Development of a Reality‐Based Multimedia Case Study Teaching Method and its Effect on Students’ Planned Food Safety Behaviors

Personal response systems, such as clickers, have been widely used to improve the effectiveness of teaching in various classroom settings. Although hand-held clicker response systems have been the subject of multiple prior studies, few studies have focused on the use of cell phone-based personal response system (CPPRS) specifically. This study explores students' academic performance and their perceptions of learning through the use of a CPPRS (TopHat) in an undergraduate Food Science class. In this study, students did not use the CPPRS during the first half of the semester-long course, but did during the second half. When CPPRS was used, students responded to 2 multiple-choice questions at 3 points during the class, (a) at the beginning of class, (b) in the middle of the class, and (c) at the end of the class. Student performance was measured by correctness rates on eight 10-item multiple choice quizzes, 4 quizzes each covering the class content that was delivered with compared with without CPPRS. A survey was conducted at the end of the semester asking (n = 28) students' perceptions of CPPRS. The average correctness rate for quizzes covering content delivered with CPPRS (85% ± 9%) was significantly higher than for content delivered without CPPRS (82% ± 10%) (P = 0.016). In addition, students perceived that CPPRS was easy to use (5.04 ± 0.58 on a 1 to 6 scale with 1 being strongly disagree and 6 being strongly agree) and positively impacted their learning (4.52 ± 0.99 using the same scale). When used correctly, CPPRS can facilitate student learning in lectures.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Authors Ma, Steger, and Stewart are with Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech, Room 401, HABB1, 1230 improved students' understanding of complex concepts, increases knowledge gain, and significantly changes behavioral intentions with regards to Food Safety (Alberts and Stevenson 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Academic Performance and Student Perceptions of Learning Through Use of a Cell Phone‐Based Personal Response System

Steger

Doolittle

et al. 2018

“…Songs with food safety and safe food handling content have been developed and evaluated (Winter et al., ). A reality‐based multimedia program was utilized to increase students' planned food safety behaviors (Alberts & Stevenson, ). Experiential learning tools were also applied in a student‐oriented training program that effectively taught students how to conduct foodborne outbreak investigations (White, Sabourin, & Scallan, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Knowledge and Behavior Change of a High School Positive Deviance Food Safety Curriculum

Feng

Bruhn

Elder

et al. 2019

High school students are a critical audience for food safety. Students may enter the foodservice industry or become primary meal preparers for their families. The positive deviance food safety curriculum was developed based on the messages from the Fight BAC! Campaign. The curriculum is designed for high school students to overcome barriers to safe food handling practices. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the positive deviance approach to change food safety knowledge and behaviors among high school students. Students (n = 218) from two high schools participated in this study. The positive deviance method uses group discussions lead by the teacher who reinforces and praises behaviors, which reflect recommended food handling practices. Measurements included pre-and postsurveys, preobservations and postobservation cooking classes, take-home tasks, and in-class activities. Results indicated that the curriculum significantly increased students' food safety knowledge. Specifically, the percentage of students believing that color was a good indicator of meat doneness dropped from 52% to 17% after exposure to the curriculum. When observed, the students' compliance with recommended behaviors increased. Prior to instruction, most ground beef burgers students cooked did not reach 160°F, while after the intervention, almost all of the burgers reached 160°F or higher. The curriculum will benefit from a revision that emphasizes areas such as how to use, calibrate, and to clean food thermometers.

“…There have also been published efforts to address one of the root causes to decrease this burden of foodborne illness by improving the food safety training of Food Science college students, many of whom will become trainers and managers. The use of interactive videos based on the theory of planned behavior significantly increased college students’ food safety–intended behaviors (Alberts & Stevenson, ). However, these single‐course interventions did not include the benefit of being combined into broad, curriculum‐based embedded assessments to clarify students’ understanding and aid instructors’ immediate assessment of how well students are mastering these critical concepts (Carroll, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Embedded Assessments in a Dual‐Level Food Chemistry Course Offer Measurable Learning Advantages?

Crandall

Clark

Shoulders

et al. 2019

The 2011 passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act requires managers to teach and verify that employees have learned and are engaged in science-based food safety behaviors. Instructors using embedded assessments such as clickers can receive immediate feedback on how well learners understand what is being taught, allowing instructors to provide immediate, additional clarification and motivation. The objectives of this study were to: design and implement embedded assessment learning activities for each lecture objective in a combined undergraduate/graduate-level, food chemistry course; measure students' performance on three online examinations; and compare students' performance on objectives reinforced by embedded assessment techniques against those objectives receiving traditional emphasis. For Exam 1, embedded assessment questions averaged 80.0% and traditional emphasis questions averaged 76.4%; for Exam 2, embedded assessment questions averaged 84.6% and traditional emphasis questions averaged 80.6%; and for Exam 3, embedded assessment questions averaged 85.9% and traditional emphasis questions averaged 73.7%. Pooling scores over all exams gave a grand mean of 83.6% for embedded assessment questions and 77.2% for traditional questions. As hypothesized, the average scores on questions reinforced by embedded assessment were considerably higher, 8.3% overall, with significantly (P < 0.05) higher scores. During lectures, students commented on the embedded assessments that then led to further discussion of any unclear points. When the class did poorly, operationalized as less than 80% correct, they petitioned to get a "do over" on the embedded assessment question after a clarifying discussion. Because the students became managers of their own learning, through embedded assessments, it is hoped that they will become more proficient instructors.