Date of Award:

5-2015

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences

Committee Chair(s)

Heidi Wengreen

Committee

Heidi Wengreen

Committee

Marlene Israelsen

Committee

Brian Belland

Abstract

This thesis discusses an online tutoring program, MasteringNutrition©, that was implemented as a required portion of an entry level collegiate nutrition course. The tutoring program was introduced to test the ability of the program to improve memory of nutrition information taught during the course. The MasteringNutrition© program combines various teaching techniques that have been successful in increasing student learning. The major techniques discussed include: Socratic questioning, metacognition, and problem based learning. These techniques are incorporated into the MasteringNutrition© program.

To test the effect of the Mastering© tutoring program, ten questions specific to course learning objectives were asked of students in two consecutive semesters. The questions were administered to students in a pretest survey, in the final exam, and in a posttest 4-6 months after course completion. Test scores for both semesters improved, on average, from pretest to final test to posttest. Collected data was analyzed using a statistical program (SPSS). Results of analysis indicated no significant difference in the groups tested over time. Researchers concluded that MasteringNutrition© did not increase student memory of learned concepts. However, further analysis of specific data revealed that students who scored lowest on the pretest reported higher final test and posttest scores when they used the Mastery© program.

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