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Week 4: Dental Science Careers + Health Informatics

2nd Six Weeks | Health Science Cluster | 5 class periods (50 min each)

Lesson Objective

Students explore the Dental Science pathway through Hats & Ladders, design a "perfect toothbrush" using the H&L Ch 9 dental activity, connect Xello Education Experience and School Subjects at Work to healthcare careers, and run a focused medical coding simulation that introduces Health Informatics as a short-credential alternative entry into healthcare. Dental is the primary focus (aligned to the Singley Academy Dental pathway); medical billing/coding appears on a single day as career-exploration content (no Irving ISD pathway at this time).

Demonstration of Learning

"I can describe careers in medical billing and dental science, design a toothbrush using my knowledge of dental health, classify a healthcare career as high-skill/high-wage/high-demand using BLS data, and explain how my current school subjects connect to specific health careers."

TEKS Alignment

  • d(1)(A): Analyze and discuss assessment results (Day 3 Xello Education Experience).
  • d(1)(C): Identify various career opportunities within the Health Science cluster (Days 1-2, 5).
  • d(2)(A): Research and describe applicable academic, technical, certification, and training requirements (Days 1, 4, 5).
  • d(5)(B): Classify evidence of high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations (Days 2, 4, 5).
  • d(3)(B): Explore and list opportunities for earning college credit in high school (Day 3 Xello + Irving ISD dual credit discussion).

Materials Needed

  • Chromebooks with internet access (1 per student)
  • Hats & Ladders student accounts + H&L Workbook (Ch 9: Health Science, pp. 140-143)
  • BLS, Dental Hygienists: bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-hygienists.htm
  • BLS, Medical Records Specialists: bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm
  • Xello accounts (Education Experience + School Subjects at Work activities)
  • Printed Health Science Career Comparison worksheet (3 careers × 5 columns)
  • Printed Toothbrush Design worksheet (sketch space + label space)
  • Simplified ICD-10 medical code reference sheet (10 codes, teacher-prepared)
  • Simulated patient charts (5-8 visit descriptions, teacher-prepared)
  • Projector for demonstrations

Career Connection

Not everyone in healthcare works directly with patients. Medical billing and coding specialists translate medical procedures into standardized codes for insurance billing, a behind-the-scenes role that keeps hospitals running. Dental assistants and hygienists work directly alongside dentists. Both fields are high-demand in DFW with relatively short training timelines, making them excellent options for students who want to enter healthcare quickly without an 8-year degree.

What is Happening at Irving ISD? The Dental pathway at Singley Academy (part of the School of Health Sciences) is the current Irving ISD anchor for this week. Singley's four Health Sciences pathways are Nursing Science, Physical Therapy, Dental, and Emergency Medical - EMT. Medical Billing is not currently offered as a dedicated Irving ISD pathway at any campus. This week covers Medical Billing as a career-exploration topic using BLS and H&L career data, not as a claim about a local high-school pathway.

Vocabulary

  • Medical Billing and Coding: Translating healthcare services into standardized codes (ICD-10, CPT) for insurance billing. Requires specialized certification.
  • Dental Assistant: A healthcare professional who works alongside dentists, preparing patients, sterilizing instruments, taking X-rays, and assisting during procedures.
  • Dental Hygienist: A dental professional who cleans teeth, screens for oral disease, and educates patients. Requires an associate degree.
  • High-Demand Occupation: A career with many job openings relative to qualified workers. Indicated by low unemployment, strong job growth (5%+), and active hiring.
  • College Credit in High School: Opportunities like dual credit, AP exams, or articulated CTE credit that allow students to earn college credits before graduation.
  • Health Informatics: The intersection of healthcare and information technology, medical records, billing systems, health data analysis.

Bridge to Theory (Hats & Ladders)

The H&L workbook (Ch 9: Health Science, pp. 140-143) provides the major activity for Day 2: "Perfect Toothbrush" (pp. 140-142). In this Career Climb activity, students take on the role of a dental expert and design a toothbrush, considering bristle type, handle shape, brush head, and unique features. The activity reinforces that dental careers require BOTH scientific knowledge AND design thinking. The Hat Research template (Ch 9, p. 148) is used for documenting dental and health informatics careers explored on Days 1-2.

