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Program
Evaluation
Nutrition Pathfinders
Teaches Children how to Make Healthful Food Choices
Evaluation
Summary
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Overview
The Dairy Council of California conducted an evaluation in
the 2002-2003 school year of its upper elementary nutrition
program - Nutrition Pathfinders. SRI International,
an independent third party evaluator, completed the study
design, analysis, and results.
Nutrition
Pathfinders is a 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade adventure at Camp Eatawella which incorporates a technology component. The goal of the self-directed CD-ROM simulation is to engage students while presenting them with nutrition content & activity recommendations that reflect current health guidelines. This encourages students to understand the role that food and activity play in their personal growth and development. Experiencing these everyday activities in a virtual environment allows them to safely practice reasoning, problem solving, character building and critical thinking skills.
The Nutrition
Pathfinders program evaluation demonstrated that it achieves
its desired outcome to positively impact students' knowledge,
attitudes and behaviors about nutrition and physical activity.
Specific program outcomes are highlighted below.
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Evaluation
Design
This
outcome evaluation project addressed the following questions:
- To what
extent are the teachers and students satisfied with the program?
- What, if
any, challenges exist in the implementation and use of the program?
- Do students
improve their knowledge, attitudes or food choices after going
through the program?
- Do students
make wiser activity choices after going through the program?
These questions
were addressed by conducting a quantitative study and a qualitative
study. The quantitative study involved administering a series of
questionnaires and assessment instruments to a set of 25 fourth
grade teachers who were implementing the Nutrition Pathfinders program
and a set of four teachers, each from different schools, not implementing
the program that, with their students, provided comparison data
by responding to appropriate questions on the various pre- and post-instruments.
The results were examined in relation to food log entries that the
students provided before and after taking part in the program. The
food logs were used as a measure of behavior change.
The qualitative
study involved a more in-depth analysis at five of the 20 sites
regarding implementation and reactions to the program by the participating
teachers and students.
Key Results
- There is pre-post evidence that the program
had an impact on gains in student knowledge about nutrition as
shown by the increased gains shown by students who used the program
in contrast to a comparison group that did not.
- There are ample teacher and student reports
of change in student attitudes and behavior to suggest some positive
impact.
- Most teachers and students express high levels
of overall satisfaction with the program. An overwhelming majority
of the teachers plan to teach the program to their students in
subsequent years.
- Most teachers had high opinion of the CD-ROM
and commented that it was "user-friendly," "fun" and "highly motivating"
for students. The interactive nature and graphics made students
more engaged in their learning.
- The most valued components of the program
were the Breakfast Bonanza, Food Record worksheet, and the software
program. The Advertising lesson was also singled out for its focus
on persuasive writing.
Students Make Healthy
Choices!
Our evaluation
found that the students who used this program made positive changes
in their food choices, and improved their knowledge and improved
attitudes about healthy eating. Following are the details.
Improved their Knowledge:
- Understood that the USDA's Food guidance system helps
them make healthy food choices.
- Significantly greater change in knowledge
of food and nutrition concepts compared to the control group (p>.05).
- Specifically, the intervention group increased
their understanding by 54% after the program.
Improved their Attitude:
- Improved their attitude towards foods in
the food groups (see Table 1). All five food groups were rated
as more desirable with meats, beans and nuts at the high end of
the range (23%) and vegetables at the bottom of the range (16%).
This similar increase in attitudes towards the food groups might
indicate that the program gives good exposure of each food group
to students.
- Students rated their preference for extras
15% lower after going through the program.
Table 1
Improved Student Attitudes
Positively
Impacted Behavior:
- Intervention
students self-report food logs indicated better food choices (see
Table 2).
- Almost
half of the students (49%) reported eating less extra foods,
more grains (44%), and more milk and dairy (40%).
- About
one-third of the students increased consumption of meats,
beans and nuts (34%), vegetables (39%), and fruits (25%).
Table 2
Healthier
Eating after Nutrition Pathfinders
To
explore the likelihood of a sustained effect on food choices, students
on the post questionnaire were asked about their intent to change
their behavior. This measure is a strong indicator of future behavior.
Results demonstrate that 73% of students plan to reduce their intake
of extra foods and there was a trend to increase consumption in
the five food groups: milk and dairy increased by 12%, meats, beans
and nuts increased by 16%, vegetables increased by 24%, fruit increased
by 15% and breads and grains increased by 12%.
| "Thanks
for including us in the program. My students are still asking
to check out the CD's and review them. Many students have gone
through the program several times each." |
Teachers
felt their students knew more about:
- The importance
of exercise on their health (15 out of 15)
- The importance
of nutritional food choices on their health (13 out of 15)
- Which foods
have which nutritional values (15 out of 15)
- Understanding
what it means to get along with other children
and be empathetic (12 out of 14)
Next
Steps/Recommendations
Dairy Council of California strives
to provide high quality education programs using the most useful
classroom resources based on teacher feedback. The qualitative component
of the study provided insight on how the program can be further
enhanced. Classroom observations revealed that the CD-ROM worked
well and would be even more efficient if easier "save" procedures
and transitions between students were built into the program. Recommendations
were also made to include more support materials offline, such as
the food analyzer, a Food Guide Pyramid poster, and more general
nutrition information for teachers. These suggestions are under
review and prioritized changes will be released in 2004.
Results of this study have been published in the following peer-reviewed
journal:
Robertson, T.P, Zalles, D.R. Nutrition Education Program
Nutrition Pathfinders© Teaches Children How to Make Healthful Food
Choices. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005;37:41-42
We would like to thank the teachers
and students who participated in the evaluation:
Jennifer Bunderlee, Jefferson Elementary
Linda Lynch, St Rose of Lima Elementary
Sara Moore, San Joaquin Elementary
Rebecca Reid, Sunset View Elementary
Tamara Hill, Santa Fe Springs Christian School
Mary King, Oak Creek School
Paulette Johnston, Starr King Elementary
Micheline Wagner, Vista Grande Elementary
Anne Hughes, San Joaquin Elementary
Laura Maar, Montague Elementary
Dee Heckman Greenfield Elementary
Coleen Maloney, Penngrove Elementary
Donna Even, Sandburg Elementary
Susan Portillo-Roche, Darnall E Campus Elementary
Nicole Wagner, Lincoln Elementary
Julie Brackx, Rose Elementary
Rosanna Gaudier, Oak Creek Elementary
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