1. Health Education Assessment Project
Understanding the Essence of the Skills
Welcome to another module of the Health Education Assessment Project’s online professional development series. This course is designed to build your competence and confidence in providing standards-based, skills-based health education instruction to promote your students’ health literacy.

2. Learning Targets
Describe the National Health Education Standards in relationship to concepts and skills.
Describe criteria that relate to health skills.
Analyze the relationship between criteria, assessment items, and curriculum.
This presentation will emphasize the importance of teaching the health skills identified in the National Health Education Standards.
The relationship between the National Health Education Standards and health concepts and skills will be described.
Criteria that relate to health skills will be described, and
Opportunities for you to analyze the relationship between criteria, assessment items, and curriculum will be provided.

3. Overall Goal: Health Literacy
Health literacy is the capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services, and the competence to use such information and services in ways that enhance health.
— Joint Committee on Health Education Standards
First, it is important to highlight the goal of health education – helping students to achieve health literacy.
The Joint Committee on Health Education Standards defines health literacy as the capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services, and the competence to use such information and services in ways that enhance health.

4. The Big Picture
This graphic you see is from the HEAP’s “Connections” poster. It shows the big picture—the continuum in which assessment can help educators gauge how well students are doing in reaching the academic goals we set.
As you look at this graphic, pretend the academic goal—the standard—is to ensure that students are able to juggle. We then have to create a plan—the curriculum—for teaching kids how to juggle.
Once that is in place, translate the curriculum into practice—that is, classroom instruction. To find out if the chosen curriculum and instruction actually teach students how to juggle, the students’ performance needs to be assessed.
If the assessment indicates students can, indeed, juggle, then the results—the evidence—shows that the teacher is on track and everything is aligned. If the assessment indicates that many students drop the balls most of the time, then some changes may be needed.. That is called “aligning the system” and represents the “big picture”.
Now we are going to go to the micro level and take a close look at the skills students need to learn—and that you need to teach—to develop health literacy.

5. National Health Education Standards (NHES)
One Concept Standard
Standard 1
Standard 1 of the National Health Education Standards specifies the health concepts—such as concepts related to injury prevention, to name just one health topic—that students must learn to develop health literacy. Traditionally, publishing houses and teachers have focused on providing information on, and instruction in, core concepts on health topics. Health skills have not received the same level of attention.

6. National Health Education Standards (NHES)
Seven Skills Standards
Standard 2
Standard 8
Standard 7
Standard 3
In standards-based health education, the emphasis has shifted to helping students develop health skills, not just learn health facts. We realize, for example, that it is not enough for our students to know that smoking is bad for them. Young people also need to develop strong refusal skills so they can say “no”—and more importantly, behave in health-enhancing ways—when a cigarette is offered to them.
In brief, here are the skills standards for the NHES:
Analyzing Influences
Accessing Information
Interpersonal Communication
Decision Making
Goal Setting
Self Management
Advocacy
Standard 6
Standard 4
Standard 5

7. National Health Education Standards (NHES)
This graphic emphasizes the importance of the skills. One standard focuses on concepts and seven standards focus on skills. We want to provide students with opportunities to practice the skills that are most likely to lead to decisions and behaviors that enhance health. Assessing skills are best done through performance assessments. These types of assessments ask students to do something rather than recall simple health facts.

8. Creating Assessments Requires Clear Criteria
Whether you are creating short answer assessments or performance tasks, it is essential to provide clear criteria that let students know just what you are looking for when you ask them to demonstrate health concepts and skills.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is to ensure that you score students only on the criteria you ask for. For example, the scoring criteria for interpersonal communication include showing effective ways to say “no.” But if the assessment item does not specifically ask students to show effective “no” messages, then you cannot score them on that criterion.

9. In the materials section of this module, you will find a copy of the classroom posters. The following eight slides present the criteria for each standard in simple, clear language that students can easily understand.
Many teachers ask their students to keep these easy-to-understand rubrics in a three-ring binder. Such binders allow students to have direct access to assessment criteria in and outside of the classroom.
This slide shows the criteria for assessing core concepts.
Use complete factual information
Be sure the facts are accurate
Show relationship among ideas
Make factual conclusions about health
Also in the materials section of this module is the handout called “Project Options by Skill Area” that you downloaded before starting this module.
This handout is particularly useful for selecting activities that engage students in demonstrating their acquisition of specific health skills. Certain types of activities naturally lend themselves to different health skills. Suggestions are found on this handout.
In thinking about teaching core concepts, what critical questions would you have to ask, in order to help students understand the relationships between health concepts? For example, a tobacco-related relationship would be: If you smoke, you are at higher risk of developing respiratory problems and possibly cancer. A conclusion about health would be – these are serious health problems I do not want and therefore, I will decide not to smoke.
Think about another example of showing relationships and making conclusions about health using another health content area.

