Includes Teacher Information and Plans for Professional Development and Training That Enhance Effectiveness of Instruction and Student Learning
Description: An effective health education curriculum is implemented by teachers who have a personal interest in promoting positive health behaviors, believe in and are passionate about what they are teaching, demonstrate knowledge and comfort with curriculum content, and are skilled in implementing expected instructional strategies.
Effective health teachers attend ongoing professional development and training, which is critical for helping them implement a new curriculum or implement strategies that require new skills in teaching or assessment.1
Example 1
For this teaching example, the unit that is being taught is Mental and Emotional Health, and the HBO for this lesson is MEH-5: Use self-control and impulse-control strategies to promote health (HECAT Appendix 3).
1. The teacher would like to gain greater insight related to the classroom management strategies to support social and emotional learning in the classroom with a focus on behavior management. The teacher searches the internet for professional development related to these topics. The teacher locates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website related to classroom management (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/classroom-management/index.htm#print). The teacher uses the link related to behavior management (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/classroom-management/behavior_management.htm) to identify strategies to promote clear and consistent expectations and effectively manage behavior in the classroom. The teacher then creates a lesson in which the teacher and students collaboratively develop classroom rules to support positive, prosocial behaviors.
Example 2
For this teaching example, the unit that is being taught is Violence Prevention, and the HBOs for this unit include V-1: Manage conflict in nonviolent ways, V-2: Manage emotional distress in nonviolent ways, and V-3: Avoid bullying or being a bystander to bullying (HECAT Appendix 3).
1. The teacher would like to gain greater insight related to violence prevention. The teacher talks with the school counselor and social worker about strategies for teaching students knowledge and skills related to conflict resolution, managing emotional distress, and bullying prevention. They search the internet to find a professional development opportunity related to teaching upper-elementary students about violence prevention. They find an opportunity and then ask the principal to send a team composed of teachers, the school counselor, and the social worker to the professional development program. The principal approves their request, and the team attends the program. The team works collaboratively to improve the violence prevention units that they are teaching students in grades 3 to 5.
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