PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Preparing Healthy Meals At Home Lawrence McCalla, Brian Wrenn University of Georgia EDIT 6170E Summer 2010

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Executive Summary This instructional design project addresses the problem of adults in America lacking the skills to prepare a healthy meal in their home. Considering the growing trend of eating "away-from-home," the poor nutritional value of "away-from-home" and the target groups desire to learn how to prepare a healthy meal at home, this projects instructional goal is that the participant will be able to create (generate) a healthy meal in their home while following important health and safety guidelines. The context of this training is to be as close to an authentic learning environment as possible. Therefore, the training is delivered via the Internet in order that the learning take place as close to the authentic performance context as possible: the family kitchen. The learners indicate they are fluent in the English language and are comfortable receiving instruction via multimedia associated with web-delivery. The learners all understand how to operate a basic stove and oven, and have no physical or mental disadvantages that will impair following the instruction. The design team will utilize web-delivery of various multimedia materials to deliver this instruction. Printable web materials (PDF), PowerPoint Presentations, video presentations, printable worksheets, online quizzes, online surveys and Flash games are all implemented according to a systems design model for delivering instruction. Each step of instruction is supported by an appropriate media selection, and care is taken not to violate the learning hierarchies. After the instruction has been delivered, the team has created assessment instruments to assess learners progress regarding instructional goal achievement and change in attitudes. Finally, the design team conducts a formative evaluation and makes recommendations for improvement of the instructional program.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Needs Assessment Background of the Problem Many adults across America do not have the skill to prepare a healthy, homecooked meal. America currently has the one of the highest obesity rates of any developed nation (http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp). There are many reasons for this, including the rise in popularity of the fast-food restaurant, which typically offers food that is high in fat, salt, and sugar. Eating out is not a new phenomenon - there has been a rising trend of American eating away from home for decades (Food Review, Away-From-Home-Foods: Quality of Children's Diets At and Away From Home: 1994-96. p.2). Studies show that "away from home" eating, in general, is a less healthy alternative to a meal cooked at home, and there are proven benefits of eliminating away from home eating (Lin, Frazo, Guthrie, 1999, p. 237). America's current economic downturn exacerbates this problem, as Americans increasingly rely on seemingly inexpensive and certainly unhealthy food offered by many restaurants. The growing trend of away from home eating causes both increased financial expenses associated with eating out and increased health problems associated with poor diet and nutrition. First Lady Michelle Obama focuses on the issue of childhood obesity; her web site letsmove.gov, points to a wealth of information supporting the idea that American individuals and families should re-orient their behavior to focus on food prepared in the home in order to overcome America's childhood obesity problem (http://www.letsmove.gov/index.html). All of these factors come together and set the stage for our problem: how can we help turn the trends of an unhealthy population into trends of a healthy population?

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Problem Statement Many adults in America lack the skills to prepare a simple, healthy meal in their home. Therefore, they rely restaurants for much of their food intake. Since the majority of restaurants do not provide as healthy a meal that can be prepared at home, adults lacking home cooking skills face difficulty achieving a healthy diet. These adults need to be given the opportunity to learn, understand, and follow procedures that will enable them to prepare healthy and economical meals in their homes. Needs Analysis Our team collected target group data via an online survey. (Appendix A) Survey results show a range of understanding of how to prepare a healthy meal at home, while nearly all respondents believe eating out neither saves them money nor contributes to a healthy diet. Further, all respondents indicate, except one, that they are not fully comfortable preparing healthy meals at home. All respondents indicate they are interested in learning how to prepare a healthy meal at home, and that they want to have a healthier diet. Based on the survey data, the design team finds this instruction addresses the gap between the target groups lack of ability to prepare healthy meals at home and their desire to prepare healthy meals at home. Rationale for the Need for Instruction This instruction offers an opportunity to those who would like to prepare economical, healthy meals at home. Those adults finding difficulty preparing meals at home will be given instruction that covers aspects of preparing a meal not included in simple recipes - such as properly selecting ingredients, following the health and safety guidelines of cooking, and time management skills in the kitchen. Upon completion of

