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News

NIH’s Role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
NIH is well positioned to fund the best science in pursuit of improving the length and the quality of the lives of our citizens, while at the same time stimulating the economy.


March 06, 2009
OBSSR Hosts Conference on Dissemination, Implementation

As a way to improve public health in a battered world, understanding poverty counts as much as knowing how proteins fold.


March 06, 2009
Research Funders Collaborate To Reduce Childhood Obesity

A new National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) was launched Feb. 19 to accelerate progress on reversing the epidemic of overweight and obesity among U.S. youth.


  More News >>

Calendar

May 26, 2009, ­ 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Building a Bridge: Transitional Programs from the Criminal Justice to the Community Setting for HIV+ Drug Users


May 3-8, 2009
Institute on Systems Science and Health


May 22-25, 2009
Gene-Environment Interplay in Stress and Health at the Association for Psychological Science 21st Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA


July 12-24, 2009
OBSSR/NIH Summer Training Institute on Randomized Clinical Trials Involving Behavioral Interventions


August 2-7, 2009
2009 NIH Summer Institute on Community-Based Participatory Research Targeting the Medically Underserved

Application Deadline: May 15, 2009


August 9, 2009
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): When Academic/Research Institutions Meet the Real World

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Home > Training and Education > NIH Curriculum Supplement for Middle School: The Science of Healthy Behaviors


NIH Curriculum Supplement for Middle School: The Science of Healthy Behaviors

Designed for use in 7th and 8th grade classrooms, this curriculum supplement, sponsored by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, the Office of Science Education and the National Institute of Nursing Research, and developed by Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and SAIC, introduces students to the scientific study of behavior. Through inquiry-based activities, students investigate what behavior is and how it can be studied. They investigate how a variety of factors influence behaviors in complex ways and learn about the long- and short-term health consequences of behaviors.

The lessons in this module help students sharpen their skills in observation, critical thinking, experimental design, and data analysis. They also make connections to other disciplines, including English, mathematics, and the social sciences. The lessons convey to students the purpose of scientific research and how ongoing research affects how we understand the world around us and gives us the foundation for improving choices about our personal health and the health of our community. In this module, students experience how science provides evidence that can be used to understand, prevent and treat human disease.

We designed this curriculum supplement to complement existing life science curricula at both the state and local levels and to be consistent with National Science EducationStandards.(1) It was developed and tested by a team composed of teachers, scientists, medical experts, and other professionals with relevant subject-area expertise from researchers from across the country; representatives from the National Institute of Nursing Research and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research; and curriculum design experts from Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and SAIC. The authors incorporated real scientific data and actual case studies into classroom activities. A three-year development process included geographically dispersed field tests by teachers and students. The NIH curriculum supplements are teacher’s guides to two weeks of lessons on the science behind selected health topics. They combine cutting-edge biomedical discoveries with state-of-the-art instructional practices. HTML and PDF versions of each supplement are online and accessible to all. Print versions are FREE upon request to educators in the U.S.

The NIH Curriculum Supplements
  • Are based on the latest research on how people learn
  • Are consistent with National Science Education Standards
  • Promote critical thinking, teamwork, and problem-solving and communication skills
  • Incorporate real scientific data to engage and challenge students
  • Are aligned to state education standards
Click here to request The Science of Healthy Behaviors or to obtain additional information about it.

1 - In 1996, the National Academy of Sciences released the National Science Education Standards, which outlines what everyone should understand about science by the time they graduate from high school. The Standards encourages teachers to select major science concepts that empower students to use information to solve problems rather than stressing memorization of unrelated information.