Integrating Virtues as Value Added Elements in Wellness Courses to Change Unhealthy Behavior

What are unexpected benefits of integrating virtues as new elements for students to consider when identifying unhealthy behaviors in wellness courses? How does this innovative approach enhance positive impacts on student learning and promote teaching excellence? This presentation explores the positive impact of the integration of selected virtues on student learning in the University of Oklahoma (OU) wellness course which serves as an undergraduate General Education course and as a required course for Health and Exercise Science-related majors. Students can achieve academic success and simultaneously develop OU virtues, based on the nine virtues introduced by Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing (ISHF) at OU, through the acquisition of content knowledge and skills as a result of course redesign. Upon course completion, students will: Identify specific virtues based on definitions provided by ISHF and Articulate definitions of virtues and how those specific virtues address unhealthy behavior(s) students intend to change/address by course end. Both direct (final writing assignment with grading rubric) and indirect (survey questions) measures were implemented. Over 98% of 47 students in the course applied OU virtues to address unhealthy behaviors. Furthermore, 90% of those students would recommend that their peers learn more about OU virtues as related to Personal Health. As for this presentation, following this session, participants should be able to: Describe strategies for adopting virtues as a value-added element to existing courses in their disciplines and elaborate ways this innovative approach can potentially create an impact on the student learning process and teaching excellence