SLT agencies Principals-Teachers-School Nutrition Directors

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Attachment D – Individual Interview Guide for Teachers

Section I. Getting to know each other (5 minutes)

Hello, my name is _____________ and I’m a researcher from the Michael Cohen Group. We’re conducting an independent evaluation of the Club MyPlate Kindergarten Curriculum that you completed with your students. As part of that evaluation, I am interested in learning about your experience with the activities and materials.

I want to assure you that your comments will be kept secure and only used for research purposes, except as otherwise required by law. Your name will not be divulged in any reports of this research, so please feel free to speak openly and honestly. Also, we were not personally responsible for creating the curriculum, so you won’t hurt our feelings. Last, we will be recording this group for our own reference only. Are there any questions before we begin?

Let’s start with some general questions:

• Thinking about the Club MyPlate Kindergarten Curriculum and all the lesson activities you completed over the last few weeks, how do you feel about your experience? (Probe for details).

• Which lesson activities were your favorites? Why?

• Which lesson activities did not work well in your opinion? Why?

Section II. Teacher’s Guide (15 Minutes)

Now, I’d like to ask you a few more specific questions about the Teacher’s Guide.

• How comfortable did you feel integrating the Club MyPlate Kindergarten Curriculum into your teaching? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• If comfortable, why?

• If you were not comfortable, what would have made you more comfortable?

• What did you think about the teacher’s guide? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Were the lesson materials clear and understandable? If not, were there specific sections that were confusing? What is needed to improve them?

• What did you think about the type of lesson activities included? How appropriate were they for your classroom?

• What did you think about the layout and design of the teacher’s guide?

• Was it easy to find information in the lessons? Was it easy-to-read?

• What would you change about the guide?

• What do you think about the name of the curriculum, Club MyPlate?

• Describe your experience with the Food Club activities with students? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Which were most successful? Why?

• Which ones were least successful? Why?

• What advice would you give to teachers to make implementation of these food preparation activities easier?

• How did you manage the class during these activities?

• Where did you do the food preparation activities? Why did you choose that location?

• {If teacher failed to implement one of the activities} Why did you omit one of the food preparation activities? What would need to change for you to conduct the activity?

• What was your experience working with the school nutrition director (ie, school food service director)? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• How important do you feel it is for nutrition lessons like these to include activities related to the cafeteria...To school lunch to school breakfast?

• Describe your experiences with the Book Club? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• How did you feel about the books listed?

• What changes would you make to the books included on this list?

• How did you feel about the discussion questions provided?

• Describe students’ use of the emergent reader? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Did you class enjoy the story? Did students read the story on their own or listen as someone else read it to them?

• How valuable is this component of the curriculum?

• What did you like/dislike about the story?

• Would it be valuable to have this story in a format other than a paper booklet? What format would you like to see it in (e.g., electronic version with a voice narration)?

• Describe the use of the Membership Book? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Was it successful at documenting student progress and success?

• How valuable is this component of the curriculum?

• What would you change about the Membership Book?

• Describe your experience using the Reach for the Sky song? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• What equipment did you use to play the music in your classroom?

• What was the students’ reaction to the song?

• Which activities best helped you meet educational standards for English Language Arts? For Math? For Science? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Which activities, if any, did not support any of the educational standards?

• Would you still do these activities in your classroom? Why or why not?

• How effective were the posters in communicating information about the food groups and MyPlate? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• Is the size of the poster appropriate?

• What did you like/dislike about the posters?

• Tell me about the parent’s reaction the curriculum? (USE THE FOLLOWING PROBES AS NEEDED)

• What reactions did parents have about the take-home reader/booklet?

• Did parents attend the Food Group Friend food preparation activity?

  • (if yes) What was their reaction?

  • Was the level of involvement of parents in this event similar to other class events involving parents?

  • What percentage of parents attended?

• Are there other tools that you would have liked to have to engage families more in the teaching of this lesson?

• Did you complete any of the classroom celebrations/special occasions?

• {IF YES} What was your experience completing this activity?

  • How do these activities compare to other classroom celebrations you have used?

  • What were student’s reactions to the events?

• {IF NOT} Why did you decide not to complete these activities?

Section III. Student Perception (5 minutes)

Now we’re going to talk about how the students responded to the Club MyPlate Kindergarten Curriculum.

• Which type of activities did the students enjoy the most (e.g. food preparation, reading, music, dramatic play?)

• What did they like about it?

• Which type of activities did the students enjoy the least?

• What did they not like about it?

• Were there any specific activities that were difficult for the students?

• What do you think your students learned from this experience?

Section VI. Closing (5 minutes)

• What changes or modifications, if any, would you suggest to improve the Club MyPlate Kindergarten Curriculum?

• While implementing the curriculum, were there specific areas where you wish that you had more training or additional background material? Describe these areas.

• Would online training or a handout help address this need?

• {IF YES} What would it cover?

• Would you consider using this curriculum in the future?

• Why, or why not?

• Would you recommend this curriculum to other teachers?

• What would you tell them about the curriculum?

• How could we share information about this curriculum with other teachers?

You have been great and have helped me a lot. Thanks so much for talking with me today!

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