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Some teachers who use HealthCenter21 end up disappointed that it doesn’t cover every health science topic with the depth they want. Though HealthCenter21 is robust, it has its limitations when it comes to more specialized courses.
To counteract this, AES often suggests teachers use supplemental resources with HealthCenter21 to teach advanced courses more completely. So where should you start? What supplemental materials are out there? Which resources would be the right fit for your classroom?
In this article, you’ll discover 3 health science resources that teachers often use to supplement HealthCenter21:
- DHO Health Science
- NHA Test Prep
- NCHSE Curriculum Enhancements
By the end of this article, you’ll know why these resources work well with AES, and how you can use them in your classroom.
1. DHO Health Science
DHO Health Science is one of the most well-known textbooks for teachers introducing their students to health science careers. The first part of the book teaches foundational concepts that any healthcare professional should know, while the second part covers more specialized skills needed for specific healthcare careers.
Teachers have embraced DHO because it includes valuable information about healthcare occupations and medical procedures. For each procedure, learners receive step-by-step instructions, clearly linked to other content in the book.
With the level of detail DHO provides, instructors can be confident their learners are receiving accurate information that will prepare them for certification tests and their future careers.
How Can You Use DHO alongside AES?
DHO can be used alongside HealthCenter21 to teach introductory health science courses, including:
- Introduction to Health Science
- Health Science I
- Health Science Foundations
- Principles of Health Science
- Health Careers I
DHO and AES typically cover much of the same material when teaching these foundational classes. That means you can interchange them in class to differentiate your instruction and vary your material to keep students engaged.
Teachers have seen success with this in a few different ways:
- Have students read a chapter in DHO, then go on to complete relevant lessons, worksheets, and quizzes in HealthCenter21. This better engages students, and allows them to work independently so that teachers can spend more time one-on-one with students who need it.
- Give lectures based on content within DHO. Then have students bring up a relevant AES online worksheet and follow along with the worksheet in front of them, filling it out as the lecture proceeds. At the end of the lecture, students submit the worksheet so the teacher can see who was following along.
- Use DHO for primary instruction, but if students lose focus, switch to HealthCenter21 to regain their attention.
All in all, AES and DHO complement each other well, and by using both in class, you gain a level of flexibility that you wouldn’t have with either on their own.
Need more information on using AES and DHO together? Check out this article: How to Use AES and DHO in CTE Health Science Courses
2. NHA Test Prep
The NHA test prep materials are test-plan-specific resources that prepare students to take NHA certification exams like the CCMA, CPT, CPhT, and more. For each health science certification, NHA offers the following resources to maximize a student’s chance of passing:
- An online study guide
- A printed study guide
- An online practice test
- A package with online study guide and practice test
Each resource focuses on the specific skills and knowledge a student must have to pass their NHA certification exam.
For instance, the study guides are a great way for students to review course material leading up to exam day. The online study guides include practice and videos to reinforce concepts.
On the other hand, the practice tests help you gauge a student’s readiness for the exam. If a student struggles with a particular area on the practice test, they can do a focused review based on personalized study recommendations from NHA.
How Can You Use NHA Test Prep alongside AES?
While the test prep materials NHA provides are practical and subject-specific, they aren’t a substitute for a comprehensive health science curriculum. After all, these materials are intended to help students directly prepare for an exam---not teach them the knowledge they should have been learning for the entirety of the course.
HealthCenter21, on the other hand, is a full-fledged health science curriculum that can be used to teach students foundational skills and knowledge. It will help students master the essential health science material they’ll need to pursue whichever health career they choose.
To successfully use AES and NHA test prep alongside each other, teach most of your course using HealthCenter21, and save the NHA test prep materials for the last week or two of class. This way, your students learn most everything they need from HealthCenter21, and then they can use NHA’s materials to directly prepare for their exams.
Want more information on using NHA test prep and AES together? Check out this article: Why NHA Test Prep With AES Creates the Best Path to Student Success
3. NCHSE Curriculum Enhancements
NCHSE’s Health Science Curriculum Enhancements are a collection of classroom resources teachers can draw upon to reinforce their health science course curriculum.
These Enhancements are intended to help instructors teach foundational health science courses, and include hundreds of materials, such as:
- Lesson outlines
- PowerPoint presentations
- Classroom activities
- Digital assessments
- And more
Altogether, the Enhancements serve as a library of supplemental materials you can use to add variety to your course, shore up areas where your curriculum is lacking, and provide more flexibility in the classroom.
How Can You Use the NCHSE Enhancements with AES?
It’s important to remember that the NCHSE Enhancements are meant to serve as a supplemental resource, and therefore weren’t designed to be used on their own. Instead, they are intended to “enhance” a more comprehensive core curriculum like HealthCenter21.
In fact, the Enhancements were designed with HealthCenter21 in mind, and both resources complement each other well when used together in a health science class.
There are a few ways you can use the two resources together to enhance your class:
- Flipping your classroom - Some teachers assign students AES or NCHSE lessons to complete outside of class. Then, when students come into class, they’ll already have learned what they need to, and the teacher can spend that valuable class time focusing on skill development or projects. Because both NCHSE and AES are blended learning resources, they work well for students to take lessons independently.
- Ensuring students catch up - Often, students wind up sick and unable to come to class. Instead of missing out on lectures and falling behind, AES and NCHSE provide students with all the materials they need to learn on their own. Using both resources, students can watch lessons and complete assignments entirely from home.
- Prepping students for certifications - Both AES and the NCHSE Enhancements cover much of the same material, which makes them valuable when preparing students to take certification exams. The flexibility gained when combining these resources can also make your class more engaging for students, which may help them score higher on their exams.
When you combine these resources, you gain access to a wealth of material to help you teach several different subjects, including introductory health science courses, career readiness units, anatomy and physiology units, and CPR units.
Need More Help Teaching with HealthCenter21?
In this article, you’ve learned about some of the best supplemental resources to use alongside HealthCenter21. These resources complement AES well, creating a more well-rounded educational experience for students.
However, this article only goes into how to use supplemental resources with AES. If you need further guidance on planning your classes to make the most of HealthCenter21, then check out the AES Teacher’s Guide!
This comprehensive guide will help you better implement HealthCenter21 in your classroom. Along the way, it will cover topics like the kinds of materials AES provides and how to use the four-phase structure in class:
