Blueprint for Creative/Innovative Success in Nutrition Education: What Works and Future Strategy of an Online Graduate Program

Abstract

The results of successful best practices and high impact teaching strategies of a creative and innovative master’s program in nutrition education are shared. Development, implementation, and future plans are highlighted. This is for consideration of using a proven format—online—for student success as indicated by student engagement and satisfaction as well as professor evaluations of student learning. The target audience includes current and future educators, program developers, and practitioners, as well as students of nutrition who want an alternative to on-the-ground classrooms. This in turn can help meet demand for capacity building in nutrition. These best practices—what works—are based in part from preliminary work by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior on nutrition education competencies to the Sloan Consortium on online education, from Kuh’s high impact practices to a new strategy—gamification—by Sheldon and Kapp. A brief history is illustrated of the course development, successful online teaching techniques practiced, and a cutting-edge high impact strategy recently developed to continue creativity and innovation. The courses and teaching techniques were initially evaluated by internal University committees, an external reviewer, and a State Education Department. Once implemented, each course (8 so far) was evaluated by enrolled students (n=51) through formative, summative, and post course surveys. Results indicate high satisfaction and show that asynchronous collaborative learning in a high-tech format is preferred to other techniques and is effective in student success. This particular narrative can be a blueprint for current and potential programs to take nutrition education to the next level and into the future.