Request Approval to Perform Research for Team Nutrition Posters for Elementary and Middle School

Attachment D

OMB Control # 0584-0524

Expiration Date: 4/30/2013

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0524. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection.

FNS Nutrition Social Marketing
Poster Concept Formative Research Focus Groups

Middle School Students (Grades 7 & 8)

The purpose of these focus groups is to understand child perceptions of healthy foods and the food options offered at their schools. In addition, these groups will be used to test the draft poster concepts that have been developed in support of this initiative. Each group will test 4 poster concepts.

Introductions (5 minutes)

Hi, my name is [MODERATOR]. We’re going to be together for one hour talking about food. I am a moderator who works with Edelman Berland and I flew here from Washington, D.C. to hear your opinions.

We’ll be doing several things today: participating in a group discussion, doing an individual activity and even looking at some new posters. Have any of you participated in a group like this before?

This room is a little different from your classroom as school. You may have seen that there’s a big mirror at the back. I have some friends behind that mirror, but don’t worry about them, they just want to hear all the good ideas that you have.

Also, we are being video and audio taped right now. This is just to help me out, because after we talk today I have to go home and write a report. I’ll use the tapes to help make sure that everything I put in my report is accurate and no one except for me and my coworkers helping me with this project will be able to watch this. It will be kept secure and not shared except as otherwise required by law.

Before we get started, like school, I do have a couple of rules for today. [RULES WILL BE WRITTEN ON FLIP CHART]

1. Every idea is a good idea. If you think something different than the others, that’s ok - I want to hear everyone’s ideas.

2. Everyone gets to share their ideas.

3. If you do need to go to the bathroom, only one out of the room at a time. Go out into the room we just came from and [NAME] will tell you where to go.

Since we all just met, I want to get to know you a little better. Let’s go around the room and introduce ourselves. I’d like you to tell us:

• Your name

• What grade you are in

• The school you go to

• And, what is your favorite thing to do when you get home from school?

[MODERATOR FINISHES INTRODUCTIONS WITH SELF AND PROCEEDS TO SECTION 1]

Section 1: Foods & Perceptions of Healthy Foods (15 minutes)

So as I said, we’re going to be talking about food. To get started, let’s talk about some of the food we like to eat.

• I eat different foods for different meals – and there are some things that I eat for breakfast that I don’t eat for lunch or dinner.

  • How do you feel about breakfast?

  • Do you usually eat breakfast in the morning?

    • [IF NO] Why don’t you eat breakfast?

    • [IF YES] What foods do you usually eat for breakfast?

    • [IF YES] Where do you usually eat breakfast?

      • Do you ever eat breakfast at school?

        • [IF YES] What do you like about eating breakfast at school? What don’t you like?

        • [IF NO] Have you ever thought about eating breakfast at school? Why or why not?

• Now I want to think about lunchtime. How do you feel about lunch?

• What kinds of food do you usually eat for lunch?

• Raise your hand if you ever eat a school lunch.

  • [IF YES] How do you feel about the lunch you get at school?

  • [IF YES] Do you get to choose what you want to eat or is there just one option?

    • [IF YES] How do you feel about the choices offered?

• Are there any foods that you eat at school that you don’t usually eat at home?

  • What are these foods?

  • How do you feel about these foods?

• Are there any foods that are available at your school that you have never tried before?

  • What are these foods?

  • Why haven’t you tried them?

• Are there any foods that you tried for the first time at school?

  • What are these foods?

  • Did you like trying something new?

• Imagine you have your lunch tray in front of you – what foods would you put on that tray?

  • What are you reasons for choosing this food?

• When picking out what you want to eat at school, how much do you think about making sure you eat healthy foods?

• What does it mean for a food to be “healthy”?

  • What are some examples of “healthy” foods?

• [MODERATOR SELECT ONE CATEGORY TO EXPLORE IN DETAIL: VEGETABLES, MILK, WHOLE GRAINS]

• Let’s talk more about vegetables.

  • How do you feel about eating vegetables?

  • Why should kids like you eat vegetables?

  • How do you feel about dark green leafy vegetables like spinach or salads?

    • Do you ever eat these types of vegetables? Why or why not?

    • Is it important for kids like you to eat dark green vegetables? Why or why not?

  • How do you feel about beans, like baked beans, black beans or chick peas

    • Do you ever eat these? Why or why not?

    • Is it important for kids like you to eat beans? Why or why not?

• Let’s talk more about milk.

  • How do you feel about milk?

  • How often do you drink milk? What type of milk do you drink most often? (e.g. skim, low-fat, 1%, 2%)

  • Do you drink milk at school? Why or why not?

  • Is it important for kids like you to drink milk at lunch? Why or why not?

• Let’s talk more about whole grains.

  • What are “whole grains?” What kinds of foods are considered “whole grain” food?

  • Where have you heard about whole grains?

