant overhaul. While the content has been regularly reviewed and updated over the years, this time we made key improvements to the content itself while also adding tools for childbirth educators to use in the classroom. In the book, content has been added, the material has been reorganized, and more visual aids like illustrations and infographics have been incorporated throughout.
We also looked at how The Gift of Motherhood could evolve to provide a better experience for the educators as well as learners. To do this, we’ve created a Complete Curriculum Package that includes a bundle of tools to help educators present and reinforce childbirth lessons in a variety of ways. This includes a new Instructor Manual along with a customizable PowerPoint presentation, posters and handouts. Teaching with these tools will help pregnant people and their support partners understand and retain the valuable information they’re learning for when they’ll need it most. Here are some examples of how the tools support best teaching practices.
Making students comfortable and open to learning.
In the Instructor Manual, best practices suggestions include a variety of tips for teaching and communicating with the class. First-time teachers will find helpful tips for managing the classroom and putting the group at ease — like reminders to let the students know up front what will be covered. Educators are also reminded of the importance of staying unbiased in their language and their personal views. It is so important to promote open dialogue so that learners feel comfortable asking questions in class without feeling judged.
Using hands-on activities to reinforce learning.
Studies have shown that active learning helps with knowledge retention. That’s why we’ve included instructions for a variety of interactive exercises. For example, one activity lets participants physically experience the concepts of the Gate Control Theory and the Fear-Tension-Pain Cycle in a controlled setting. They’ll learn about their own pain tolerances and reactions to pain and also understand how tiny changes can make a big impact on their perception of pain.
Employing visual aids for repetition and deeper understanding.
Colorful posters on important topics offer additional visual aids for the classroom. We’ve created individual posters for pregnancy anatomy, pushing positions, labor positions, newborn characteristics and safe sleep. This makes it easy to refer to the content at any time and for students to have constant reminders of some of the most valuable class concepts. Some of the activities involve anatomical models, which also helps increase understanding.
Engaging students with multimedia and tracking tools.
Using brief videos of real pregnant people incorporated into the PowerPoint presentation, instructors can make the theoretical become real to their students. Those videos are also available in YoMingo, the digital platform for The Gift of Motherhood, along with interactive tools like the Kick Counter and Contraction Timer—which will both be valuable for information gathering when the time comes to use them.
Customizable tools offer flexibility.
We built flexibility into the tools so educators can adapt them to their teaching. Seasoned teachers who have their own handouts or activity guides can easily add them into their Instructor Manual 3-ring binder. It’s also easy to rearrange the lesson order to suit any educator’s needs. The same goes for the PowerPoint presentation. New teachers may wish to use it as-is and follow the order of the book at first. But anyone can rearrange the slide order to suit their syllabus, add new slides or delete others.
The Gift of Motherhood Complete Curriculum Package was created specifically to help educators—whether new or experienced, familiar with The Gift of Motherhood or not—teach childbirth lessons more effectively without having to track down or create their own teaching tools.
If you’re interested in learning more about the newest curriculum content and tools bundle, call us at 800-476-2253.
