An Online Introductory Nutrition Course Adapted for Hawai‘i and the Pacific (original) (raw)

Enhancing Undergraduate Student Self-efficacy and Learning with a Community Service learning (CSL) Nutrition Workshop Assignment

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching (CELT), 2019

Community service learning (CSL) activities in undergraduate programs are associated with improvements in self-efficacy (confidence related to performing a specific task) and academic achievement. This study aimed to understand the impact of a CSL assignment on self-efficacy related to teaching community members about evidence-based nutrition and on the overall learning experience. Students were invited to participate in this mixed-methods study (surveys and focus groups), and the results indicate that the CSL activity not only increased students’ self-efficacy related to nutrition science communication, but also gave students a greater feeling of connection to their community and an opportunity to practice skills needed for future careers.

FoodUCation: A Graduate Level Community Engaged Learning Project

Community engaged learning involves using knowledge to provide solutions to community needs and is widely integrated in higher education across North America. These experiences connect community service with academic study, and the reported benefits include enhanced academic learning, promotion of skills and knowledge needed for leadership, an increased sense of civic responsibility in students, and development of an inquiring mind and imagination. Community engaged learning may be of particular interest in graduate level studies, as students are focused on the development of skills that will be of value in their chosen vocations. In this paper, we describe the development, activities, and impact of a community engaged project called FoodUCation from the graduate student perspective. The mission of the FoodUCation program is "to promote a novel approach to healthy eating known as 'lifestyle medicine', which focuses on food consumption for optimizing health and performan...

The urban nutrition initiative: Bringing academically-based community service to the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Anthropology

2004

The Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI) is a University of Pennsylvania/West Philadelphia schools academically-based community service program that integrates academics, research, and service through service-learning and participatory action research. UNI is based academically within Penn's Department of Anthropology and administratively within the Center for Community Partnerships. University and school student learning is based upon problem-solving, with theory and methods utilized from across the disciplines. As active learners, students generate knowledge through engagement with the community, which can then be applied as appropriate to other situations. UNI focuses on nutrition-related diseases, including obesity, that constitute an epidemic in the United States, especially among disadvantaged minorities, and contribute to prevalent health disparities. Student research has demonstrated UNI has positive impacts on schoolchildren's diets and Penn students' educational experiences.

Using Garden-Based Service-Learning to Work Toward Food Justice, Better Educate Students, and Strengthen Campus-Community Ties

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 2013

In this article, we present several approaches for using garden-based service-learning to work toward food justice, better educate undergraduate students, and strengthen campus-community ties. We begin by introducing several key concepts related to food justice, community gardens as a strategy for strengthening food security and community development, and service-learning as a pedagogical tool for educating students about social justice, civic engagement, and personal responsibility for positive social change. We then discuss three of our service-learning projects in depth from an interdisciplinary perspective: the Fairmount Community Garden, the North Side Garden Survey, and the Como Community Garden. We evaluate the success of our approaches using multiple measures and identify the benefits our approaches have provided for undergraduates, community partners, communities served by the gardens, educators, and our university. We also discuss lessons we have learned, offer suggestions...