10. In order for students to show that they can analyze influences in health, they need to:
Show a variety of influences
Show both internal and external influences
Explain the complexity of the influences, and
Show how the influences affect health choices.
The media, culture, peers, and family are obvious topics for analyzing external influences. But keep in mind that internal influences—such as curiosity, boredom, personal likes and dislikes—often play a big role in decisions students make.
All influences have an effect on health. For example, children who watch parents or other family members engage in regular physical activity are positively influenced to be active. Both cultural exposure and personal likes influence children’s food choices.
In thinking about teaching the skill of analyzing influences, what instructional activities or strategies will help students understand the process of the skill for analyzing influences? The “Project Options by Skill Area” handout might help you think deeply on this question.

11. In order for students to show an accessing information process, they need to:
Identify sources of information
Explain how to find the needed help
Explain and analyze what type of help this source offers, and
Explain and analyze why this is a good source.
Students must validate their sources. The Internet certainly is a quick and easy source of information, but it is not always a good source of information. Students need coaching as to which sites contain factual, valid information. For example, students should search government-sponsored and college or university sites, those with “dot gov” or “dot edu” in the address. In general, they should be cautious about “dot com” sites, which are sponsored by commercial entities.
The last bullet—“Explain why it is a good source”—is particularly important. This criterion requires students to go beyond a simple reference list. It requires students to apply criteria to determine the credibility of the source.
Questions to think about - What are the criteria to establish the validity of a health source? Do I teach this to students? What instructional activities or strategies will help students understand the process of the skill for accessing information?

12. Look at the steps outlined in this slide
Look at the steps outlined in this slide. Students need to use process steps in effective communications skills whether that communication is used with their friends to avoid risky behavior or in talking to health care professionals to promote their own health.
This skill involves developing effective techniques for interpersonal communication, that is, two-way communication with someone else. Use of “I” statements and clear, organized messages are particularly important.
A specific sub-skill for this standard is the use of refusals. Many specific refusal techniques—such as a clear “no”— relate to this sub-skill. One instructional approach for this skill is to provide a script for students to read that illustrates good refusal skills. Then have them write their own scripts or comic strips to practice this skill. Most of the assessments for this standard require students to write scripts.
Interpersonal communication skills are often essential components of conflict resolution or other social skills that have been described in health education literature and research.
• What are some other ways you might teach the skill for interpersonal communication?
• What other skills are considered interpersonal communication skills?

13. The steps outlined on this slide show the process of the decision making skill.
We want students to demonstrate their ability go through a decision making process using a variety of health issues or topic areas. This requires specific practice with life-like decisions.
Questions for teachers to think about -
• Why is it important to teach decision-making skills?
What are some health topics you could use to teach this skill?
• How would you go about teaching the steps for the decision-making skill?
How will you provide students with the opportunity to practice this skill throughout the health education course?

14. As in the decision making skill, goal setting is a skill that requires process steps that are outlined in this classroom poster.
The key activity in this skill is the ability to plan once a goal is identified. An important consideration to keep in mind with this skill is to urge your students to set realistic goals. In addition to a plan to reach a goal, students need to create contingency plans to address changes or obstacles that may arise. The evaluation step is part of contingency planning.
A goal is a dream with a plan - a plan to help make that dream a reality.
Think about how would you teach the process for the goal setting skill? Think about what health topics fit nicely with the goal setting skill.

15. The self management skill applies to all kinds of healthy behaviors, such as regular hand-washing, managing stress, and following safety rules.
First aid techniques are topics that engage self-management skills. It is important for students to put steps in order when they are demonstrating first aid skills. Proper dental hygiene—flossing and brushing teeth—is another topic that engages self-management skills and requires a step-by-step process.
Performance-based assessments on stressors and stress reduction also engage self-management skills.
What other health related examples require students to provide a step-by-step process?

16. In the advocacy skill, students must demonstrate the ability to:
Take a clear stand for a healthy choice
Explain why the stand taken is good for health
Use correct and valid information to support the choice
Show awareness of the audience for the message
Be persuasive, and
Show conviction about the message.
The key element in this skill is persuasion. However, students must take a health-enhancing point of view. This skill lends itself to reinforcing language arts standards for persuasive writing.
Working on this skill can be fun because a variety of expressive approaches can be used, such as the use of posters and pamphlets. But these projects can be more difficult to score.
Other options are letters to the editor or to decision makers—city council members or state legislators—on local topics that interest students, such as an environmental concern, or safety issues in the school or community. .

17. Everything Is Interconnected ...
Skill
Instruction
Student
Work
Prompt/Item
This slide shows how the skill or concept, the prompt (also known as an item or assessment item), student work, and instruction fit together like puzzle pieces to help students acquire and enhance skills that lead to healthy, productive lives.
When talking about prompts, items, and assessment items, keep in mind that all three terms refer to the same thing—a question or task that elicits a student response which demonstrates health knowledge and skills. A prompt can be as simple as a multiple-choice question or as complex as a long-term project involving background research and creation of a brochure or poster.

