The Wisconsin Elementary Health Education Pilot Project: On-Site Interviews of Student Learning and Curricular Integration

Abstract

Abstract Abstract The goal of the Wisconsin Elementary Health Education Pilot Project (Pilot Project) was to demonstrate the impact that health education preparation of experienced elementary teachers (teacher-fellows) and the development of building-level leadership teams can have on the delivery of Comprehensive School Health Education Programs in grades K-6. This article examines what students report learning, and how they received instruction, over an eight month period after the second full year of project implementation. Nine teacher-fellow classroom students, Ss 198, and their control teachers class room students, Ss 201, were queried during on-site visits following an established protocol to elicit data. Teachers also were surveyed using a six point Likert-type scale on their delivery of health content as either specific health lessons/units or through integration processes with non-health subjects. Results indicate that teacher-fellows' students recalled more specific health content, and with greater elaboration of that content, than did control teachers' students. When specific health content was matched to the student outcome strand objectives in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction document, A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Health Education, teacher-fellows' results were matched to 52 more strand objectives than the control teachers. Teacher-fellows also reported using some degree of integration to deliver 91 percent of their health topics compared to 49 percent for control teachers. Additionally, teacher-fellow students recalled their teachers using more interactive, hands-on learning activities in the teaching process than their control counterparts. The discussion of these results includes plausible explanations for these differences as well as other factors influencing the results discovered during the on-site visits. The Pilot Project teachers appear to be implementing a wide range of health topics delivered in an experiential and integrated manner where students are able to recall significantly more variety of health content months later. Investing in the professional preparation of experienced elementary teachers leading to a Master of Science Degree in Health Education is emerging as a viable means to enhancing the delivery system for health instruction in the elementary grades.