Source: PURDUE UNIVERSITY submitted to
INCREASING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATORS THROUGH A CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE IN FOOD SCIENCE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0222210
Grant No.
2010-38414-21025
Project No.
INDE-2010-01385
Proposal No.
2010-01385
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
OW
Project Start Date
Aug 1, 2010
Project End Date
Jul 31, 2014
Grant Year
2010
Project Director
Liceaga, A. M.
Recipient Organization
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
WEST LAFAYETTE,IN 47907
Performing Department
Food Science
Non Technical Summary
Currently there is a need to incorporate Food Science in the existing high school curricula and meet the growing demand for food scientists and technologists. The goal of this project is to increase content knowledge and awareness of food science among high school educators, and to equip these educators with the tools necessary to successfully teach Food Science in their classroom. The project objectives are to: 1) create a continuing (distance) education certification course for secondary educators across the state of Indiana, 2) improve the content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators in the field of Food Science, 3) increase interest and awareness in high school students in pursuing a post-secondary education in Food Science. To meet the above needs, an online continuing education course will be offered. The course will consist of learning modules focusing on the areas of food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing. Each module will have content material that covers the curricula equivalent to an introductory food science course (FS 161) at Purdue University. In addition, the modules will include class activities and examples, video footage from local food industry, study guide questions, useful references and literature, as well as teaching tools for delivery of the material in the classroom. The course evaluation will consist of a series of standardized assessments (pre and post tests) in the form of module assignments, on-line quizzes, and a final examination. As a result of this project, we expect participants to have increased knowledge and self-confidence in teaching important food science concepts, while providing teaching tools necessary to enhance student learning experiences in the classroom. High school students will be able to receive dual credit for FS 161 which is required for all freshmen Food Science majors at Purdue University.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
Purdue University College of Agriculture has developed an Advanced Life Sciences (ALS) Program in partnership with a number of high schools across Indiana. As part of the ALS program, high school students can take an ALS-Foods course offered at their school and receive dual credit for an introductory course FS 161 that is required for all Food Science majors. The goal is to develop and deliver an online ALS-Foods workshop for high school educators in the state of Indiana. Objectives: 1) Certify K-12 educators taking the online workshop, to teach ALS-Foods at the high school level, 2) Improve content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators in the field of Food Science, 3) Increase interest and awareness in high school students in pursuing a post-secondary education in Food Science. As a result of this project, course participants will a) gain knowledge about important food science concepts, and b) receive necessary teaching resources and materials to enhance the student classroom learning experience. This will enable them to teach Food Science to those students seeking to receive dual credit for FS 161, and at the same time, promote Agriculture-Food Science education in the State of Indiana. The main outcome of this project is the on-line course training & certification for K-12 teachers wishing to teach Food Science (for dual-credit), without having to deal with schedule conflicts and/or additional travel and lodging expenses associated with attending the face-to-face workshop currently offered at the Purdue campus. Additionally, high school students will receive college credit after passing the exit exam for the ALS-Foods course. Impact: By strengthening the knowledge level of high school teachers, they will be better prepared to teach the ALS-Foods and further their career goals by receiving credit towards an advanced degree. As a result of our efforts, more students across the state will consider a Food Science career. Products, Results and Measurable Outcomes: The product will consist of three "learning modules" focusing on food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing. Each module will cover the ALS-Foods standards and FS 161 learning outcomes. Modules will include class activities and examples, video footage from local food industry, study questions, teaching tools. At the end of each module, participants will be assessed on the application of knowledge from the material learned. At the end of the three modules, participants will be required to pass a final exam in order to receive certification for the course.
Project Methods
The project will be developed by Dr. Liceaga and Ballard, and delivered by Continuing (Distance) Education at Purdue University. Continuing Education will provide technical support for maintenance of the website. The project will consist of three main phases: Phase 1: Dr. Liceaga and Dr. Ballard will develop the on-line material to be ready for offering in year 2 of the project. The material will consist of a series of learning modules, class activities, teaching tools and assessments in accordance with ALS-Foods and FS 161 curricula. In addition to providing subject matter expertise, the ALS-Foods distance education course will include ideas and instructions for conducting simple, inexpensive experiments inside the classroom that will enhance and reinforce material covered during class. Handouts for these simple exercises will be available through the course website. The handouts would consist of materials needed to complete the experiments, experimental procedures, explanation of key concepts and some guiding questions for the students to answer at the completion of the exercise. Furthermore, the course will be designed in such a way that it encourages participants to discuss course content with each other and with instructors. We will set up an online discussion board for participants enrolled in the course to share teaching ideas and experiences. Phase 2: Liceaga and Ballard will oversee the course on-line delivery acting as course tutors, on-line discussion facilitators, and evaluating quizzes, assignments and exam assessments. At the end of each module, participants will be required to complete an assignment and short quiz that will serve as assessment of the application of knowledge from the material learned in that module. Prior to proceeding to the next module, participants must first successfully complete the assignment, quiz and class activities. At the end of the three modules, participants will be required to complete and pass a final exam in order to receive certification for the ALS-Foods course. Phase 3: Participants of the on-line course will be asked to complete an instructional and self-efficacy evaluations before and after completing the ALS-Foods training course. Dr. Esters from the Department of Youth Development and Agricultural Education will assist in developing and analyzing participant instructional evaluation of knowledge level and self-efficacy. Results will be prepared for publication and presentation.

