FTCE Health K-12 cheat sheet

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease (WHO definition); it is a resource for living, not a goal in itself.

The six priority adolescent risk behaviors targeted by CDC: tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, inadequate physical activity, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that transmit infection or cause pregnancy, and behaviors that cause unintentional injury and violence.

Leading causes of death in the US are heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injury; chronic disease accounts for roughly 7 in 10 deaths, with modifiable behavioral risk factors driving much of that burden.

Communicable disease chain of infection has six links: pathogen, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host; breaking any link halts transmission.

Nutrition standards: MyPlate proportions are half fruits and vegetables, with grains and protein each about one quarter; added sugars should stay under 10% of daily calories and sodium under 2,300 mg/day for most adults.

FITT principle for physical activity prescription: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type; adolescents need 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, including muscle- and bone-strengthening activity three days per week.

Mental health literacy distinguishes stress (external demand) from anxiety (internalized worry); warning signs of suicide risk include talking about being a burden, giving away possessions, and sudden calm after depression.

Substance use facts: alcohol is the most commonly used substance among youth; nicotine is highly addictive; opioid overdose is reversed with naloxone; risk increases with earlier age of first use.

First aid and CPR fundamentals: adult CPR compression rate 100-120 per minute with a depth of at least 2 inches; AED use is safe and should be applied as soon as available; severe bleeding is controlled with direct pressure.

The National Health Education Standards (NHES) number eight: students comprehend concepts, analyze influences, access information and products and services, use interpersonal communication, use decision-making, use goal-setting, practice health-enhancing behaviors, and advocate for health.

The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model has 10 components, including health education, physical education and physical activity, nutrition environment and services, health services, counseling and social and emotional climate, and family engagement.

A skills-based health curriculum organizes units around functional health information paired with a NHES skill, rather than around content topics alone; assessment measures the skill performance, not just recall.

Backward design (Wiggins and McTighe) proceeds in three stages: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences and instruction.

Bloom's revised taxonomy orders cognitive demand as remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create; health skill practice belongs at apply and above.

Formative assessment is used during instruction to adjust teaching; summative assessment measures achievement at the end of a unit; performance tasks and portfolios are authentic assessment tools suited to health skills.

A valid assessment measures what it claims to measure; a reliable assessment yields consistent results across occasions or raters; rubrics improve inter-rater reliability for skill-based tasks.

Differentiation adapts content, process, or product based on readiness, interest, and learning profile; universal design for learning builds multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression into the lesson.

Classroom management for sensitive topics uses pre-established ground rules, anonymous question boxes, and advance notice of content so students can opt out appropriately per policy.

The social ecological model levels are individual, interpersonal, organizational or institutional, community, and public policy; interventions at multiple levels are more effective than single-level ones.

The health belief model predicts behavior from perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action; self-efficacy was added later.

The transtheoretical (stages of change) model stages are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, with termination sometimes added; relapse and recycling through stages are expected.

Social cognitive theory (Bandura) holds that behavior is shaped by reciprocal determinism among personal factors, behavior, and environment; self-efficacy and observational learning are central constructs.

The theory of planned behavior predicts intention from attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; intention is the strongest proximal predictor of behavior.

Social determinants of health include income, education, employment, housing, food security, transportation, and neighborhood safety; they drive health inequities more than individual choice alone.

Protective factors against youth risk behavior include family connectedness, school connectedness, a caring adult relationship, academic engagement, and consistent adult monitoring.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show a dose-response relationship with later chronic disease, substance use, and mental health problems; safe, stable, nurturing relationships buffer the effect.

Media literacy skills for health: identifying the source and sponsor, detecting persuasion techniques, evaluating the evidence behind a claim, and recognizing that correlation does not prove causation.

The seven Areas of Responsibility for health education specialists (NCHEC framework) are assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, advocacy, communication, and leadership and management.

The Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) credential requires meeting education requirements, passing an exam, and recertifying every five years with 75 continuing education contact hours.

The health education code of ethics obliges professionals to do no harm, respect confidentiality and privacy, obtain informed consent, avoid conflicts of interest, and report unethical practice.

Health educators must follow mandated reporting laws for suspected child abuse or neglect and follow school policy on disclosures of self-harm or harm to others.

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records; HIPAA governs protected health information held by covered health care entities; school health records are generally education records under FERPA.

Scope of practice: health educators do not diagnose or treat medical conditions; they refer to qualified providers and work within state certification, licensure, and district policy.

Evidence-based practice in health education means selecting programs supported by research, such as those listed in registries like the What Works Clearinghouse, and adapting with fidelity.

Cultural competence requires recognizing one's own biases, understanding the cultural values of the audience, and adapting materials for language, literacy level, and health literacy; plain-language materials are written near a sixth- to eighth-grade reading level.

Professional development is ongoing: joining professional organizations such as SHAPE America or SOPHE, reading peer-reviewed journals, and using evaluation data to improve programs.