IISD Instructional Strategies

  • Sentence Stems: For the career classification: "Career A requires _ education and pays . Based on this data, I would classify Career A as __ (high-skill / high-wage / high-demand) because _____."
  • Think-Pair-Share: After completing the Xello School Subjects at Work activity, students think about which school subject surprised them as relevant to healthcare, pair to discuss, and share.
  • Chunking: The medical coding simulation is broken into rounds. Round 1 covers 3 codes, Round 2 covers 5 codes, Round 3 is a speed challenge.

Week at a Glance

Day Focus Key Activities Deliverable
1 Dental Pathway Intro + Hat Research H&L Ch 9 Dental pathway overview, Dental Hat Finder (Assistant, Hygienist, Dentist), Hat Research template for one dental career Hat Research template (1 dental career) + first row of Career Comparison (Dental Hygienist)
2 Perfect Toothbrush + Design Thinking H&L Ch 9 "Perfect Toothbrush" activity (pp. 140-142), continue Dental Hat Finder, complete Career Comparison worksheet Toothbrush design + completed Career Comparison (3 careers)
3 Xello Education Experience + School Subjects Xello Education Experience + School Subjects at Work activities, college credit discussion for dental and health science pathways Xello completion screens + connection paragraph
4 Health Informatics + Medical Coding Simulation Brief Medical Billing career overview (BLS, 6-12 month credential pathway), then 3-round ICD-10 coding simulation with patient charts Coding accuracy sheet (3 rounds, score recorded)
5 Health Science Mid-Point Reflection H&L favorites update, recommendation paragraph, mid-cluster reflection Recommendation paragraph (1 career to a friend) + updated Climber Profile

Formative Assessment

  • Hat Research + Mini-Case exit ticket (Mateo's 1-year dental timeline). Day 1, d(1)(C), d(2)(A)
  • Toothbrush design + Career Comparison + Comparison Matrix exit ticket (skill/wage/demand check marks). Day 2, d(1)(C), d(5)(B)
  • Xello Education Experience + School Subjects + SCR exit ticket (subject→career connection + college credit option). Day 3, d(1)(A), d(3)(B)
  • ICD-10 coding simulation + Diagnostic MCQ exit ticket (cavity chart with misconception distractors). Day 4, d(2)(A), d(5)(B)
  • H&L Favorites + recommendation paragraph + 3-2-1 Reflective exit ticket (mid-Health-Science reflection). Day 5, d(2)(A), d(5)(B)

Summative Assessment

Health Science Career Comparison + Recommendation Paragraph (Day 5): Students submit (1) the completed Career Comparison worksheet (3 careers, 5 data points each) and (2) a 4-sentence recommendation paragraph: "I would recommend [career] to a friend who wants to work in healthcare quickly because [education time] + [salary] + [job outlook] + [Irving ISD pathway connection]." Scored on: data accuracy (d(5)(B)), classification reasoning (d(5)(B)), education pathway knowledge (d(2)(A)), and college credit awareness (d(3)(B)).

Differentiation

Scaffolded Learning

  • Pre-filled Career Comparison worksheet with the Medical Biller row modeled
  • Toothbrush design template with bristle, handle, and head sections pre-labeled
  • Simplified ICD-10 reference sheet (5 codes instead of 10) for the coding simulation
  • Sentence stems for the recommendation paragraph

Extensions

  • Compare ICD-10 and CPT coding systems, when is each used?
  • Build a 4-year plan for the Singley Dental pathway including dual credit and AP options
  • Calculate the return on investment for each health science certification (training cost ÷ first-year salary)
  • Design a SECOND toothbrush for a different population (toddler, senior, person with arthritis)

ELL Language Support

  • Pre-teach: Dental = Dental, Toothbrush = Cepillo de Dientes, Bristle = Cerda, Medical Billing = Facturación Médica, Code = Código, Certification = Certificación
  • Bilingual ICD-10 reference sheet with Spanish procedure descriptions
  • Visual toothbrush design template with picture prompts
  • Pair ESL students with bilingual peers for the medical coding simulation