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

the instruction the participant will have a well-rounded set of concepts, rules, and guidelines that will enable them to create healthy meals for themselves and their families. America has an ongoing obesity epidemic, as well as an economic crisis, and this instruction is designed to both save the participant money spent dining out, and to point them towards healthy eating habits. This is the best solution to the problem because it gives the participants the skills they need to cook a healthy meal at home, eliminates the high cost of "away from home" eating, and provides an alternative to poor nutrition associated with eating "away from home." If the participants choose to follow this instruction for the long term, they will be able to save money on food expenses and improve their overall health, which will lead to lower medical expenses than those associated with obesity. The home is the perfect authentic context for this training, and will enhance learners motivation, sense of instructional relevance, and transfer of new knowledge and skills to the work setting. (Drew, Carey & Carey, 2009, p. 95) There is no better way to address Americans increasing dependency on dining out and the growing obesity epidemic than by lighting the way to a healthy meal at home, and no better place to provide the training than in the family kitchen. Goal Statement The participant will be able to create (generate) and a full course, healthy meal in their home while following important health and safety guidelines. Learner Analysis Questions relating to both needs analysis and learner analysis were included in the first target group survey. Findings about the learners are as follows. The data sheets from these surveys are included in this report. (Appendix A)

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Entry Behaviors All learners in the target group are able to properly operate a basic kitchen stove and oven, and are able to properly clean kitchen counters and food preparation surfaces. This instruction is not dependent on gender or race, so this information was not collected. Prior Knowledge of Topic Area The learners surveyed all indicate they have average or above average understanding of how to create a home cooked meal. One learner indicated they had complete understanding, and the rest indicated they had average or above average understanding. Motivation, Education and Ability Levels All learners indicate they have no physical or mental disadvantages that will impair their ability to follow this instruction, and all indicate fluency in the English language. As long as these linguistic skills are present, we see no need to determine their formal educational level. All learners indicated they are interested in learning how to prepare a healthy meal. General Learning Preferences Most learners indicate that print, video and online tutorials are their preferred methods of learning a subject. Some indicate they prefer to "dive right in" to a subject and learn as they go. Performance Context Managerial/Supervisor Support Management and supervision are nonexistent. Support and feedback will come from the learner's peers or family members who enjoy the learner's new cooking skills.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

Cooking in and of itself is a support as the learner reaps the rewards of their own success in completing a meal. Physical Aspects of the Site There are no provided facilities for the learner, and the course takes place in the learners own kitchen and local grocery stores, so that the learner will become most familiar with their own kitchen. Required resources and equipment will be kept to essentials only. The learner will not be required to purchase a full pantry and a kitchen full of new gadgets, appliances, or cookware, but will only need the most versatile of tools. The course is self-driven, and therefore has no time requirements and the learner can move at their own pace; however, a suggested schedule for completion will be included. Social Aspects of the Site Learners can work alone or in teams, but each unit is planned so that one person can complete it. The recipes are all planned for four full servings, the intention being the learners are cooking for friends and family, in addition to themselves. The learner may or may not be the only person in their peer group with cooking skills. Relevance of Skills to Workplace The skills learned in the course will guide the learner in cooking in their own home. The course is designed so that a kitchen that has not been updated in decade (but is still in working order) will be sufficient to complete the course. Learning Context Compatibility of Site with Instructional Requirements The home kitchen is fairly standardized across the United States, and with a

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

course designed to cater to the average kitchen and equipment, nearly all home kitchen sites are compatible. The learner will need access to a computer and the Internet. This access may be at home, a local school or library, as the course is designed for web-based delivery, but is also in a printable format. Therefore, home computers are not necessary. Adaptability of Site to Simulate Workplace The course will take place in the learner's own kitchen, so there is no need to simulate the work environment as they should be one and the same. Adaptability for Delivery Approaches The course can easily be adapted away from an individual home cooking course to a basic cooking course delivered in the classroom. This adaptation would make changes necessary to instructional site requirements. For example, a normal classroom would not suffice, but a home economics classroom with multiple kitchens would be satisfactory. Learning Site Constraints Affecting Design and Delivery This course is intended as a self-paced course delivered through the internet at the learner's own home. The possibilities of constraints are therefore innumerable, however the course is designed to suit the average American kitchen with an oven and stove-top, without these two necessities it becomes impossible to complete at home. Course and Unit Design (Macro-Instructional Design) The course, "How to Prepare a Healthy Meal in Your Kitchen", is divided into three Units. Instructional Curriculum Maps for course and unit design are included in this report. (Appendix B)

