Shannon Whalen Gifford

The African proverb “Each one, teach one” helps explain why I love what I do. Instead of teaching one, every year I have the opportunity to teach many. I am fortunate to have found a vocation that allows me to have such a profound impact on the world and am privileged and honored to have been trusted with such a tremendous responsibility.

Contact Info

sgifford@springfield.edu
(413) 748-3268

Office

Room 134
Wellness & Recreation Complex
Campus Map

Department of Physical Education and Health Education

School of Physical Education, Performance and Sport Leadership

Doctor of Education, Columbia University Teacher's College, New York, N.Y., 1999
Master of Science, Columbia University Teacher's College, New York, N.Y., 1998
Master of Arts, New York University, New York, N.Y., 1995
Bachelor of Science, University of Delaware, Newark, Del., 1992

Shannon Whalen Gifford has been a professor in the Department of Physical Education and Health Education at Springfield College for more than 20 years. She also held faculty positions and taught health education, physical education, and athletic training courses at Adelphi University, The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and John Jay College, CUNY. Prior to working in higher education, Gifford worked as a health teacher in the Clarkstown Central School District and the Yonkers Public School System in New York. She has spent much of her recent time developing the curriculum for the online graduate programs in Health Promotion and Health Equity, and frequently presents workshops and webinars at the local, state, and national level. Her areas of expertise are student engagement, online teaching strategies, health equity and social justice, women’s health issues, social-emotional health, psychosocial health issues, and violence and bullying prevention. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, kayaking, walking, hiking, and is an avid reader and audiobook listener.

Research Interests

Health Equity and Social Justice
Curriculum Development
Positive Mental Health
Behavior-Based Instructional Strategies
Cultural Humility, Student Engagement

Courses Taught

HLTH 360: Violence and Bullying Prevention and Intervention
HLTH 365: Psychosocial Health Issues
HLTH 545 Trauma-Informed Educational Practices
HLTH 602: Determinants of Health Equity
HLTH 607: Assessing Power and Privilege in Health
HLTH 615: Advocacy and Leadership in Health Education
HLTH 617: Social & Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents
HLTH 619: Advanced Instructional Strategies in Health Education

Selected Works

Presentations

Clark, O., Gifford, S. Sziszak, G. & Whalen-Sylver, B. (2025, Feb). Practice what you teach; Fostering positive mental-health among pre-service teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education. Long Beach, CA.
Gifford, S., Clark, O. & Sziszak, G. (2025, Jan). What does equitable and culturally responsive teaching look like? Webinar presented for the American School Health Association.
Gifford, S., Clark, O. (2024, Nov). Theater skits assignments as health promotion and health education tools in the classroom and beyond. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American School Health Association conference. Pittsburgh, PA
Gifford, S., Clark, O., Sziszak, G. & Whalen-Sylver, B. (2024, Oct.). Advancing positive mental health among children and adolescents; learning experiences designed to promote health and reduce risk. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American School Health Association. Pittsburg, PA.
Clark O. & Gifford S. (2024, May). Promoting Health Equity and Educational Excellence in Rural Communities. Poster presented at the National Rural Health Association’s Health Equity Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Gifford, S. (2022, July). Teaching skills to foster social emotional competencies among young people, in the K-12 classroom and beyond. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American School Health Association. Albuquerque, NM.
Gifford, S. (2022, July). Integrating discussions about social justice and health equity into the school health curriculum; we can do more than one-and-done. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American School Health Association. Albuquerque, NM.