What is FUSED?
'THE' FUSED Toolbox | Designed to Locate All Things Health Education!
'THE' FUSED Toolbox | Designed to Locate All Things Health Education!
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WHAT is FUSED?
‘THE’ FUSED Technique is a pedagogical approach to teaching K-12 health education blending the best aspects from the Standards-based Health Education and the Skills-based Health Teaching models. The most current recommended teaching approach, from SHAPE America, for teaching K-12 health is “Skill-Based Health Education.” However, as previously stated, a common challenge we see is that the gap between the standards- and skill-based unit topics is too wide. Many health educators struggle to wrap their heads around transitioning from content units to exclusively skill units. To help mitigate that problem, we developed an eclectic approach that will act as a bridge between the models that connect the Standards-Based and Skill-Based most effective practices. ‘THE’ FUSED Technique was created for this reason.
The name FUSED is an acronym that stands for
Functional (Data-Driven) Information
Using HBOs &
Skill-based cues
Engaging teaching strategies for
Daily application developing health literate K-12 students
Image created by FUSED in Canva Magic
Images created by FUSED in Canva Magic
It is not just content anymore!
Images created by FUSED in Canva Magic
Step A: Tie in learning objectives when introducing lesson content and CUEs with definition and relevance.
Step B: Present the CUEs.
Step C: Model the CUE and demonstrate how to use the CUE within the lesson content.
Step D: Practice the CUE (Large Group- We do) and provide feedback on how the CUE was used within the lesson content: Check for Miss-Understanding (C4Miss-U).
Step E: Practice (Small Groups- Ya'll do) and provide feedback on how the CUE was used within the lesson content: C4Miss-U.
Step F: Continue Practice (Large group- Small groups - Individual) and provide feedback on how the CUE was used within the lesson content: C4Miss-U.
Step G: Assess Mastery of CUE and lesson content with congruent feedback.
Images created by FUSED in Canva Magic
All Images created by FUSED in Canva Magic
This is a mini-series of articles submitted to JOPERD; many rewrites are in progress.
When the published date is known, the website will share links to the published articles.
THE FUSED health education series was developed as a one-stop guide for developing a quality curriculum for teaching health education. This first, two-part article introduces a new approach to teac...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2024). Series Introduction. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 95(8), 8–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2411899
THE FUSED health education series was developed as a one-stop guide for developing a quality curriculum for teaching health education. This first, two-part article introduces a new approach to teac...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2024). Introducing THE FUSED Technique to Teaching Health Education—Part 1. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 95(8), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2373201
Part 1 of this article described THE FUSED Technique (Ford & Knutson, 2024) as a new pedagogical approach to teaching K–12 health education, blending or fusing the best aspects from the standards-b...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2024). Introducing The FUSED Technique to Teaching Health Education—Part 2. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 95(8), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2375954
When designing a curriculum, researching lessons, or providing quality information in a health class, where does one even start? Many people recommend starting by looking at professional organizati...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2024). Let’s Have a SPA Day Every Day! Organizations and Specialized Professional Associations. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 95(9), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2396292
As part of THE FUSED Health Education Series, this article takes a deep dive into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curriculum....
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2025). Adding Character to Our Health Education Curriculum—Part 1. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 96(1), 53–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2418054
As part of THE FUSED Health Education Series, this article takes a deep dive into the Centers for Disease Control's 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curriculum. The Characteristics ...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2025). Adding Character to Our Health Education Curriculum—Part 2. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 96(2), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2438023
As part of THE FUSED Health Education Series, this article takes a deep dive into the Centers for Disease Control’s 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curriculum. The Characteristics ...
doi.org
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2025). Adding Character to Our Health Education Curriculum and Lessons — Part 3. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 96(3), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2024.2446443
As part of the FUSED Health Education Series, this article outlines three critical health curriculum development and design aspects: standards, statutes, and data. Important documents and resources are provided for each element supporting and advocating health education. All health educators must familiarize themselves with and incorporate these aspects before starting to design a health education curriculum, as combining these critical aspects is an essential part of the curriculum-design process when building a FUSED unit. This article highlights the practice of being “purposeful and intentional” by designing a curriculum with specific lessons and activities grounded in the current standards, laws, and data-based statistics outlining students’ needs.
Ford, K. M., & Knutson, J. M. (2025). Standards, Statutes, and Data for Curriculum Development. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 96(4), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2025.2455710
THE FUSED Health Education Series
THE FUSED Health Education Series
THE FUSED Health Education Series
DRAFT- Citation TBD