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

The first unit, "At the Grocery Store: Selecting Your Ingredients", addresses the task of discriminating between healthy ingredients and not-so-healthy ingredients. For example, if you are shopping for green beans, you have several choices at the store canned, frozen, fresh, and organic. The unit will provide rules that explain why one type of "packaging" has the most nutritional value and motivate the learner to choose accordingly. Finally, the unit will require the learner to list (in this case print-out) the ingredients they will shop for at the grocery store. The second unit, "In Your Kitchen: Prepare Before Cooking", will explain the idea of "prepping" food, and will make clear the reasons for doing this activity before actually beginning to cook. The design team decides to make this a separate unit in order to emphasize the importance of preparation before actually bringing heat to the food. The third unit, "Turn Up The Heat: Cooking Your Meal", will cover techniques relating to cooking each dish, as well as safety guidelines for working with heated ovens and stoves. The second unit, "In Your Kitchen: Prepare Before Cooking", is divided into three lessons. Lesson one will instruct the learner how to inspect the fresh ingredients (chicken, green beans, apples) for freshness and how to identify any "bad" parts. Then, the learner is shown how to cut away any bad parts, instead of throwing out a whole ingredient when only a small part of has "gone bad." Lesson two will cover how to properly wash the ingredients, and will explain how to properly cut ingredients (the apples) in order to continue with the recipe. Finally, lesson three will introduce time management skills, allowing the learner to plan the "start cooking" times of the individual dishes so that all

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

10

components of the meal are ready to serve at the same time. A course and unit design outline is provided in this report. (Appendix C) Lesson Design (Micro-Instructional Design) Our team developed one lesson for this course, titled, "Lesson 3: Using Time Management Skills in The Kitchen." The objective for this lesson is that the learner categorizes recipes according to recipe cooking times, generate an order in which to cook the recipes, and demonstrate ability to have all recipes complete their cooking cycles simultaneously. All lesson materials are presented online and are a combination of Power Point presentations, PDF documents and online quizzes. The learners are informed they will need basic skills to view multimedia documents and take online quizzes. The lesson begins by informing the learners of the lesson objective, proceeding to a motivational presentation showing learners both an example and a non-example of proper time management techniques in the kitchen. Next, the content is presented. If time and resources had allowed, our team would have developed the actual video to present this content. Instead, we insert a representation of the video and describe its content. After viewing the content portion of the lesson, the learner is directed to download and complete a worksheet to aid practice of the concepts presented earlier in this lesson. Finally, the learner is guided to take on online quiz to demonstrate learning of the material. The Instructional Strategy Planning Sheet fully outlines this lesson design. (Appendix D)

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

11

Formative Evaluation Plan A four part formative evaluation was planned for The Main Course. First, two experts will review the course: a subject matter expert, or SME, and an instructional designer. They will be given access to all course materials as well as printed copies of the web-based course. They will also be provided with knowledge maps of the course and the lesson objectives to ensure the content is aligned with these goals. The experts will meet three days after being given these materials to discuss the validity of the course. Their combined experience will ensure that the lesson is as accurate and as clear as possible when delivered. They will make sure that the cooking times are realistic, and the theory behind their proper arrangement results in the best possible healthy meal. Their evaluation would ideally be set one week before the next phase, the one-to-one evaluation, to allow for any revisions to be made. The one-to-one evaluation will be conducted by three sample learners selected to represent different cooking ability levels: new to cooking, moderate experience (cooking packaged meals), and experienced cooks. The learners will be selected through an online self-evaluation, inquiring about their cooking interest, knowledge, and experience. In this part of the formative evaluation, the design team will observe each sample learner completing the course individually, taking note of his or her comments, questions, and problems along the way. The designer will conduct an exit interview with each learner, asking what they learned, about the courses clarity, if they feel like the lesson improved their skills, etc., and taking notes on the learners other comments. The data gathered from the evaluation and the notes collected by the designer during instruction and the

