Promoting Personal Health and Safety Through the Prevention of Injury and Violence

Course Description

Course Description:

This course is designed for K-12 health educators, school health staff, consultants and community partners to provide a sufficient level of knowledge, skills and resources to teach and support a school’s health curriculum and Injury and Violence Prevention Education Program. The aim is to prevent negative consequences of intentional and unintentional injury, and to prepare educators and professionals to serve as resources for youth, families and school staff within the school’s comprehensive health education and school wellness program. The course content, activities, and course projects are aligned to the National Health Education Knowledge and Performance Standards and the Vermont Rules Governing the Licensing of Educators and the Preparation of Educational Professionals (pp. 125-127). Participants apply the course teachings in a school-based project.

Audience: School Health Education staff, consultants, and community partners with an earned bachelor’s degree.

Course Goals & Objectives

Course Goals:

1. The goal of this course is to provide professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to be prepared to teach injury and violence prevention in elementary and secondary health education programs.
2. Students will develop a deep understanding of mental health concepts.
3. Students will develop an understanding of how mental health impacts trauma on youth, and intentional and unintentional injury prevention concepts.
4. Participants will develop skills of integrating this knowledge into a skill-based health education curriculum for K-12 students.

Course Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will have

1. Acquired knowledge of important information related to intentional and unintentional injury prevention including safety issues and violence prevention, as well as the prevention of bullying, harassment, sexual abuse, and physical and mental/emotional trauma
2. Explored current data, research and resources informing intentional and unintentional injury prevention, and collected and analyzed data to plan relevant school health instruction and programs that meet the diverse needs of all learners and the community
3. Acquired knowledge of school policies related to violence and injury prevention, the roles and responsibilities of school staff in preventing violence and injury, and responding to it, as well as the skills for early intervention and creating a climate in the school and wider community that is responsive to signs of violence and/or trauma
4. Developed a plan for implementation of injury and violence prevention education as part of comprehensive health education
5. Become knowledgeable about the components of a schools’ injury and violence prevention education program and apply the knowledge through a course project.

Required Readings/Resources

Costs for required readings/resources may not be included in the course tuition. Please contact VT-HEC for more information.