MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
Podcast Description
In this podcast, you will hear from educators and professionals in the field sharing their insights and experiences in the HPE (Health Physical Education) and allied fields. I hope you find this podcast informative, and inspiring. Learn about best practices and tools that you can implement in your teaching practice. We want to know not only what you do, but also the action steps you took to get you where you are. The Status Quo is not in our vocabulary folks, my guests are leaders in the field who are taking action to make an impact in their respective fields. If you have any questions or would like to be a guest on the show email [email protected]"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" Henry Ford
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers various themes in HPE including experiential learning, peer mentoring in mental health, innovative assessment strategies, trauma-informed practices, and the promotion of inclusivity in physical education. Notable episodes feature topics like Dr. Jenny Linker’s 'Let’s Move in Homeschool' initiative and Jill Foley’s peer leadership program aimed at middle schoolers.

In this podcast, you will hear from educators and professionals in the field sharing their insights and experiences in the HPE (Health Physical Education) and allied fields. I hope you find this podcast informative, and inspiring. Learn about best practices and tools that you can implement in your teaching practice. We want to know not only what you do, but also the action steps you took to get you where you are. The Status Quo is not in our vocabulary folks, my guests are leaders in the field who are taking action to make an impact in their respective fields. If you have any questions or would like to be a guest on the show email [email protected]
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” Henry Ford
Health class can’t be a one-and-done unit that ends with a multiple-choice test. We sit down with Mary Connolly, program leader at Bay Path University and Cambridge College, to unpack what skills-based health education really looks like when it’s built on the Massachusetts Health and Physical Education Framework and aligned with social emotional learning (SEL). The goal is simple and ambitious: teach students the skills they’ll actually use to navigate pressure, uncertainty, and real-world health decisions.
We get concrete about the practices behind the approach, including decision making, self-management and goal setting, communication and relationship skills, analyzing influences, accessing valid and reliable information, and self-advocacy. Mary explains why these skills matter even more in a world shaped by AI, advertising, and nonstop misinformation. We also talk about using Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data to focus limited class time on what students are truly facing, from substance use trends to bullying patterns, mental health indicators like feeling sad or hopeless, and the growing concern of teen gambling.
We also dig into implementation: why licensed health educators matter, how districts can strengthen program leadership, and how teachers can plan better lessons using standards language, backward design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and authentic assessment. If you’ve been wondering how to move from “covering content” to coaching skills students can demonstrate, this conversation will give you a clear path forward.
If this helps you rethink health education, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find it.
Contact:
Comprehensive Health in MA
Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected]

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