    • Do you eat whole grain foods? Why or why not?

  • Is it important for kids like you to eat whole grains? Why or why not?

I’d like to do an activity. Have you ever seen an advice column before? You may have seen this online or maybe in a magazine – people write in with a question or problem and the expert provides an answer so that everyone can learn what to do.

Since you are the experts on middle schoolers, I’d like you to imagine that the people who are in charge of your school lunches want some advice on how to get kids your age to eat healthy foods. I’ll give you a couple of minutes to write down your advice and fill in the 3 top reasons kids your age should be eating healthy food, then we’ll talk about it as a group. [MODERATOR HAND OUT ADVICE COLUMN WORKSHEET (SEE FINAL PAGE OF THIS DOCUMENT), ALLOW 2-3 MINUTES FOR ADVICE]

• What advice did you give?

• What are the top reasons for eating healthy?

• What do you think is the most important reason?

You gave some great advice. Before we move on, I want you to flip over your paper, and based on the advice you gave draw an advertisement that would convince your friends to eat healthy.

[MODERATOR ALLOW 3 MINUTES FOR DRAWINGS, ASK EACH STUDENT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY DREW]

Section 2: Concept Evaluations (35 minutes)

Theme A – “Power Up”
Poster Concept A_1	Poster Concept A_2
Theme B – “Listen to Your Body”
Poster Concept B_1	Poster Concept B_2
Theme C – “You Control You”
Poster Concept C_1	Poster Concept C_2
Theme D – “Milk”
Poster Concept D_1	Poster Concept D_2

Group	Poster 1	Poster 2	Poster 3	Poster 4
City 1 – Boys	B_2	B_1	A_2	A_1
City 1 – Girls	D_2	D_1	C_2	C_1
City 2 – Boys	D_1	D_2	B_1	B_2
City 2 – Girls	C_1	C_2	A_1	A_2
City 3 – Boys	C_2	C_1	D_2	D_1
City 3 – Girls	A_2	A_1	B_2	B_1
City 4 – Boys	A_1	A_2	C_1	C_2
City 4 – Girls	B_1	B_2	D_1	D_2

For the rest of our time together I’m going to be showing you 4 different posters that can be put up around your school to help get kids in your school to eat healthier. These are posters that you may see in your lunchroom, in the hallway or in your classrooms, and I want to know what you like and what you don’t like about the posters.

We’re going to work in teams of 3. [MODERATOR SPLIT UP TEAMS]

1. I’ll show you a poster and read what it says. Then, as a group I want you to use these stickers to show me what you like and don’t like about the poster.

2. A happy face means that you like something – maybe it’s the picture, the color, the words. And you’ll stick the happy face sticker right on that part that you like.

3. A sad face sticker means that you don’t like something. You will put the sad face sticker directly on the part that you don’t like.

4. I have one rule for this activity. Since we’re working as a team, at least two of you have to agree that you like something or don’t like something before you put your sticker on the poster.

[MODERATOR SHOW THE GROUP THE POSTER; READ THE TEXT; PLACE ONE POSTER FOR EACH GROUP ON THE TABLE – STUDENTS GET 3 MINUTES TO COMPLETE STICKERS; FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS WILL BE A MIX OF GENERAL AND THEME-SPECIFIC QUESTION AND WILL LAST 3-5 MINUTES PER POSTER]

• How do you feel about this poster?

• What do you think this poster is trying to tell you? (ROTATE ASKING TEAM 1 OR TEAM 2 FIRST)

  • What else is this poster trying to tell you?

  • Where else have you heard about this? / Is there anyone else telling you to do this?

• What are some of the things that you really like about this poster?

  • What do you like about these things?

• What are some of the things you don’t like about this poster?

  • What do you not like about these things?

• What would you change about this poster to make it better for kids like you?

  • Where do you think your school should put this poster up?

[POSTER-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS CAN BE FOUND ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES. QUESTIONS WILL BE INCLUDED IN DISCUSSION GUIDE BASED ON THE TESTING SCHEDULE.]

• Now that we’ve seen 4 different posters, which one that we saw today was your favorite?

  • What about this poster makes it your favorite?

• Do any of these posters make you want to eat more or less of a certain food?

  • Which one? Tell me why.

• Which poster would catch your attention in the school cafeteria?

• Do you have any final advice for people who are making these posters?

  • What else could they do to help encourage kids to choose healthier foods?

Thank and close group.

Power Up Questions

Poster 1

• What does “power up” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME]

• What do you think the purpose of the game that is shown in this poster?

• What does this poster tell you about the benefits of eating fruits and veggies?

• How do you feel about the boy on this poster?

  • Tell me about him.

  • What grade do you think he is in?

  • Would you be friends with him?

  • Have you seen video game that look like this before? Where?

• If you could change something about this poster/the game, what would it be?

