NBPTS Health Ed key terms

The capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make informed health decisions and take action on them.

A framework of eight standards describing what students should know and be able to do in health education, organized around functional knowledge and skill development rather than topic coverage.

Information that is accurate, directly usable, and personally relevant enough to shape decisions and behavior, as opposed to trivia retained only for a test.

The core content areas (such as nutrition, disease prevention, mental health, substance use, and injury prevention) that anchor a comprehensive, sequential health curriculum.

Teaching that develops observable, practicing competencies such as analyzing influences, accessing resources, communicating, decision making, goal setting, and advocacy, rather than relying on knowledge transmission alone.

Grade-span-specific statements describing what learners should demonstrate to show progress toward a broader standard, used to plan instruction and design assessment tasks.

A curriculum map that specifies which health topics and skills are taught at each grade level and how they build in complexity across the school years.

A design in which key concepts and skills are revisited at increasing depth and maturity across grade levels so learning is reinforced rather than taught once.

Temporary instructional supports, such as models, prompts, or guided practice, that are gradually removed as learners gain independence with a skill.

A learner's belief in their own capability to perform a specific behavior successfully, which strongly predicts whether they will attempt and persist at health-promoting actions.

The ability to speak up for one's own needs, ask questions of health providers, refuse unsafe situations, and seek help from trusted adults.

Rehearsed verbal and nonverbal strategies for declining risky offers while maintaining relationships, typically practiced through role-play and scenario work.

Structured practice in which students act out realistic health scenarios to build fluency with communication, refusal, and negotiation skills before real-world use.

A stepwise framework (identify the problem, gather information, weigh options and consequences, choose, act, evaluate) that students apply to health-related choices.

A structured approach to selecting a health goal, identifying barriers and supports, writing measurable action steps, and monitoring progress over time.

A written, student-authored document specifying a health goal, specific steps, timelines, resources, and ways to track and revise progress.

A health education skill in which students examine how family, peers, media, culture, and social norms shape health behaviors and then plan how to respond.

Perceived or actual standards of behavior within a group; correcting exaggerated beliefs about peer risk behavior is a common strategy for reducing harmful conduct.

The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages, including recognizing persuasion techniques and health misinformation.

The skill of locating, judging the credibility of, and using health information and services, including evaluating sources for accuracy and bias.

The skill of exchanging health-related information clearly and respectfully, including listening, asserting needs, negotiating, and seeking or offering help.

A behavior-change theory holding that personal, behavioral, and environmental factors interact, with observational learning, reinforcement, and self-efficacy central to change.

A framework explaining preventive behavior through perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy.

A stage-based model describing movement through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and sometimes termination when adopting a health behavior.

A person-centered counseling style that uses open questions, reflective listening, and affirmation to strengthen a learner's own reasons for change rather than arguing or advising.

A pragmatic approach that aims to reduce the negative consequences of risky behavior without requiring abstinence as a precondition for support.

Instruction and classroom management that recognize the prevalence of trauma, prioritize safety and predictability, avoid re-traumatization, and build student choice and trust.

A learning environment in which ground rules, confidentiality norms, and respect for diverse identities allow candid discussion of sensitive health topics without shame or exposure.

Designing instruction that reflects students' cultures, languages, values, and communities, and examining how culture shapes health beliefs and practices.

Deliberate partnership with caregivers and community organizations to reinforce health learning, share resources, and align messages students receive across settings.

An organized approach linking health education with services such as school nursing, counseling, nutrition, and physical activity programs to address student health comprehensively.

A framework organizing ten components, from health education and physical education to family engagement and community involvement, around the whole child and shared accountability.

Ongoing checks during instruction, such as exit tickets, observations, and self-assessments, used to adjust teaching and give learners feedback before summative evaluation.

An evaluation task requiring students to apply health skills to a realistic scenario, judged with criteria such as a rubric, rather than recall items alone.

A scoring guide listing criteria and levels of quality so that judgments about student skill performance are transparent, consistent, and usable as feedback.

Adjusting content, process, or product in response to learner readiness, interests, and needs so that all students can access and demonstrate health learning.

A proactive planning framework offering multiple means of engagement, representation, and action or expression so varied learners can succeed without retrofitted accommodations.

Systematically examining one's own teaching decisions, student evidence, and assumptions to improve instruction and to document professional growth for National Board certification.

A collaborative team of educators who meet regularly to examine student work and data, share practice, and hold one another accountable for improved learning.