For the Teachers
The Teacher Enrichment Initiatives (TEI) involve partnerships between UT Health San Antonio researchers and health professionals and San Antonio area school teachers. All curricula are FREE to download on this website!
Teacher Enrichment Initiatives is a Benefit to Teachers
The curriculum (1) is based on cutting edge research, (2) has classroom ready materials, (3) is in an interdisciplinary format, and (4) is aligned with state and national standards.
Lessons Based on Cutting Edge Research
All of the curricular materials have been created through partnerships between scientists from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and K-12 teachers from the San Antonio area. The teachers and scientists collaborate together to create exciting and engaging interdisciplinary lessons and activities based on the Gerontologic Sciences and Health Sciences. Lessons are continually being updated and edited.
Classroom Ready Materials
The curriculum consists of over 350 activities divided by health science topics. Background information on the rationale and objectives for each lesson and activity are provided. Units/lessons/activities have pre/post tests with answer keys. Each of the activities have background information pages for teachers and students, answer keys for teachers, and handouts and worksheets for students. Many activities require minimal preparation from the teacher since all handouts and worksheets are provided.
Interdisciplinary Units and Lessons
The curriculum has been designed for use by interdisciplinary teams. Units contain thematic lessons that include several activities. However, individual teachers may use the lessons or activities as stand alone projects.
Alignment with State and National Educational Standards
The curriculum has been written with national educational standards in mind using various education and community health initiatives such as: Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, Healthy People 2000 and 2010, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Benchmarks for Science Literacy, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Dimensions of Thinking and Dimensions of Learning, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. All of the activities have been coded to the Texas state standards: the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Teacher Enrichment Leadership Academy
The Teacher Enrichment Leadership Academy (TELA) focuses on the teacher – the primary fulcrum for student success. Hosted by the Teacher Enrichment Initiatives in the Department of Pharmacology at The UT Health San Antonio, the TELA seeks to empower Bexar County area school teachers. TELA teachers will find networking opportunities, share best practices, and quality instructional materials while engaging in collegial discussions about emerging strategies and trends that impact education professionals.