Middle School Digital Nutrition I/H

OMB Control # 0584-0524

Expiration Date: 6/30/2016

Attachment C- Student Focus Group Guideline: Grade 6

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 45 minutes for the screener, including the time for reviewing instructions and completing the information.

Section I: Introduction (3 minutes)

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. My name is [Moderator name], and I’ll be leading this focus group. Focus groups are a type of research used to gather opinions on a specific topic. Today, we are going to talk about some ideas for classroom activities.

Before we get started, I want to mention a few things:

• There are no wrong answers. We are here today to hear what you think, so please speak up, especially if what you have to say is different than what someone else is saying.

• You don’t have to answer every question, but I do want to hear from everyone, so I might call on you at some point.

• I did not create anything you are going to see today. So, please be honest if you like them or if you don’t like them. Your responses won’t affect me either way.

• Everything we talk about here will be kept private. That means we will not use your name in any of our reports.

• If it’s ok with everybody here, we’d like to record these conversations. They will only be used to confirm our notes and allow us to revisit this conversation. Nobody but the people in this room will ever hear the recordings, and any transcriptions of this conversation will not include any names. Is that ok with everybody? (Note to moderator: If someone is uncomfortable, thank them and allow them to leave – do not stop the recording)

Does anyone have any questions before we begin?

Okay, great. First, I’m going to have everyone go around and introduce himself or herself. You all might know each other already, but I want to get to know you, too. Just say your first name and then tell us your favorite breakfast food. I’ll go first.

Section II: Breakfast Warm Up (6 Minutes)

Well let’s jump right in here. Since we’re already talking about breakfast, let me ask you some more question about breakfast.

●      Do you eat breakfast most mornings?

○      Why or why not?

○      Where do you eat breakfast?

○      How much time do you have to eat breakfast during the week?

●      Does anybody eat breakfast at school?

○      What is school breakfast like?

○      Where do you eat school breakfast?

○      How much time do you have to eat breakfast at school?

○      How do you find out what is being served?

○      Do you have any choice about what you can eat at school breakfast?

●      What are some reasons for not eating breakfast? What kinds of things get in the way of eating breakfast every day?

●      What sorts of foods should kids like you eat for breakfast? Why?

• What makes a breakfast, healthy?

○      Do you try to eat every food group at breakfast? Why/why not?

●      What sorts of foods should kids like you avoid eating for breakfast? Why?

Now, I want to switch gears for a minute and talk about your school.

●   Do you ever watch videos in your classes? Which classes?

○   What makes these videos good in your opinion?

○   Tell me about a video you’ve watched in class and what makes it memorable.

●   What kinds of projects or activities do you like doing in class?

○   Tell me about a project you’ve done in class that you really liked doing and why you liked it.

○   Tell me about a project you’ve done in class that really helped you to learn more and how it helped you learn.

Section III: Videos (20 minutes)

Now, we’re going to look at some ideas for a video that would be shown to students during class time. I’m going to show you some images and read you some information about each video. These are not yet completed, and when they’re done they will be fully produced with sound and characters.

Let’s look at the first video:

[Moderator presents the first video storyboard and concept. Note: the order of the videos will be rotated to prevent order bias.]

●      What is your first impression of what you just saw?

○      Have you ever seen something like this before? Where?

○      Does this remind you of anything?

○      If you saw a video like this in class or online, would you want to keep watching?

○      Who do you think this video would be for? Why?

●      What do you like about this idea?

○      What makes it interesting? What could it teach you?

●      What don’t you like about this idea?

○      What could be done to make it more interesting?

●      What do you think is the main message of this video?

○      What is it trying to teach you?

○      Is there any new information in this video? What information?

○      What classes do you imagine yourself watching this in?

○      Is there anything confusing?

○      Is the video helpful?

●      What would you change about this to make it better?

●      Let’s imagine you watched this video in class. What kinds of activities could you/would you want to do next?

○      Can you think of any projects you could do based on this video?

