NCT04098419

Evaluation of a Two-tiered Cross-age Teaching Model for Food Literacy-based Education

• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 24 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, Davis · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 9 Years – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This project will serve adolescents from low-income and historically underserved communities through expansion of existing after-school programs. Adolescents from these communities tend to have slower academic progression and higher high school dropout rates. Extracurricular activities, including informal education through after-school programming, have been suggested to improve these rates and increase college enrollment by supporting traditional classroom-based education. The proposed project aims to educate high school-aged adolescents in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences through informal food literacy education. The project also includes a two-tiered cross-age teaching model, allowing for adolescents to be educated by college interns and to become educators for younger youth. Existing curricula, that encompass FANH sciences, will be utilized at each stage of the project. The purpose of the project is not only to educate adolescents in FANH sciences, but also to advance their motivation and efficacy for graduating high school, attending college, and majoring in FANH sciences. The project aims to accomplish these objectives through empowering adolescents to obtain knowledge, skills, and excitement for food literacy. As this model has not been utilized previously, this project will produce a best practices guide for implementing the existing curricula within a two-tiered cross-age teaching model. Additionally, the college internship and mentoring program created through this project will be continued at the initial sites and expanded to other communities. This will allow for a sustainable approach to educating adolescents in FANH sciences and providing mentorship that encourages future enrollment in college.

Conditions

• Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Science for Life	The implementation for both school years will follow the same procedures with different cohorts. Sixteen adolescents will be recruited through existing after-school programs at each location (32 total each year). College interns will facilitate food literacy lessons after school once per week with high school-aged adolescents. Beginning in January, adolescents will participate in training led by project staff and college interns to become competent cross-age teachers for garden-enhanced nutrition curricula. This training will consist of instruction in utilization of inquiry-based teaching practices and will be followed by adolescents practicing facilitating the curricula in teaching pairs. Up to 32 younger youth participants at each location (up to 64 total each year) will be recruited from local elementary schools while adolescents complete the cross-age teaching training. With mentorship from college interns, adolescents will facilitate curricula in pairs with younger youth.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-09-18
• Primary completion: 2020-03-12
• Completion: 2020-03-12
• First posted: 2019-09-23
• Last updated: 2023-06-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States