Progress 08/01/10 to 07/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this project consisted of high school educators from the State of Indiana as well as high school educators from other states in the U.S. (e.g. IL, CT, MI, WI, PA, WV, AR, MO). Changes/Problems: No major changes/problems were encountered. At the time of submission of this final report, we are unable to determine if interest in food science has increased among hogh school students who have taken the food science course taught by one of the certified educators from this project. This is a goal for a new project to be submitted in the future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The participants who successfully completed the course received certification and training needed to teach food science concepts in their respective high schools. Participants also had the option to take the course for graduate credit (3 credit hrs) towards continuing education and/or professional development. The work carried out in this project was also presented at a national conference (Institute of Food Technologists, Education Division: Chicago, IL July 13-16, 2013).The information presented at this conference was later published in a peer-reviewed education journal. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated through a presentation at a national conference (see previous reporting year-2013) and the publication in a peer-reviewed journal (Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Estes, L. (2014). Increasing content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators through an online course in food science. J. Food Sci. Edu. 13(2):28-32). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The goals accomplished with this project were as follows: 1) The online course was created and offered for three years in a row (summers of 2012, 2013 and 2014). 2) A total of 44 High school educators have received certification for taking this course between the years 2012-2014. Of these, 12 High school educators were from the state of Indiana. The rest were from various states, including: IL, OR, CT, MI, WI, PA, WV, AR, MO. 3) Content knowledge was significantly (p<0.05) improved for all 3 learning modules after completing this online course. The food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing modules showed improvements from pre to post testof 68% to 82%, 42% to 80% and 50% to 85%, respectively. Data results are published in peer-reviewed journal (Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Estes, L. (2014). Increasing content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators through an online course in food science. J. Food Sci. Edu. 13(2):28-32). 4) Self-efficacy was also improved. Data results published in peer-reviewed journal (Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Estes, L. (2014). Increasing content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators through an online course in food science. J. Food Sci. Edu. 13(2):28-32).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Estes, L. (2014). Increasing content knowledge and self-efficacy of high school educators through an online course in food science. Journal of Food Science Education, 13(2):28-32.


Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this project was high school educators from the State of Indiana. However, we also had several participants from out of state (MI, WI, PA, WV, AR, MO). The demographics of the participants were: 80% female, 20% male, 100% Caucasian. A total of 48% had a bachelor’s degree and 52% had a graduate degree. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Participants successfully completed the course and received certification and also received the required training necessary to teach food science concepts in their high school. In addition 3 participants took the course for graduate credit via continuing education for this reporting period (2013). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results from this project were recently presented at the Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL (July 13-16, 2013). The PIs received several requests from fellow colleagues to expand the course offeering to other interested parties (e.g. industry), not only high school educators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The project goals are complete. We plan to submit a manuscript for publication, highlighting the findings of this project. In addition we plan to attend the Project Director's meeting in the fall of 2013.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A total of 20 participants have taken the Introduction to Food Science online course for this reporting period (2013). All 20 participants successfully completed the course and received certification, including the 7 participants from the State of Indiana which received certification to teach ALS-Foods in their high school. Content knowledge of high school educators in the areas of food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing was significantly improved after completing this online course. Content knowledge was significantly improved (P<0.05) for all 3 modules after completing the course, with food chemistry improving from 68% (pre- test) to 82% (post-test), food microbiology increased from 42% to 80% and food processing increased from 50% to 85% (see below) The self-efficacy survey results revealed an increase in the confidence level (rating of 4=“somewhat agree”) for the majority of the learning outcomes upon completing the course (Figure below)

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Esters, L. (2013). Increasing content knowledge of high school educators through a continuing education course in food science. Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL (July 13-16, 2013).