○      Any games or activities?

●      Now, we talked a lot about breakfast before we watched this video. Did this video change your mind about anything? What? Would you be more likely to eat breakfast after watching a video like this?

Now, let’s take a look at a different idea:

[Moderator presents the first video storyboard and concept.]

●      What is your first impression of what you just saw?

○      Have you ever seen something like this before? Where?

○      Does this remind you of anything?

○      If you saw a video like this in class or online, would you want to keep watching?

●      What do you like about this idea?

○      What makes it interesting? What could it teach you?

●      What don’t you like about this idea?

○      What could be done to make it more interesting?

●      What do you think is the main message of this video?

○      What is it trying to teach you?

○      Is there any new information in this video? What information?

○      What classes do you imagine yourself watching this in?

○      Is there anything confusing?

○      Is the video helpful?

●      What would you change about this to make it better?

●      Let’s imagine you watched this video in class. What kinds of activities could you/would you want to do next?

○      Can you think of any projects you could do based on this video?

○      Any games or activities?

●      Now, we talked a lot about breakfast before we watched this video. Did this video change your mind about anything? What? Would you be more likely to eat breakfast after watching a video like this?

●      Now I want you to think about both the video ideas we looked at today. Which of the videos is your favorite?

○      What made it better?

○      Which would you rather complete in class? Why?

●      Which of the two videos were better at presenting information about breakfast?

○      What made it better at explaining the information?

●      Are there any other things that one video did better than the other? Why?

Section IV. Interactive (8 Minutes)

Now, we’re going to look at a rough draft of an interactive activity that would be part of a lesson about breakfast. It might go with one of the videos you just saw as well. I’m going to show you the game first and then ask you some questions about it.

●      What is your first impression?

○      Have you ever seen something like this before? Where?

○      How would you want to use this (e.g. small groups, full class, personal project)?

○      Where do you imagine seeing something like this (e.g. smart board, projector, computer, tablet)?

●      What do you like about this idea?      

○      What do you think students like you could learn from this?

●      What do you not like about this idea?

○      Is there anything that is confusing?

●      What kind of information do you want to know about breakfast in each country?

●      What would you change about this to make it better?

●      What would you want to do next after participating in this activity?

Section V: Student Brainstorm (8 minutes)

All right, we need your help to think about other ideas for an activity for students like you. We want students to learn more about breakfast - what kinds of foods to eat? Why it’s important? How to find time to eat breakfast? – Things like that.

I want you to think about all the things we’ve discussed here today and the things we’ve shown you. Think about what you liked about them and what you didn’t, and what stood out for you. You can create something completely new, something that you’ve seen before, or even a better version of something you’ve seen here today. Take a minute to think about it, and then I’ll ask you to share some ideas.

●      All right, so tell me about some of your ideas for activities?

○     How would that be used in the classroom?

○     Would this be a class project, homework, presentation?

○     What do the rest of you think? Would you make any changes to this idea?

○     Why do you think this would be better than what we presented to your earlier? Remember, I didn’t create any of the things you’ve seen today.

●      Let’s talk about another idea for an activity?

○     How would that be used in the classroom?

○     Would this be a class project, homework, presentation?

○     What do the rest of you think? Would you make any changes to this idea?

○     Why do you think this would be better than what we presented to your earlier? Remember, I didn’t create any of the things you’ve seen today.

●     Now, we might have time for one more. Does anybody else want to share an idea?

○     How would that be used in the classroom?

○     What do the rest of you think? Would you make any changes to this idea?

○     Why do you think this would be better than what we presented to your earlier? Remember, I didn’t create any of the things you’ve seen today.

Probes to Encourage New Ideas if Students are struggling.

• Think about how you like to learn new things.

• Remember, this is just a brainstorm so it doesn’t need to be perfect.

• You can create a website, an activity, a group project, a video, or anything you think will help students have fun learning about breakfast.

Thank you so much for joining us today. You were very helpful!