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Advice from the field: Teaching the practice of health behaviors

This is an excerpt from Essentials of Teaching Health Education 3rd Edition With HKPropel Access, The by Sarah Benes & Holly Alperin.

By Andy Milne
New Trier High School, Winnetka, Illinois

What is your best strategy for teaching the skill of practicing health behaviors?

Standard 7 of the new National HE Standards has shifted away from avoiding risky behaviors and now provides students with the opportunity to provide evidence of practicing the behaviors needed to support health and well-being. This allows teachers to make their lessons more student-centered than in the past by offering engaging classroom activities that focus on the positive efforts their students are taking, or can take, toward a healthier version of themselves. Standard 7 also encourages students to focus on collective well-being and ways to support the health and well-being of others and the community.

Some ideas for activities for this standard include keeping a regular class journal, which allows students to detail, and reflect upon, the health-enhancing strides that they and their family and caregivers are making. Once teachers have covered a health topic in the classroom, students can be encouraged to find ways to incorporate that topic into their lives. Will they set a goal to become more active? Can they research and identify ways in which to improve their sleep hygiene? Is there an opportunity for them to speak up at the next student meeting to advocate for greater awareness of vaping products, or can they take information about local health disparities back into their community to make change at a local level? Collecting evidence to demonstrate practices and behaviors can be done in so many engaging ways—written documentation, audio recordings (perhaps with family, caregivers, peers, and other community members), photographs, and other digital tools all allow students (and teachers) to store the evidence and share it with others. You could even consider creating individual health portfolios, which can serve as a comprehensive reflection of your students’ commitment to health and well-being for self and others.

What advice do you have for other health educators in the field?

The joy of teaching health is that it can be whatever your students and community need it to be. Once you realize that the National HE Standards have been written to give students the skills needed to enhance their health and the health of others, you can create a curriculum that addresses the specific needs of your school and the local community. If you are struggling with creative and engaging ideas, you should connect with other teachers in the field, on social media, or through your state organization. By reading this book, you are already one step closer to becoming the teacher your students deserve. Good luck.

More Excerpts From Essentials of Teaching Health Education 3rd Edition With HKPropel Access

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