• Do you believe that fruits and vegetables can help you “power up” in real life, like they do for the character in this poster? Why or why not?

Poster 2

• What does “power up” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME]

• What does this poster tell you about the benefits of eating healthy foods?

• How do you feel about the boys on this poster?

  • Tell me about them.

  • What grade do you think they are in?

  • Would you be friends with them?

• What do you think about the phrase “Healthy foods help you skate through your day”?

  • What does it mean to you?

• Would you eat these foods with your friends? Why or why not?

• Do you like posters that have real kids on them or do you like cartoons better?

Listen to Your Body. Questions

Poster 1

• What do you think of the text message conversation?

  • What is the conversation about?

  • Who is sending and receiving these messages?

  • How old is the kid having the conversation?

  • If your body could send you text messages about what it needs, do you think the conversation would sound like this?

  • Would you write any of the texts differently? How would you write it?

• What does “Listen to your body” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME

  • The poster also says “Eat more fruits and vegetables and your body will thank you” – what does that mean to you? Do you believe this?

  • Overall, how do you feel about what this poster is trying to tell you.

• How do you feel about the way this poster looks?

• How do you feel about the cell phone shown on this poster?

  • Would you want to use this phone?

• If this poster was on the wall in the cafeteria, would you stop and read it? Why or why not?

Poster 2

• What do you think of the text message conversation?

  • What is the conversation about?

  • Who is sending and receiving these messages?

  • How old is the kid having the conversation?

  • If your body could send you text messages about eating breakfast, do you think the conversation would sound like this?

  • Would you write any of the texts differently? How would you write it?

• What does “Listen to your body” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME

  • The poster also says “Eat more whole grains and your body will thank you” – what does that mean to you? Do you believe this?

  • Overall, how do you feel about what this poster is trying to tell you?

• How do you feel about the way this poster looks?

• How do you feel about the cell phone shown on this poster?

  • Would you want to use this phone?

• If this poster was on the wall in the cafeteria, would you stop and read it? Why or why not?

In Control Questions

Poster 1

• What does “you control you” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME]

• The poster says “your body is an amazing machine, but it’s up to you to fuel it up with lots of healthy foods.” How do you feel about this statement?

  • What does it mean to you?

• What is the cartoon on this poster showing you?

  • What is the character doing? Why is he doing that?

  • Where do you think he is?

  • What time of day is it?

• How do you feel about the way the cartoon on this poster is drawn?

  • Have you seen this type of cartoon before? Where?

• What kinds of food has the character chosen?

  • Why do you think he chose these foods?

• What does this poster tell you about the benefits of eating healthy foods?

Poster 2

• What does “you control you” mean to you? [ONLY ASKED FOR FIRST POSTER TESTED IN THIS THEME]

• The poster says “Your body is the best device ever created. Don’t junk it.” How do you feel about this statement?

  • What does it mean to you?

• How do you feel about the figure on this poster?

  • What is the figure doing?

• What foods are shown on this poster?

  • How do you feel about the drink selected? Why did the figure make that choice?

  • Would you make the same choice? Why or why not?

• What does this poster tell you about the benefits of eating healthy foods?

Milk Questions

Poster 1

• How do you feel about this poster?

• What is it telling you?

  • What does this poster tell you about the benefits of drinking milk?

• This poster says “Your body needs calcium, protein, and vitamins for strong bones and muscles. Score all three with low-fat milk.” How do you feel about this statement?

  • What does it mean to you?

• How do you feel about the bottle in this poster? What is supposed to be in it?

  • What type of milk do you think is in the bottle?

• How do you feel about the boy in this poster?

  • What grade do you think he is in?

  • Would you be friends with him?

  • Does it make sense to have this boy on a poster about drinking milk?

• Have you seen posters or advertisements like this before? Where?

Poster 2

• How do you feel about this poster?

• What is this poster trying to tell you?

  • What does this poster tell you about the benefits of drinking milk?

• This poster says “Calcium, protein, and vitamins for strong bones, teeth, and muscles. That’s the beauty of milk.” How do you feel about this statement?

  • What does it mean to you?

• How do you feel about the milk bottle in this poster?

  • What type of milk do you think is in the bottle?

• How do you feel about the girl in this poster?

  • What grade do you think she is in?

  • Would you be friends with her?

  • Does it make sense to have this girl on a poster about drinking milk?

• Have you seen posters or advertisements like this before? Where?

ADVICE COLUMN ACTIVITY:

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT:  According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0524.  The time to complete this information collection is estimated as part of the 60 minutes for the focus groups.

Every time I walk into the cafeteria, I see so many kids that are not making healthy choices. I want to let them know how important it is to choose healthy foods at lunchtime. What should I do? Please help!

What are the top 3 reasons kids your age should eat healthy?

1.

2.

3.

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FNS Team Nutrition Poster Testing Formative Research
Attachment D: Middle School Student Discussion Guide