18. Skill Skill standard for the skill specific criteria
The first piece of the puzzle is to identify the health skill or concept you want your students to learn. You must also identify the specific criteria for the particular concept or skill.
For example, you may want your student to become proficient in goal setting as it relates to their health. You can ask your students to examine the short-term and long-term effects of alcohol and/or drug use by combining it with the goal setting skill. The students can examine this core concept by exploring what effects alcohol and drug use might have on their future goals.

19. Prompt/Item Prompt/Item Use the criteria in a question form.
Ask for student work that demonstrates the criteria.
Prompt/Item
Then you assign a prompt—again, an assessment item—that provides opportunities for students to show what they have learned from the instruction.
If you have access to the HEAP item bank you can explore the bank for a prompt that fits your instructional needs for both health topics aligned to a health skill.

20. Student Work Student Work
products that allow teachers to view and assess students’ application of criteria
The student work is the product of that prompt. It allows you to view and assess how well your students have applied the criteria.
Again, through the HEAP item bank teachers can access scored student work, as examples to analyze, to support their professional development.

21. Instruction Instruction
provides practice using the criteria in the skill
You must also provide instruction on the health skills you want students to learn. This requires appropriate practice with a skill in the same way it will be assessed. For example, if students will be asked to write a script in the assessment, they need script writing practice in the instruction.
Showing instruction as the last piece of the puzzle demonstrates backwards design. This means that we start with the standard and assessment, then put instruction in place to support student learning. This supports the concept of teaching with the end in mind.
We want students to have the skills to obtain, interpret, and understand health information and services and the competence to use such information in ways that enhance health. That’s health literacy and that is the end in mind!

22. Skill Prompt/Item Instruction Student Work What Tools Are Needed?
rubrics
posters
Prompt/Item
item bank coded by skill
Instruction
curricula
text books
Student Work
Anchors
Exemplars
All of these tools are needed to provide skills-based health education that promotes health literacy.
The puzzle piece on student work in this slide also indicates what you need to score student work. You need anchor papers, which are examples of student work that show a mid-point of a score, and exemplar papers, which are examples of scored student work, that cam be used as reference guides to help you select a particular score.

23. What Tools Does HEAP Offer?
Skill
rubrics
posters
Student Work
Anchors
Exemplars
The HEAP provides most of the tools you need to help your students develop skills to promote health. This distance learning course has links to the website that you can review and purchase the HEAP tools if you so choose.
Prompt/Item
item bank coded by skill

24. The Big Picture
In summary, take a look at the “Connections” graphic again to help keep the big picture in mind. Linking standards, curriculum (C), instruction (I), and assessment (A)—the C-I-A connection—helps ensure that students learn the essential skills that are most likely to support them in making safe and healthy decisions regarding their lives and the health of others.

25. Review Activity Read the assessment item below:
“Billy is always punching Joan in the arm when she walks by. Joan’s friends say he likes her. Joan likes Billy, but she doesn’t like his hitting her. Write a dialogue between Joan and Billy in which Joan explains to Billy why she does not like being hit. Include things Joan can say to Billy to get him to stop hitting her without losing his friendship. Also, identify some acceptable ways that Billy could show his friendship in school.”
Identify the part of the prompt that is asking for a core concept
Identify the part of the prompt that is asking for a health skill
Identify that skill
List the instructional activities you would conduct in order for your students to do well on this assessment
Post your response according to the course instructions provided.
Here is your homework activity – Read the following assessment:
“Billy is always punching Joan in the arm when she walks by. Joan’s friends say he likes her. Joan likes Billy, but she doesn’t like his hitting her. Write a dialogue between Joan and Billy in which Joan explains to Billy why she does not like being hit. Include things Joan can say to Billy to get him to stop hitting her without losing his friendship. Also, identify some acceptable ways that Billy could show his friendship in school.”
Identify the part of the prompt that is asking for a core concept
Identify the part of the prompt that is asking for a health skill
Identify that skill
List the instructional activities you would conduct in order for your students to do well on this assessment
Post your response according to the course instructions provided.

26. Final Wish
We hope this module has been instrumental in supporting your efforts to adopt a skills-based, standards-based approach to teaching health education.
This presentation focused on the National Health Education Standards in relationship to concepts and skills; the criteria for the skills identified in the National Health Education Standards; and the relationship between criteria, assessment items, and curricula.
This presentation sought to provide you with a solid grasp of the ways to use the Health Education Assessment Project tools to enhance standards-based instruction that aligns to assessment.
We hope this module has been instrumental in supporting your efforts to adopt a skills-based, standards-based approach to teaching health education.