HEPPS: Modeling Excellence: Preparing Future Educators Through Skills-Based Health Education

This presentation describes the redesign of two teacher preparation classes into a single course to better integrate functional health information and skills-based health education. The new course, Foundations of Skills-Based Health Education, immerses future HPE teachers in a model school health classroom experience, simulating the structure and content of quality school health curriculum and pedagogy. Aligned with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, the redesigned course emphasizes acquisition of health content knowledge and development of essential health skills necessary to design and implement effective skills-based health education instruction. Through active, student-centered learning, teacher candidates gain instructional competence and a deeper understanding of how skills-based health education supports students' health and well-being. This curriculum redesign reflects a commitment to preparing future HPE teachers with the knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions necessary to deliver equitable, high-quality health education instruction.