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

12

interview will be used to revise the instruction before the small-group evaluation, which is to be conducted within three days. This phase of the evaluation, the small-group evaluation, will be conducted by between six and twelve learners selected to represent not only the three ability levels mentioned previously, but also computer experience and learners who speak English as a second language. The small-group evaluations will be conducted using the online course delivery system and an online attitude questionnaire with a section for comments and questions that arise. Where possible, the designer will observe learners taking the lesson and will take their own notes on observations. The course will be self-timed and will be followed by a difficulty-ranking questionnaire to assess if the learners are struggling with the lesson. The attitude questionnaire and comments, designer observations, and difficulty rankings will inform any revising that takes place before the final part of the evaluation. The field trial is the final phase of the evaluation. It is to be conducted by a minimum of thirty learners who are representative of the courses diverse target, and will take place three days after the small-group evaluation. The field trial takes place entirely online because the courses intended delivery is through the Internet. The learners will be asked to take notes on their observations of each item in the lesson. The learner will fill out an attitude questionnaire after completing the lesson and will be asked to enter their notes, comments and questions at the end of the questionnaire. The learners evaluation and performance will be considered in any final revisions before delivering the lesson. Formative Evaluation Due to time constraints the idealized formative evaluation plan above was shortened to include only the expert review and the small group evaluation. They decided

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

13

that the original quiz developed for the Time Management Skills in the Kitchen lesson would be far too difficult and were believed it needed to be reworked to better match the lesson objectives. The experts felt that the layout of the website was a little confusing and may cause learners to be unsure of how to complete the lesson. As a result of their critique, the quiz was entirely rewritten to coincide with the goals of the lesson, and was changed from short answer to multiple-choice. The website was also remodeled to improve the flow of the course. The experts worked closely with the instructional designers in creating this lesson and made various other minor suggestions such as larger fonts for improved accessibility. When the experts and design team signed off on the revised lesson, it was ready for the small group evaluation. The results of the small group evaluations were largely positive and offered a few common suggestions for improvement. The amount of time each learner spent on the course varied considerably from 10 to 45 minutes to complete, but as a self-paced course this is overshadowed by all of the test learners reporting that the lesson was just right in length, neither too short not too long. The course was not perceived by any of the learners as having a negative effect on their time management skills, their likelihood to cook at home, or their confidence in the kitchen; in fact it was most often reported as a moderately positive influence occasionally reaching the very positive levels. The data on the quiz is inconclusive; however, over half of the scoring data indicates the beginnings of an acceptable bell curve, perhaps with more time and participants a grade curve would be apparent. Overall, the learners indicated that based on this lesson, they would take a future fully designed course on cooking healthy meals at home.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

14

The learners were also given the opportunity to submit their own comments. Again, the majority of the responses were positive comments on the clarity and effectiveness of the lesson as a whole, but there were a few patterns that popped up. As far as the instruction and materials, the only suggestion for improvement was for more instructions to guide the learner from the introduction to the content and so forth, as well as introducing the requirements of the worksheet before the recipes. The most common of the other suggestions was to record the presentation audio at a higher level because it was too quiet. There were also some reports that the presentation would freeze or would not start. It was also suggested that each link open in a new window, leaving the home page open at all times to aid in the flow from one instructional material to the next. Based on the data collected the team concluded it should make all of the suggested changes. Clear and obvious instructions are of great importance in the course as its intended delivery is through the Internet at the learners home without the aid of an instructor, so the team decided any confusion should be cleared up before implementation. The presentation audio will be rerecorded and uploaded onto a new server, as the team determined the cause of the problems in viewing the presentation were caused by the test server. These changes will be made at the same time as the website is redesigned to assist learner progress through the lesson from step to step.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

15

References Biing-Hwan Lin, Elizabeth Frazo, and Joanne Guthrie. (January 1999). Away-FromHome Foods Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet. Retrieved from
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib750/aib750l.pdf

Biing-Hwan Lin, Elizabeth Frazo, and Joanne Guthrie. (1999) Quality of Childrens Diets At and Away From Home: 1994-96. Retrieved from
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/jan1999/frjan99a.pdf

Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2009). The Systematic Design of Instruction (7th ed.). Boston: Ally and Bacon.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

16

APPENDIX A: Needs Analysis Data This data is available online at: http://6170.chiensolutions.com/surveys.htm Once at the above page, scroll and look below the first survey. Click Survey Number 1 Results.

