Improved Teaching

Problem:
The EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Program) lessons have tried to address that participants learn differently. Assistants have used flip charts to use to teach their lessons. Flip charts work well for some learners, but not everyone. Peggy Martin, State EFNEP Coordinator was aware of difference in learning styles and brought Joye Norris to a state EFNEP training to emphasize to the program assistants there is a difference between talking and teaching.

Dr. Norris re-emphasized that we remember only 10% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% when a demo is added, 70% with a workshop exercise and 90% by doing the real thing and talking about it. Many people (60%) are visual learners. Others are kinesthetic learners that learn by doing.

Response:
After the state training our unit decided that we were going to improve our teaching by encouraging more participation in our lessons.

For example, in the schools, Lynne Rechterman decided to strengthen her grain lesson, since eating whole grain is stressed with MyPyramid. Many students have no idea of what wheat looks like, how it is turned into flour. We got a small coffee grinder and wheat berries and now the students get to grind flour. The grinder noise gets the attention of the auditory learners. The kinesthetic learners get to push the button of the grinder. And the visual learners see the berries turn into flour.

In addition to the grinder activity, Lynne has the students get out of their desks and pantomime harvesting wheat. They have to pretend to climb up into the combine. They have to put gas in. Then in their seats they have to bump along over the field. They have to turn their heads to watch the hopper to see when it is full. When full, they have to turn the wheel to go back to the wagon, etc. These simple activities bring the growing of wheat to life for the children. Then she goes on to baking bread. While doing these activities she is talking about the importance of whole grains. She has the paper bag kernel that she uses to show the different parts of the kernel. One student tears the brown bag off (representing the bran), then another holds the white fluff (representing the endosperm) while a third finds the germ.

To help adults learn, Tina uses a graphic organizer with the grain lesson. According to Joyce Norris, “graphic organizers are used to help your learners make a sense of their own thoughts and contributions.” She uses the graphic organizer that emphasizes the main points in the lesson at Heart of Iowa. Many of these participants have not had success in the formal educational system. Many of the learners in this group need something to do with their hands while they are learning. One participant shared her graphic organizer with us after the class.

Julie makes use of the three learning styles on a home visits. She was working with a group of 3 homemakers, meeting in one of the homemakers’ home. They wanted to learn to cook, so Julie let them select what they wanted to cook from the EFNEP recipes and they would get the food needed. I observed a lesson when they were making skillet lasagna. The group was in the kitchen, Julie had the flip chart lesson open on the counter. The group was preparing the recipe, they were watching, reading and preparing while Julie was talking through the talking points of the lesson. She was very careful to relate the information back to the homemakers or as Joye Norris says, putting the person in the story. This encouraged the homemakers to verbally participate in the lesson. At the end Julie asked the homemakers if this was easy to prepare. Yes. Would they make it for their families? Yes.

Tina works with participants at Heart of Iowa, and has been trying to use some of Joye Norris’ ideas. She greets everyone as they come in. She has folders for each participant to pick up. She has a colorful tablecloth on the table. She too involves the participants in the lesson via asking open ended questions, waiting for the participants to answer, etc. The participants know that she is not there to judge them but accept them as they are and help them find out more about nutrition for themselves and their children.

There was one participant at Heart of Iowa who wanted to help all the time. So when I brought the supplies for the egg salad, I also brought an envelope for everyone. Inside the envelope was a step of the recipe or the word – taste. Those that got taste didn’t help prepare the recipe. It was interesting to watch. Several of those that got steps hadn’t had the opportunity to help before because of the more enthusiastic helpers in the group. When they had their step, they were sure they were there to perform it. It was their step. As we prepared the recipe, we related the eggs back to the lesson. At the end of the lesson Tina asked how many of you are going to prepare this. Four people said they would. Then the next week one participant came up to Tina, she had lost recipe, could she have another. They really enjoyed drawing an envelope with their task in it. Again, it was a small thing to do but it allowed the whole group to get involved.

Impact:
Every class Lynne has been in the teachers have been very supportive of the increased activity in the lessons. Many say ‘I could do that with lots of my lessons.’ When the students are engaged in the lesson they are learning.

The 3 homemakers that were involved in the small group Julie conducted all graduated from the program. They always were at the home visit. They did make the recipe for their families and gained confidence in themselves and their cooking skills.

With the envelope method of distributing jobs, more people got to participate which made them feel part of the group. Each time the group meets, they become more interested in what the lesson is. They always want to know what the lesson will be next time (we have a set rotation of lessons) and request foods they would like to learn to prepare.

We are seeing an improvement in our teaching. We are seeing an improvement in the mini goals that participants set and carry out. I have given examples of participants saying they were going to prepare the recipe again at home. AK851’s mini goal was “I will not get any Kool-aid this week at the store.” We ask how did you do with your mini goal at the next home visit? AK851 said “I bought 100% juice instead.”

At Heart of Iowa, Tina made East Indian Tea Sandwiches with participants. It seemed that their experience with fresh vegetables is very limited. They seemed to think vegetables only came in a can. They were surprised at how easy and quick it was to make the sandwiches. After tasting the fresh vegetables, many said they when they went to the store they were going to buy some fresh vegetables.

At an after school group, Stephanie gave the Food Safety Lesson. Each child got to wash their hands. When a father came to get his son early, the little boy said Dad let’s see how good you wash your hands. The dad put the Glow Germ Lotion on his hands and his son showed him how to wash his hands, i.e. between the fingers, under the nails, etc. The dad did very well and the little boy was very proud.

At an after school group, Stephanie was introducing MyPyramid. She stressed how important vegetables were. She talked about how dark lettuce was better than iceberg lettuce. The next time she had class and a mother came to pick up one participant, the mother said that she was in the store with her daughter and they were getting lettuce. The girl said you are getting the wrong kind of lettuce as the mother picked up iceberg lettuce. You need to be getting the dark green lettuce.

To be the most effective teacher we can be, we need to put the participant in the story.

Contact:
Susan Uthoff
ISUE FS Nutrition and Health
Linn County Extension Office
3279 7th Ave  Marion IA  52302
Phone 319-377-9839; Fax 319-377-0475
Email x1uthoff@iastate.edu