Herbal Tea Health Education Workshops

Heartland Community College | Herbal Tea 101 & Herbal Tea 102

Practicum Overview

During my practicum I was able to utilize my knowledge of health promotion and adult education principles in the planning and implementation of the Herbal Tea 101 and Herbal Tea 102 programs at Heartland Community College. This included program planning, research, curriculum planning, evaluation of promotional materials, creating educational resources, facilitating workshops, working with participants and analyzing participant feedback.

Workshops were designed both to provide participants with practical, evidence-based information on herbal teas and to provide an interactive forum for exploring herbs, learning key issues of preparation and safety, and building confidence in making sound decisions about herbal products.

What My Practicum Entailed

Planning & Program Development
Worked with Heartland Community College staff to plan Herbal Tea 101 and Herbal Tea 102 and reviewed promotional materials for the workshops.

Research & Curriculum Development
Researched herbal tea content and developed structured lesson plans, educational materials, learning activities, and participant experiences.

Instructor Preparation
Reviewed Heartland Community College instructor resources and expectations in preparation for delivering continuing-education workshops.

Workshop Facilitation
Taught Herbal Tea 101 and Herbal Tea 102 through instruction, discussion, sensory learning, demonstration, and hands-on participation.

Evaluation & Improvement
Reviewed participant feedback from the first workshop and modified follow-up instruction and the second workshop as appropriate.

Health Promotion Approach

My practicum was guided by principles of health education rather than a specific behavioral theory. The workshops were designed to provide participants with practical, clear, evidence-informed information that they could use in their everyday lives. Educational strategies included discussion, demonstration, sensory evaluation, hands-on activities, and the opportunity to create their own herbal tea blends.

Health literacy was a critical component of the approach. Information on herbs, preparation methods, brewing methods, traditional uses and safety considerations was presented in an accessible and pragmatic manner. The workshops also encouraged participants to ask questions and to make informed choices about the herbal products they consume.

Health Promotion Skills Applied

What Worked Best

One of the most successful aspects of the practicum was the hands-on sessions. Participants were able to make a connection between what they learned in the classroom and a tactile experience, rather than just listening to a lecture. Demonstrations, discussions, sensory evaluations and opportunities to explore herbal ingredients created an interactive learning environment and encouraged questions from participants.

Biggest Challenge

One of the toughest parts was determining how much information could feasibly be covered in one workshop and still leave time for questions and hands-on experience. Herbal medicine is a broad subject area and participants often asked questions about particular plants, health conditions, medications, and personal health goals. This highlighted the importance of keeping an appropriate educational framework and allowing for individual medical questions to be directed to qualified healthcare providers.

What Surprised Me Most

I was surprised by the participants’ interest in the practical use of herbs and the variety of questions asked during the workshops. Many people were not just interested in how to make herbal tea but also in understanding why certain herbs are used and how they can make better choices when buying or preparing herbal products. This demonstrated the value of accessible community-based education in an area where consumers are often exposed to incomplete or conflicting health information.

Lessons Learned & Advice

One of the most important lessons from the practicum was the need to design education around the learner rather than around the amount of information the instructor wants to present. Future health educators will need to allow enough time for interaction, expect different levels of prior knowledge, provide clear take-home materials and be flexible enough to respond to participants but still meet the learning objectives.

I would also recommend the pilot-testing of activities where possible and building evaluation into the program from the beginning instead of thinking of feedback as something that happens only after instruction is over.

 

How I Would Change the Program in the Future

In future workshops I would add more structured assessment before and after the session to better measure changes in participant knowledge and confidence. I would also provide more participant materials to use after the workshop, expand opportunities for hands-on learning, and consider developing a progressive series of workshops so participants could move from introductory concepts into more advanced topics rather than trying to cover too much information in a single session.

Additional Study & Resources

Additional resources that would enhance future workshops include continued review of current evidence of herbal safety and herb-drug interactions, development of standardized participant handouts and assessment tools, and further training in adult education and community health program evaluation. Collaboration with pharmacists, dietitians, herbal medicine professionals, and other healthcare professionals could also strengthen the interdisciplinary perspective of future programs.