In your life do you have difficulty with your health? (scale from 1 to 5)

In your life do you have difficulty with personal finances? (scale from 1 to 5)

Do you think eating out the majority of the time contributes to a healthy diet? No. Eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. Yes. eating out contributes to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet. No. eating out does not contribute to a healthy diet.

Do you think eating out save you money? Eating out does not save me money. Eating out saves me money.

Eating out does not save me money. Eating out does not save me money. Eating out does not save me money. Eating out does not save me money. Eating out does not save me money. Eating out does not save me money.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

17

How comfortable are you with preparing a healthy meal at home? (scale from 1 to 5) 2 1 2 2 3 2 5 3 4

Do you think eating healthy meals prepared at home would help save you money? (scale from 1 to 5) 3 2 5 5 3 4 5 1 5

How interested are you in learning how to prepare a healthy meal at home? Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested Interested

Do you want to have a healthier diet? Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Yes. I want to have a healthier diet. Rate your current understanding of how to create a home cooked meal. (scale from 1 to 5)

Do you know how to properly operate a basic kitchen stove and oven?

Do you know how to clean kitchen counters and other food preparations surfaces?

Can you fluently speak and write the English language?

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

4 4 5 3 5 5 3

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

18

Do you have any physical or mental handicaps that might interfere with cooking in a kitchen?

What is your preferred way to learn about a subject? (check all that apply)

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Print or textbooks. Video. Online Tutorials. Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go Print or textbooks. Video. Online Tutorials. Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go Print or textbooks. Video. Online Tutorials Print or textbooks. Video. Online Tutorials. Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go Online Tutorials. Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go Diving right in to whatever it is and learning as I go

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

19

APPENDIX B: Instructional Curriculum Maps B1. Course Level Instructional Design Map This map also available online:
http://6170.chiensolutions.com/_images/6170_progreport02_courseICM.gif

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

20

B2. Unit Level Instructional Design Map This map also available online:
http://6170.chiensolutions.com/_images/6170_progreport02_unitICM.gif

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

21

APPENDIX C: Course and Unit Design Outline Course Title: How To Prepare A Healthy Meal in Your Kitchen. Instructional Goal: Adult participants will be able to generate a healthy, home-cooked meal in their kitchen. Unit I At the Grocery Store: Selecting Your Ingredients Obj: The learner will be able to list all ingredients for all recipes in this course. The learner will demonstrate the ability to discriminate between alternative choices for the same ingredient and choose the ingredient that is the healthiest choice. Unit II In Your Kitchen: Prepare Before Cooking Obj: The learner will be able to discriminate between fresh ingredients and spoiled ingredients, discarding any spoiled ingredients. The learner will be able to properly wash all fresh ingredients and cut ingredients to specified size for the recipe. The learner will demonstrate time management skills that ensure all food is ready to be served simultaneously. Unit III Turn Up the Heat: Cooking Your Meal Obj: The learner will demonstrate the ability to cook food to its appropriate temperature, follow safe cooking guidelines, and bring each recipe to completion. Lesson Plan for Unit II Unit II In Your Kitchen: Prepare Before Cooking Obj: The learner will be able to discriminate between fresh ingredients and nearly spoiled/spoiled ingredients, discarding any nearly spoiled/spoiled ingredients. The learner will be able to properly wash all fresh ingredients and cut ingredients to specified size for

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

22

the recipe. The learner will demonstrate time management skills that ensure all food is ready to be served simultaneously. Lesson 1: How to inspect your ingredients for freshness. Obj: The participant will inspect the chicken, beans, and apples and discriminate between fresh and spoiled parts. The learner will choose to discard any spoilt ingredients. Lesson 2: How to wash and prepare ingredients for cooking. Obj: The participant will demonstrate proper washing technique for chicken, beans, and apples. The participant will demonstrate the ability cut all ingredients to their specified size. Lesson 3: Using Time Management Skills in The Kitchen. Obj: The participant will categorize each recipe according to its total cooking time, generate a chronological order in which to cook the recipes, and demonstrate the ability to have all recipes complete their cooking cycle at approximately the same time.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

