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Heads UP

Market: Recently, it has been reported that students in the United States are testing poorly on standardized tests for skills in science and health. This problem can be exacerbated in middle school and high school, where children/young adults are trying to determine their future direction. Unfortunately, in greater and greater numbers they are not choosing to engage with science, and this trend has the potential to undermine the US’s role as a leader in science and technology.

Competitors and Current Problems: There are numerous programs available to teach children about science and health. However, most of these are designed by large publishers and often the children fail to actually learn what is presented. Going forward, strong programs in this area will present information that children are required to learn, but go the extra step to demonstrate an impact on student interest and achievement in science.

The Technology: To this end, researches at the UT Health Science Center at Houston, have developed the HEADS UP (Health Education and Discovering Science while Unlocking Potential) program. The program contains six modules featuring health science content. The available modules are:

1. Genes, Health & You
2. Diabetes/ Cardiovascular Disease
3. Nutrition/Physical Activity
4. The Nervous System
5. Advanced Genetics; and
6. The Immune System & Infectious Diseases.

The HEADS UP science materials provide middle and high school teachers with cutting-edge health science content designed by field experts and teachers and aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and National Science Education Standards. In a quasi-experimental matched comparison study, HEADS UP demonstrated significant increases in Stanford 10 Achievement test scores in science and interest in science.

UTHSC-H Ref. Nos.: 2008-0026-CR and 2008-0027-CR
UTHSC-H Inventors: Nancy Murray, et al
License Available: non-exclusive worldwide

Download Summary (2008-0026)