Progress 08/01/11 to 07/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: During this year of the project, we were able to finalize the learning materials (three learning modules (LM) on food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing, study guides, classroom activities and links to reference material). The PIs met a couple of times with the Program coordinator from Purdue Extended Campus in order to discuss and establish the logistics of setting up the course. In terms of the assessments & grading rubrics, Dr. Esters (project collaborator) developed the self-efficacy survey (pre and post). These surveys consisted of a series of learning concepts related to each module, which were ranked according to their confidence level in teaching these concepts. The ranking scale consisted of 1 = no confidence at all to 5= complete confidence. In addition, quizzes for each learning module and a final examination were developed. The PIs attended the National FFA Convention (Indianapolis, IN) on October 20, 2011. The PIs gave an overview of the material that would be covered in the online course. A sign-up sheet for interested participants was distributed. The online course was first offered from July 9-27th, 2012 through Purdue extended campus with a total of 15 registered participants, of which 3 took the course for graduate credit (3 credit hours). PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was high school educators from the State of Indiana. However, we also had several participants from out of state (MI, WI, PA, WV, AR, MO). The demographics of the participants were: 71% female, 29% male, 100% Caucasian. A total of 64% had a graduate degree and 36% a bachelor's degree. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
A total of 10/15 participants received a certificate of completion for the online course. Three of the 15 participants were from the State of Indiana and therefore received the ALS-Foods accreditation. This will allow them to teach ALS-Foods at their respective high school and allow high school students taking the course to receive dual credit at Purdue (refer to last year's report for details). The pre-test survey results indicated that the majority of the participants felt they had no-confidence (rank = 1) to little-confidence (rank = 2) in teaching food science concepts related to the 3 learning modules (chemistry, microbiology and processing). Upon completion of the course, the confidence increased to some-confidence (rank = 3) and confidence (rank = 4).

Publications

  • No publications reported this period


Progress 08/01/10 to 07/31/11

Outputs
For this reporting period, the main objective of this project was to develop a continuing (distance) education course in Advanced Life Sciences (ALS)-Foods for secondary educators across the State of Indiana. Based on the Project's timeline for year 1, the following activities were accomplished: During the first year of the project, we have managed to develop the learning materials by creating three learning modules (LM) on food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing. In addition, each one of the LM includes a study guide, classroom activities and links to reference material that will assist in reinforcing topics covered in the modules. Several online videos have been purchased (from Insight Media) along with the copyright permit to incorporate them into a course management system. The videos highlight food processing, food additives and chemical processes in Food Science. The PIs created lab handouts and conducted several trial-run experiments for classroom activities that the educators can implement in their own classrooms. These included: food emulsions (making mayonnaise), functional properties of fats & oils (baked cookies with different types of fats), and fermentation (making yogurt using different types of starter cultures). In terms of the assessments & grading rubrics, the PIs met with Dr. Esters (project collaborator) to discuss the development of the self-efficacy, course & instructor surveys. In addition, a pre- and post- test, as well as the assignments, quizzes and learning activities for each LM have been developed. The materials corresponding to each LM (e.g. lessons, assignments & quizzes) have been uploaded into a course management system (Blackboard Vista) template (i.e. not currently active). The PIs attended the National FFA Convention (Indianapolis, IN) on October 21, 2010. The PIs gave a 2-hr workshop on Exploring the Science of Food in the Classroom, which included advertisement for the ALS-Foods course. Participants of the FFA Convention interested in taking the ALS-Foods course provided their contact information in order to be notified when the registration for the course will be offered. Additionally, advertisement was conducted during the 1 week face-to-face workshop of the ALS-Foods (June 21-24, 2011) in the Food Science Dept. PRODUCTS: Three learning modules (LM) were developed containing materials that cover the areas of food chemistry, food microbiology and food processing. These LM have been uploaded into a course management system in order to be delivered via distance education to high school educators. A pre- and post- test, three assignments and 3 quizzes have been developed to assess the learning outcomes of each LM. Laboratory handouts for classroom activities have been created and trial-tested. Online videos have been purchased along with the copyright permit to incorporate them into a course management system. OUTCOMES: The main outcome of this project is the on-line course training & certification for K-12 teachers wishing to teach ALS-Foods in their classroom (for dual-credit), without having to deal with schedule conflicts and/or additional travel and lodging expenses associated with attending the face-to-face workshop on the Purdue campus. Another key outcome is that high school students will receive college credit (FS 161) after passing the exit exam for the ALS-Foods course. These proposed outcomes will be assessed following year 2 of the project, when the course has actually been offered. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: None to report this year. FUTURE INITIATIVES: At the end of the project, there will be an established course that will ensure continuing training for high school teachers in the State of Indiana wishing to become familiarized with and certified in food science through the ALS-Foods and FS-161 curriculum. In addition, because the course will be delivered through an on-line format, extension educators and teachers from other States in the country could also receive the training. Funds obtained through registration fees for the course will allow the project to remain active after the USDA grant period.

Impacts
none to report this year.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period