23

APPENDIX D: Instructional Strategy Planning Sheet Instructional Plan 1. Pre-Instructional activities 1a. Use a short story about two fictional characters, Mary and Alice, to show an example and non-example of proper time management skills in the kitchen. Mary coordinates her cooking times relative to how long each dish takes to bring to completion, but Alice does not consider the relative cooking times. The end of the story shows Alice frustrated that her chicken is getting cold while she waits on the beans to cool. Mary, however, is able to serve the meal just as everything is perfectly ready to serve. Mary and her family is now having a happy meal together, while Alice and her family are waiting, hungry, and frustrated. End by stating, "You can easily follow this lesson and have a happy outcome like Mary did!" 1b. Explain to the learners that the objective in this lesson is to get all the food on the table in its optimal serving state; the main idea is to list the complete preparation cycle time of each dish and cook them in order of the longest preparation cycle first, the shortest production cycle last. 1c. Inform the students that basic computer skills will be needed to view multimedia presentations and print worksheets and tests. Media Choice 1. Pre-instructional activities 1a. Web site: Print and Video; Narrated story using a screen cast of a PPT presentation (hosted on YouTube). Use of still cartoons will be ideal. Accompanied with an optional printout (pdf). 1b. Web site: Print and Video; short YouTube video of a narrated presentation. Accompanied with an optional printout (pdf). 1c. Web site: print and video; YouTube video of narrated presentation accompanied by an optional printout.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

24

2. Content Presentation 2a, b. Learner will watch a video guiding them through the concept of how certain foods take different times to complete their cooking cycle. A timeline will show relative cooking times of different dishes and how cooking start times must be adjusted in relation to the desired end time in order for all dishes to be ready to serve simultaneously. Learner must print the worksheet called "Timing in the Kitchen." This worksheet has sample meals, with each ingredient's total cooking cycle time listed. 3. Learner Participation 3a. The learner will work through the problems on the worksheet, attempting to determine the order in which to begin the cooking cycle for each ingredient in the particular meal. The worksheet is laid out like a schedule, or planner, and the participant must fill in the dish to be cooked, when it will begin its cooking cycle, and when it will end its cooking cycle. The goal is for the learner to generate a plan that ensures all dishes finish their cooking cycle at the same time. 3b. After completing the problems on the worksheet, the learner will be directed to navigate to a particular part of the web site where they can view the answers to the worksheet problems and explanations of the answers. If the learner desires more examples and feedback, s/he will be able to print out additional worksheets and repeat the practice/feedback process. When the learner has completed the practice and feedback, s/he will be directed to another page on the site which summarizes the lesson and suggests sample activities they can perform in the kitchen to test the newly learned skill.

2. Content Presentation 2a, b. Web site: print and video; YouTube video of narrated presentation and a worksheet printout.

3. Learner participation 3a. Web site: printed worksheet 3b. Web site: print and video; videos explaining the answers and links to sample activities (printable)

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

25

4. Assessment 4a. The learner will take on online quiz made with Hot Potatoes. The quiz will cover the content presented in the lesson. 5. Follow-through activities 5a. The learners can keep their worksheets and test papers for reference. The learner will be directed to print out an additional "job aid" that states "What to start cooking first? The dish with the longest cooking cycle starts first, and the dish with the shortest cooking cycle starts last. Longest = First. Shortest = Last." Learner will be encouraged to test out their new skills by trying to make the recipes used for the lesson. A puzzle is provided as an additional activity that will help them visualize the completed dish. Rationale for media choices:

4. Assessment 4a. Web site: hot potatoes quiz

5. Follow-through activities 5a. Web site: printed "job aid" helpful reminder of the main concept of the lesson. Web site and PDF document will offer recipes for an activity to reinforce concepts learned in the lesson. Flash puzzle, online.

The abstract concept of adjusting recipes cooking start times relative to the total cooking cycle time, while considering the other recipes' start times and cooking cycles, is best represented visually. Although one may think it is a "simple" concept, there is a fair degree of complexity to it, especially for someone who has never considered the idea. Words can get in the way when describing abstract concepts, and a visual graph or chart can communicate the concept of juggling different dishes according to their particular traits much better than words. Pictures, videos, illustrations, and graphs are best for representing abstract concepts. The print is provided so that the learner can have hands-on work materials and reference material, which may aid the student when working in the kitchen, away from a computer.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

26

The overall delivery system of the web site is for the convenience of the learner, as the context of the training is in their home- and the web is able to deliver this instruction "directly" to the context, even if there are 1000s of participants. The learning and performance contexts are able to merge due to the web delivery, creating an increased likelihood of transfer of learning.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

