Journal #4

Thus far in my placement, I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience in what it takes to be

a health educator and lead an inclusive and successful health education classroom. In order to do

so in my own classroom one day, I will need to continue to teach skills-based lessons so my

students can learn the skills and tools necessary to live a healthy life. Also, I would like to

develop myself and my skills and take steps that will help further my career such as developing

new skills in technology use, build my professional network, along with obtaining valuable extra

certifications to always further my knowledge and ability to teach. In order to make this happen,

I would need to continue to utilize resources such as technology (their IPads, chromebooks) and

educational resources such as the Guidance Document, and the NYS and National Health

Education Standards, along with various research articles that can help me learn and stay up to

date on best practices in teaching. In order to continue to teach Skills-based, I can attend

professional development both locally, as well as at the NYS AHPERD conferences to gain more

knowledge and insight to incorporate into my classroom.

My one-year PD Action Plan and PD practice readiness are attached to this journal.

Additionally, in my field placement, we are on our last week of the Sexual Education unit, and I

am preparing to teach my second lesson on contraceptives. The students are not currently

working on a project, but have been doing lots of student-driven learning and research on topics

regarding sexual health such as anatomy, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and currently, STI’s.

Some successes are that I am able to attend multiple health classes a day and gain more

experience with different students. This also leads to some challenges, as each class presents

various difficulties in student behavioral management and focus that I have been navigating.

Some challenges have been keeping students engaged and on task in some activities, and to
avoid student to student conflict. In third period, there is a group of students were constantly

bicker and do not always get along. This has been resolved by proximity management, checking

in on them, and even completing some group work and separating the students to different

groups to avoid that issue.

Also, my SBTE has been a huge help in allowing me a fully immersive field experience within

her classrooms and allowing me to have the freedom to teach or try out any lessons or activity

that fit into the unit. I have also learned a ton from her regarding managing resources within the

school environment, navigating administration in the district, and other online and technological

resources that I can incorporate into my future classroom. I’m looking forward to the final stretch

of this placement!

Professional Development Pieces: