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 Food and Nutrition, and the HBOs for the unit are FN-3: Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, FN-4: Choose to eat whole-grain products, FN-5: Choose to eat or drink fat-free or low-fat dairy or fortified-dairy alternatives, FN-6: Drink lots of water, FN-7: Avoid sugary drinks, FN-8: Limit foods high in added sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium, and FN-9: Choose to eat or drink nutrient-dense foods and beverages when dining (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. The high school health teacher has limited knowledge about food and nutrition. The health teacher searches to find a professional development opportunity related to teaching high school students about food and nutrition and finds one that looks interesting that is being conducted in 2 weeks. The health teacher seeks approval from the principal to attend the professional development, and approval is granted. The health teacher attends the food and nutrition professional development and uses the knowledge and skills that were learned to improve the food and nutrition lessons that are going to be taught to the high school students.

Example 2

For this teaching example, the focus is on the entire semester-long health class.

1. The principal conducted a teaching evaluation on the health teacher and identified the following areas in need of improvement.
   1. There was a lack of organization and preparation.
   2. The lesson was too teacher centered — students need to be engaged throughout the lesson.
2. The health teacher decided to take the following actions to improve the areas of weakness.
   1. The health teacher stayed after school each day and prepared for the next day’s lesson. This included printing and organizing any needed materials for the lesson, rehearsing the lesson several times, and thinking about and anticipating student questions related to the lesson. In addition, the health teacher reflected on the lesson after it was taught and identified areas of strengths and ways to improve the lesson the next time it was taught.
   2. The health teacher researched student-engagement activities and made a commitment to add additional student-centered activities into future lessons.

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