ACT-Houston
Houston 832-200-0552
Dallas 214-267-2222Austin 1-877-286-0024
Alternative Certification for Teachers
Human Development and Family Studies (Grades 8-12)
Obtaining an alternative teaching certification in human development and family studies for eighth through twelfth graders is a great opportunity to teach life skills in a school environment. Human development and family studies involves topics such as the basic development patterns from birth through the end of life and the skills necessary for successful living. As instructors are likely to find out, the dynamics of human development and family life are far too often assumed to be well known but are in fact misunderstood. With some sound fundamentals, students have the foundation for a better understanding of themselves as well as their family members.
General Coursework
In addition to basic general education courses such as mathematics, science, history and language arts, alternative teaching certification candidates will take education courses for teaching skills. The ability to design lesson plans and create a course plan that is effective, age appropriate and engaging for students while meeting district and even state-wide standards for the subject matter is critical to the success of a human development and family studies instructor.
Subject Specialty Coursework
Human development topics will help students to connect between the features of physical, emotional and cognitive development. The ability to understand why we do and feel things that seem new or different is particular helpful during the fast development time of teenagers. Courses surrounding the actual biology of human development combined with the psychology of it will be requirements. Additionally, the alternative teaching certification candidate will need to have courses in family dynamics. The families of students will typically vary widely but by providing students with the foundations for creating a strong family community regardless of how traditional or untraditional their families may be, the opportunity exists for positively improving the lives of students for the long term.
What to Expect
For teachers of human development and family studies for eighth through twelfth graders, an educator can anticipate that their lesson plans and subject topics may be different depending on current events facing students. The fundamentals and foundations of human development and family studies will provide diverse and potentially engaging topics for students as they connect their own lives to school material.