Mutually Benefitting: Annual EFNEP Peer Lessons Increase EFNEP Staff Members' Knowledge and Teaching Skills

Abstract

To demonstrate how EFNEP peer lessons strengthen group presentation skills and increase health-related knowledge among EFNEP paraprofessionals. At the beginning of the calendar year, peer lesson topics are chosen by staff and approved by the agent. The agent assigns the date of each presentation. The presentation must be a PowerPoint, 45-60 minutes in length, and information must come from reputable, research sources. The week before a presentation, the supervisor reviews it for content validity. At each peer lesson, the presenter is evaluated by each (peer) attendee. Evaluation comes in written and verbal form following a rubric. Once the written evaluations are viewed by the presenter and discussed with the supervisor, they are placed in the presenter’s personnel file. A survey was designed and distributed to EFNEP staff. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed. Nearly 82% of EFNEP staff reported an increase in nutritional knowledge with only 17% stating they already had the knowledge presented, and 76% reported that the peer lesson was beneficial to their position and gave them knowledge to answer EFNEP clients’ questions. The peer lesson concept is seen among staff as a positive way to learn and increase skills. Research shows that professional development trainings are important to increase in knowledge and professionalism among staff and faculty (http://epa.sagepub.com/content/24/2/81.full.pdf+html). Results from this research shows that peer lessons are valued among EFNEP staff, increase knowledge, hone presentation skills, and are an effective manner to train staff.