SIECUS’ policy team brings to bear 55 years of research-based expertise on comprehensive sex education to ensure that public policies reflect best practices and current research in support of our nation’s young people. Our agenda is simple: SIECUS advances comprehensive sexuality education as a means of building a foundation for a long-term culture shift that will positively impact all levels of society, particularly issues of gender equity, sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, consent, personal safety, and autonomy. Through technical assistance to states, SIECUS’ staff support states in educating advocates and policymakers about providing rights-based sexuality information and education at the federal, state, and local levels and leading, strengthening, and developing partnerships with other organizations, coalitions, and initiatives to advance policies that promote positive sexual and reproductive health outcomes across the lifespan. Technical assistance is focused on meeting a state’s immediate needs in a timely way.
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To locate trainings in your area, use the search fields above. You can search by topic, state, grade band, type of training, as well as in-person or online.
Training Hub
The Sex Education Collaborative Training Hub lists trainings for sex educators, facilitators, and other professionals on best practices for sharing important information with clients and the public. From teaching anatomy inclusively to effectively addressing bias in the classroom to addressing racial justice and equity in sex education, the Training Hub includes trainings, technical assistance, and policy support from state, regional, and national leaders in the field of sex education.
Please note: The Training Hub includes both in-person and online professional trainings. If you see a training you are interested in and it isn’t listed as virtual, please reach out directly to any of our members to find out what's possible!
Trainings Offered by State-Based and National Organizations
Displaying results 56 - 60 of 130
Virtual PD - Using Medically Accurate Terms When Teaching Sex Education
Virtual Professional Development is a simulated classroom where teachers can practice teaching student avatars using short scenarios and support from an instructional coach, so they can quickly learn and master the skills they most need to be effective. With upper elementary, middle and high school classrooms, Virtual PD has scenarios for teachers of all grade levels across a wide range of topics aligned with the Professional Learning Standards for Sex Education (PLSSE). You can watch the video here (link is external) to learn more about Virtual PD.
Using the Virtual Professional Development classroom simulator, the educator will practice Using Medically Accurate Terms When Teaching Sex Education with the student avatars. In this scenario, the educator will soon be starting a unit on puberty with their students. One of the points they want to stress with their students is the importance of using medically accurate names for body parts, including reproductive anatomy and external genitalia. In this simulation with five students, the participant will need to demonstrate the ability to use medically accurate terms and explain the benefits of teaching these to students.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate the ability to use medically accurate terms for sexual and reproductive anatomy, including all external genitals. (S)
Puberty 101: Teaching about the Birds and the Bees
Puberty is a time of physical, emotional, and social changes that can cause some young people great angst. Equipping students with the knowledge and skills about these changes can help them navigate through this challenging time and emerge strong, happy, and healthy. This workshop will provide you with a number of lessons to teach students about the changes of puberty, and will help you improve your skills on addressing this sensitive topic in an inclusive way. This workshop can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your group, school, or agency. All content is aligned with the National Sexuality Education Standards, the National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education, and the Professional Learning Standards for Sex Education.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate three student-centered instructional approaches that support a variety of learning styles. (S)
- Indicator 2 (K-12): List three physical, three social, and three emotional changes that occur during puberty.
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Identify three practices that students can adopt for maintaining healthy habits beginning during puberty.
Virtual PD - Managing Personal Boundaries and Disclosure
Virtual Professional Development is a simulated classroom where teachers can practice teaching student avatars using short scenarios and support from an instructional coach, so they can quickly learn and master the skills they most need to be effective. With upper elementary, middle and high school classrooms, Virtual PD has scenarios for teachers of all grade levels across a wide range of topics aligned with the Professional Learning Standards for Sex Education (PLSSE). You can watch the video here (link is external) to learn more about Virtual PD.
Using the Virtual Professional Development simulated classroom, the educator will practice Managing Personal Boundaries and Disclosure When Teaching Sex Ed with the student avatars. In this VPD scenario, the educator will introduce the topic of reproduction and pregnancy with an established classroom community. In this simulation with the five students, the educator will ask students to talk with a partner about myths they’ve heard related to pregnancy prevention and then have each student report back sharing one myth with the class. The participant will need to demonstrate the ability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries when teaching about sexuality.
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Demonstrate how to reduce the impact of educators’ passive and/or active personal disclosure on the educational environment. (S)
Cultural Humility
As youth-serving professionals, we play a critical role in empowering young people by ensuring that they are equipped with the education, skills, support, agency, and resources needed to live healthy lives. To foster such empowerment, it is essential to create safe and inclusive environments for the diverse youth with whom we work. By engaging in the practice of cultural humility, which incorporates openness, self-awareness, and self-reflection in interactions with diverse individuals, youth-serving professionals can increase their self-awareness, examine personal biases, and enhance their communication skills, thereby strengthening their ability to provide culturally appropriate services for diverse and vulnerable youth.
Objectives of this training:
- Describe the tenets of cultural humility at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational levels.
- Apply communication strategies to reduce assumptions and stereotyping at the interpersonal level.
- Identify language and behaviors that contribute to or detract from actualizing the principles of cultural humility.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Describe three impacts that conscious and unconscious bias could have on cross-cultural interactions when teaching sex education.
- Indicator 4 (K-12): Describe three strategies to reduce the impact of conscious and unconscious bias and enhance cross-cultural interactions in the classroom when teaching sex education.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate three strategies for creating culturally responsive classrooms. (S)
Additional Trainings offered by out-of-state organizations
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Creating Safer Spaces in the Classroom
Each of us has experienced some type of trauma, whether it is collective trauma- like a natural disaster- or a personal trauma- like sexual abuse. In the classroom, trauma can show up in ways that look like behavior issues and actions that require discipline. Participants will learn small changes that can make a big difference in the classroom for students who have experienced trauma.
- Indicator 1 (K-12): Demonstrate three techniques to create an inclusive and affirming learning environment. (S)
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Describe three elements of a trauma-informed approach to sex education.
- Indicator 4 (K-12): Demonstrate three strategies of a trauma-informed approach to sex education (e.g. giving trigger warnings before content on sexual assault and allowing students the right to pass as appropriate, etc.). (S)