Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Methods of Teaching Human Sexuality Education (Face-to-Face)

PE 3750-01

Course: PE 3750-01
Credits: 2
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: PEHP
CRN: 11132

Course Description

Emphasis is on what and how to teach human sexuality education in the schools. The course includes an overview of biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of sexuality education. (Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): None

Required Texts

Resources from a variety of sources will be used. Primarily, the Utah State School Board Core Curriculum at: schools.utah.gov and, A Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers on Teaching Human Sexuality. Both High School and Middle School levels. Produced by the Utah State Office of Education.

Learning Outcomes

·         Demonstrate an understanding of unique requirements, state board rules, laws, and aspects of teaching human sexuality in middle and high schools.

·         Demonstrate effective, age appropriate, teaching and learning strategies for human sexuality education including biological, psychological, and emotional aspects.

·         Demonstrate effective, research based, practice in teaching avoidance, identification, and accessing help with unplanned pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections.

·         Articulate your individual teaching philosophy regarding the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of human sexuality.

·         Develop the mindset and skills that promote responsible decision making, particularly in response to negative peer, media, and societal influences that encourage high risk behaviors.

·         Discuss the legal, emotional, and social issues associated with sexual abuse; its prevention and accessing help when it occurs. 



Course Requirements

1.      Peer Teaching: You will teach a lesson on one aspect of human sexuality education to the class. The format and components will be learned prior to teaching. You will develop a lesson plan for the lesson using the outline provided. (100 pts. Teaching, 50 pts. Lesson plan)

2.      Peer and Self Evaluation: You will complete a peer and self-evaluation of the lessons taught using the formative evaluation instrument provided and discussed in class. (50 pts.)

3        Article review: You will select a Human Sexuality Education related article from a scientific or scholarly publication from the topic list approved by the instructor. The article should be of particular interest to you regarding some aspect of the subject matter. You will present the review orally in class using the following format. A hard copy outline handed in:

a-      Introduction: What the article is about.

b-      Purpose: Why the article was written.

c-      Body: What in the article supports its purpose. (statistics, evidence, data, etc.)

d-      Conclusion: How is the article summated?

e-      Opinion: What you thought about the article. Agreed with or disagreed with and what you learned from it or how it influenced you as a prospective Human sexuality education teacher.

f-        Discussion, Q&A. (100 pts.)

4        Written assignments: There will be several written assignments throughout the semester. These may be reflections, opinion papers, quizzes, etc. (20 pts. Each)

Identifying laws, rules, and code governing human sexuality education in Utah

Identifying historical trends in human sexuality education

Biological aspects of human sexuality education

Social aspects of human sexuality education

Psychological aspects of human sexuality education

Curriculum planning- identifying outcomes and units

Curriculum planning- identifying standards and objectives

Developing a lesson plan

5        Tests: Comprehensive midterm and final examinations. (100 pts. Each)

6        Philosophy statement: Write, discuss in class, and submit, your philosophy regarding human sexuality education. (100 pts.)

Course Outline

 | Week 1 Course introduction/syllabus overview. Developing a philosophy of human sexuality education consistent with state law and state board rule.
 | Week 2 Understanding Laws, Rules, and code influencing Human Sexuality Education
 | Week 3 History and current trends in human sexuality education teaching concepts
 | Week 4 Identifying, understanding, and teaching biological aspects of Human Sexuality
 | Week 5 Identifying, understanding, and teaching psychological aspects of Human sexuality
 | Week 6 Identifying, understanding, and teaching sociological aspects of Human Sexuality
 | Week 7 Review and midterm test
 | Week 8 Curriculum Planning- Goals & Objectives, Unit and Lesson Planning, Instructional Strategies, Evaluation
 | Week 9 Curriculum Planning- Goals & Objectives, Unit and Lesson Planning, Instructional Strategies, Evaluation
 | Week 10 Spring Break
 | Week 11 Peer teaching, peer and self-evaluation of teaching and presentations
 | Week 12 Peer teaching, peer and self-evaluation of teaching and presentations
 | Week 13 Peer teaching, peer and self-evaluation of teaching and presentations
 | Week 14 Peer teaching, peer and self-evaluation of teaching and presentations
 |  Week 15 Peer Teaching, Final Test Review
 | Week 16 Final Mon., April 21, 11:00 am- 12:50 pm

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

If something happens requiring you to need additional time on an assignment or submission, you will need to communicate that need to me as soon as possible. Requests for additional time on a submission, after it is already due, will be denied. There is no “make up” work.

Attendance Policy

Class Attendance is Required: If you are registered for a Face-to-Face, Synchronous Remote, Hybrid, or Remote Hybrid course, attendance is required. If you are ill or instructed to isolate or quarantine, you may request a faculty member record the class and share it with you, but evidence of your illness or other status may be required. In order for you to receive academic accommodations and ensure that your request is communicated to faculty, you must submit this self-report form. 

Course Fees

Content for this section will be provided by the instructor.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.