This study examined the effectiveness of a series of Web-based, multimedia tutorials on methods of human body composition analysis. Tutorials were developed around four body composition topics: hydrodensitometry (underwater weighing), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and total body electrical conductivity. Thirty-two students enrolled in the course were randomly assigned to learn the material through either the Web-based tutorials only ("Computer"), a traditional lecture format ("Lecture"), or lectures supplemented with Web-based tutorials ("Both"). All students were administered a validated pretest before randomization and an identical posttest at the completion of the course. The reliability of the test was 0.84. The mean score changes from pretest to posttest were not significantly different among the groups (65.4 plus minus 17.31, 78.82 plus minus 21.50, and 76 plus minus 21.22 for the Computer, Both, and Lecture groups, respectively). Additionally, a Likert-type assessment found equally positive attitudes toward all three formats. The results indicate that Web-based tutorials are as effective as the traditional lecture format for teaching these topics.
This exploratory study interviewed 130 participants in federal food assistance programs and 51 low-income nonparticipants to assess their behaviors and attitudes toward and awareness of the nutrition label. Regarding label use, 35.4 percent of participants and 45.1 percent of nonparticipants seldom/never read labels while grocery shopping, 31.5 percent of participants and 19.6 percent of nonparticipants sometimes read them, and 33.1 percent of participants and 35.3 percent of nonparticipants always/frequently read labels in the grocery store. In addition, 38.5 percent of participants and 41.2 percent of nonparticipants seldom/never read labels at home, 33.1 percent of participants and 27.5 percent of nonparticipants sometimes read them, and 28.5 percent of participants and 31.4 percent of nonparticipants always/frequently read labels at home. There were no significant differences between mean scores of participants and nonparticipants on how to use the nutrition label. Findings challenge nutritionists working with low-income individuals to develop more learning opportunities that teach how to use nutrition labels.
The effectiveness of, and student attitudes toward, an online Food Safety and Regulation course (WEB) were compared with lecture (LECTURE) and combined lecture/online (COMBINED) courses. All students took identical pre‐tests, post‐tests, and attitude assessments. No significant differences were detected in pre‐test scores. Post‐test results for WEB, LECTURE, and COMBINED groups were 65.9±3.02, 67.1±2.62, and 73.5±2.59 (mean±SEM), respectively. After controlling for the pretest, the COMBINED score was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the LECTURE and WEB scores. Some student attitude scores in the LECTURE and COMBINED groups were better than the WEB group. The results indicate that students perform as well in the Web‐based course as the lecture‐based course and that student performance is maximized by combining online and lecture methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.