27

APPENDIX E: Instructional Materials

Our design team experimented with media, and were able to develop an instructional website. All materials can be accessed from the project website: http://6170.chiensolutions.com/index.htm E1. Lesson Introduction; Power Point Presentation http://6170.chiensolutions.com/lessons.htm E2. Lesson Content; PDF file http://6170.chiensolutions.com/lessons.htm E3. Lesson Worksheet; Timing in The Kitchen Worksheet; PDF file http://6170.chiensolutions.com/lessons.htm E4. Lesson Quiz; Hot Potatoes Quiz http://6170.chiensolutions.com/lessons.htm E5. Follow up activity; Flash puzzle game http://6170.chiensolutions.com/activities.htm

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

28

APPENDIX F: Formative Evaluation Data This data is available online at: http://6170.chiensolutions.com/surveys.htm Once at the above page, scroll and look below the second survey. Click Survey Number 2 Results.

How long did this lesson take you to complete? about 10 minutes 10 mins 15 minutes 45 minutes Roughly 25 minutes

How would you rank the length of the lesson? (scale of 1 to 5) 3 3 3 3 3

How do you feel this course effected your time management skills in the kitchen? (scale of 1 to 5) 4 4 4 4 3

Are you more likely or less likely to try cooking on your own? (scale of 1 to 5) 4 4 3 5 4

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

29

How has the course affected your confidence in the kitchen? (scale of 1 to 5)

What was your score on the quiz?

Based on this lesson, how likely would you be to take this full course on home cooking? (scale of 1 to 5)

4 3

80 dont remember

4 3

Why? or Why not? Course was thorough and explained time management in the kitchen in an easy to understand way. I think if it were fleshed out , I would have a better grasp. But I do get how the different recipes are supposed to come together and "fit together like a jigsaw puzzle." I have a hard time doing this all simultaneously at home, probably because I dont usually plan for it. The course gave insights that were helpful. I would be interested to see what the rest of the course could do to enhance my understanding of home cooking from a perspective different than my own. Learn more about time management and learn how to cook healthier.

90

8/12/2010

4/12 first time

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

30

If you could change anything in this lesson, what would it be? Why? Considering that this lesson topic was pretty simplistic, I think it was presented and executed well, and can think of nothing I would immediately change. volume was turned all the way up and i had a hard time hearing the audio portions

Was anything unclear to you in this lesson?

Do you have any other questions or comments?

Nothing was unclear.

Besides needing a thorough edit, I think overall the lesson was complete and thorough, leaving no room for confusion on the subject.

no, all was clear and explained well I took some notes Brian... The presentation and listening activity were too quiet for me to hear and the slides moved kinda quickly and kept moving when I clicked the activity(which was funny and cruel!), maybe it could pause itself or you could tell students to pause it first... I think your server was slow cause the presentation froze so it could load on two slides. The second half of the power point was kinda text heavy, I'm glad you read it for me cause I wouldn't have. That puzzle is impossible, does that mean time management is impossible? I wish the links would have opened in new windows, I

That youtube video that isn't real, maybe it would help to see someone managing their time in the kitchen. I feel like I understand the need for it and the basics of it, but I'm still not clear on how to fit the down time together.

Fitting the down time together needs more explanation. Everything else was clear.

PREPARING HEALTHY MEALS

kept closing it out and then having to navigate back. I couldn't find the FAQ or Forums. The learning curve is kinda steep between the content page and the worksheet page. Maybe you could switch the recipe examples, the content ones were easier to follow. The worksheet needed some directions at the top, I spent half the time on it reading the recipes before I knew what I was even looking for. Sorry I wrote so much, I hope this helps! I think it would be helpful if the surveys, guided power point, and activities opened in a new window while the home page stayed open in the original window. It would help, I think, with the flow of the course.

31

After the guided presentation, I wasn't sure what to do next. Maybe the last slide could have step-by-step instructions as to what to do next and where specifically to go.

Good course. I would be interested in taking the rest of the course to learn about the other aspects of home cooking. Guided presentation looks great and is helpful. I noticed some videos wouldn't auto play or play at all. Noticed one type-o in the lesson intro. Other than that, smooth sailing! Here is what I was using during this lesson and survey. Windows XP Home Edition Google Chrome