P130 Improving Student Engagement and Learning Environment Through Formative Assessment of an Online, Advanced Nutrition Course

Abstract

Objective To conduct formative assessment to improve online learning environment for an advanced nutrition course. Use of Theory or Research Utilizing aspects of Theory of Instructional Design, formative assessment was conducted to engage students in a web-delivered advanced nutrition course. Previous research is generally based on online introductory nutrition courses but there exists a gap with web-based, advanced nutrition courses. Target Audience Undergraduate Students Program Description The three-credit, advanced nutrition course was taught to graduating Dietetics seniors (n = 44) and was delivered online. Students were engaged via various activities including case studies/worksheets, blogs/discussion forums, group projects, exams/quizzes, essays/writing projects, multiple short videos/lectures with PowerPoint slides, long video lecture, research articles, and reading book chapter/assigned pages. Evaluation Methods Online survey administered to students (n = 29, response rate = 65.9%) which included four quantitative and one qualitative question to assess engagement and improvement in online delivery Results Of the nine media of teaching and learning assessment, students ranked (1 = highest, 9 = lowest) multiple short videos as most preferred (mean ± SD = 2.43 ± 2.01) followed by case studies/worksheets (3.46 ± 1.43). Lowest ranked were group projects (7.43 ± 2.03) with second lowest being essays/writing projects (7.04 ± 2.01). With regards to online exam administration, 100% of the students preferred to have timed exams available over a number of days. Furthermore, students (62.07%) found the online delivery format easy or extremely easy to follow. Only 24.14% students preferred in-person instruction with majority preferring the online format in various degrees. Via an open-ended question, the students provided suggestions to improve online delivery of the course such as utilizing different types of instructional methods, elimination of group projects, provision of study guides and reminders/feedback and live lectures with questions and answers. Conclusion Formative assessment is an effective and feasible method to improve student engagement in an advanced, online nutrition course. More pedagogical research is needed for comparing online vs. face-to-face instruction for advanced nutrition courses. Funding None.