Recipient Organization
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
1301 EAST MAIN STREET
MURFREESBORO,TN 37132
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The projects's overarching goal is to inspire high school students to pursue a higher education degree and careers in food and argicultural sciences. To achieve this, we will create a dual enrollment class on food literacy, integrating aspects of the global food system. The course will meet 4-credit hours desiged to meet a general education science requirement. The project aims to faciilitate the transition from high school to college and the professional world. Four objectives guide the project: :1) Develop an open-access eBook and engaging acrivities for critical thinking on food systems; 2) Have the eBook reviewed by multidisclinary experts; 3) Enhance students' food literacy, motiate them to alter dietary behaviors, and earn college credit; 4) Increase interest in food-related careers such as food science, agriculture, and nutrition.A college-level eBook will be developed and high school students will be recruited to enroll in the food literacy course for dual enrollment credit. High school students will tour the Middle Tennessee State University campus and explore relevant degree areas such as fermenttation science, food science, agriculture, dietetics, and family and consumer sciences. The university's forward thinking aligns with societal importance, setting a precedent for incorporating food literacy into general education science.
Animal Health Component
55%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
55%
Developmental
45%
Goals / Objectives
The project's overarching goal is to inspire high school students to pursue a higher education degree and careers in food and agricultural sciences.The project's target objectives are to:1) Develop an open-access eBook and activities to foster student engagement and critical thinking in a novel course, Food and Nutrition Literacy.2) Submit the new eBook for multidisciplinary expert review to validate content and secondary Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teacher review to validate application to their student groups.3) Improve food literacy knowledge and related behavior changes in high school juniors and seniors who complete the dual enrollment course.4) Increase student interest in a variety of food-related careers in food science, nutrition, and agriculture.
Project Methods
The faculty team will divide the tasks involved in writing the course eBook. Chapter activities will be assigned per expertise and interest. The team plans to solicit expert review and feedback to assure that the eBook is relevant and student-friendly. A focus group of secondary Family and Consumer Science teachers will be utilized to gather qualitative comments and data. During the summer FCS teacher workshop, a thorough review to validate application of course content will be performed by teachers in attendance. Faculty members will edit and modify course content using gathered feedback.The NFS 1030 Food and Nutrition Literacy course will then be offered to high school juniors and seniors to improve food literacy knowledge and related behavor change. The course will also be offered to first-year college students who select the class to fulfill a general education science requirement.Changes will be measured by differences in the pre-survey and post-survey student scores for the students who complete the course. Findings will be disseminated at various conferences such as the Food and Nutrition Conference Expo and through the submission of manuscripts to select journals.