P45 (continued)

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior � Volume 41, Number 4S, 2009 Poster Abstracts S35

Science; Dennis L. Eggett, PhD, theegg@byu.edu, 223ATMCB, Department of Statistics, Brigham YoungUniversity, Provo, UT 84602

Objective: To evaluate the impact of an introductorynutrition course cooking assignment on cooking skills ofcollege-aged students.Use of Theory or Research: The Social Cognitive The-ory, which denotes a dynamic interrelationship betweenenvironmental, behavioral, and personal constructs, wasused as the theoretical framework for this cook-an-entreeassignment.Target Audience: College-aged students in an introduc-tory nutrition course who completed the cook-an-entreeassignment (n¼580, 67% females).Description: Students found their own recipe, shoppedfor, and prepared an entree that had 3 or more ingredientsincluding a protein, a starch, and a fruit or non-starchyvegetable. Students answered survey questions onlineabout their cooking skill level before (retrospective pre-test) and after (post-test) cooking the entree that requiredstudents to rate their cooking skill level from 1 to 5. A Lik-ert scale was used with 1 ¼ ‘‘cooking-impaired—I can’t boilwater’’ to 5 ¼ ‘‘very experienced—I can cook entire mealswith a variety of foods’’.Evaluation: Students described their cooking skills ashigher after the cooking assignment. Mean score beforewas 3.4�0.9 and after was 3.9�0.7 (p<0.001). Female stu-dents reported significantly higher cooking skills beforeand after assignment completion compared to males (Be-fore: 3.6�0.9 vs. 3.2�0.9, p<0.001; After: 4.0�0.7 vs.3.7�0.7, p<0.001).Conclusions and Implications: Students perceived anincrease in their cooking skill level in response to a nutri-tion course cooking assignment. This suggests that expo-sure to a hands-on practical experience with cooking,including the process of finding and preparing a singleentree, can enhance cooking skills among college-agestudents.

Continued on page S36

P46 Service Learning Extends AcademicLearning in Critical Area of ChildhoodOverweightDebra B. Reed, PhD, RD, LD, debra.reed@ttu.edu, TexasTech University, Box 41240, Lubbock, TX 79409-1240;Allison Bray Childress, BS, allison.bray@ttu.edu

Objective: To describe the development of a service learn-ing (SL) course in which university nutrition studentsdeliver nutrition education lessons that apply classroom-based knowledge in the critical area of prevention of child-hood overweight.Use of Theory or Research: SL is a useful pedagogicalmodel for structuring experience-based courses. SL coursesprovide hands-on application of classroom knowledgerelated to nutrition needs assessment, program develop-ment, health disparities, ethics, and models of behaviorchange.

Target Audience: Senior level university nutrition stu-dents and elementary school children Pre-K through 5thgrade, enrolled in an after-school program conducted bya community partner.Description: University students receive training andthen deliver 10 lessons to children in the after-school pro-gram with each lesson containing 3 components: nutri-tion education, snack preparation, and physical activity.Evaluation: Critical reflection provides a bridge betweenthe community service and the academic course content.University students complete an evaluation each timethey deliver a lesson and each time they observe a lesson.A comprehensive evaluation at the end of the course anda ‘‘debriefing’’ with the community partner ensure thatthe needs of the university students, after-school students,and community partner are met.Conclusions and Implications: SL courses have the po-tential to provide university students with opportunities toapply their academic knowledge to address the critical nu-trition needs in communities. SL is a unique way to gener-ate reciprocity of learning between students delivering theservice and recipients of the service. This project wasfunded by Texas Tech University’s Teaching, Learning,and Technology Center.

P47 An Evaluation of the 2nd Grade EatingHealthy from Farm to Fork CurriculumEric L. Hazzard, elhazzard@ucdavis.edu, University ofCalifornia, Department of Nutrition, One Shields Avenue,Davis, CA 95616-8669; Karrie Heneman, PhD,kmheneman@ucdavis.edu, Department of Nutrition, UCDavis; Sharon K. Junge, skjunge@ucdavis.edu, 4-H YouthDevelopment Program, ANR State 4-H Office, UC Davis;Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr, PhD, sazidenbergcherr@ucdavis.edu, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis

Objective: The school environment is an optimal settingfor nutrition education programs due to the amount oftime children spend at school. Previous research has shownthat age appropriate school-based programs can increasefruit and vegetable consumption among children. This studyexamined the effects of the Eating Healthy from Farm to Forksecond grade curriculum at improving the nutrition andhealth knowledge and behaviors of second grade children.Design, Setting and Participants: Second graders andtheir parents in 5 schools (3 intervention, 2 controlschools), from 3 counties in Northern California, partici-pated in the study.Intervention: Nutrition educators delivered 8 nutritioneducation and garden related lessons; 1 lesson per weekfor 8 weeks.Outcome, Measures and Analysis: At baseline a pre-test was administered to children and a pre-survey wasadministered to their parents. A post-test and a follow-upparent survey were then administered.Results: Adjusting for pre-test scores, the children in theintervention group had a significantly higher change score(post-score minus pre-score) compared to the controlgroup (p¼.033) when comparing overall average scores innutrition knowledge. In addition, there were significant