Investigating Differences in Nutrition Knowledge Between a Face-to-Face and Online College-Level General Nutrition Course

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Nutrition 10: Discoveries and Concepts in Nutrition is a three-unit, high-enrollment, general education class offered at the University of California, Davis in both a face-to-face (f2f) and online format. The primary objective of this pilot study was to investigate potential differences in the change in nutrition knowledge between college-aged students participating in the f2f versus the online format. Methods Prior to spring quarter 2019, a 29-question nutrition knowledge survey was developed from the six course learning objectives. During spring quarter, the nutrition knowledge survey was administered as pre- and post-tests online through the Canvas Learning Management system to assess nutrition knowledge. Demographic data was also collected on the survey. As this was a pilot study, all data collected was anonymous and used as aggregate data for subsequent analyses. Analyses were conducted on data using STATA 16.0. Tests performed were paired t-tests and Student's t test, as appropriate. Results There were 290 students in the f2f course and 347 students in the online course that completed the survey. Baseline nutrition knowledge scores were 7.5 + 4.1 and 7.2 + 4.5 out of 29 points for the f2f and online course, respectively. Students that took Nutrition 10 significantly improved nutrition knowledge, regardless of whether they took the f2f version or the online version. Nutrition knowledge improved in the f2f course by +6.2 points (P < 0.01) and by +6.1 points in the virtual course (P < 0.01). There were no differences in change in knowledge between the two courses (P = 0.9). There were some significant differences in student characteristics between the f2f and online course, including the amount of transfer and International students, age, and ethnicity. Conclusions These results demonstrate that in this sample, Nutrition 10 is effective at improving knowledge related to nutrition and the course format did not affect knowledge gain. Future research should investigate differences between the two courses with matched data and the differences in student characteristics also needs to be further explored. Funding Sources No funding was used for this study.