Middle School Digital Nutrition I/H

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Expiration Date: 6/30/2016

Attachment G - Student Focus Group Guideline: Grade 8

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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 snack food. I’ll go first.

Section II: Warm Up (5 Minutes)

Well let’s jump right in here. I want to ask you some questions about the food you eat?

●      What information do you consider when you’re choosing which foods or snacks to eat? Why?

●      What makes something a healthy food?

○      Do you ever think about sodium when considering what food or snacks to eat?

○      Do you ever think about whole grains when making decisions about what foods or snacks you eat?

●      What kinds of things have you heard about sodium in food?

○      How would you explain what sodium is?

○ Are there certain foods that are high in sodium?

○      Where did you get this information from?

●      What kinds of things have you heard about whole grains in food?

○      How would you explain what whole grains are?

○ Are there certain foods that have more or less whole grains?

○      Where did you get this information from?

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 we just talked about?

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

  • Does this remind you of anything?

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

  • If you saw this in class or online, would you want to keep watching?

• What would make this video something you would like to watch?

  • What would make it interesting?

  • What could it teach you?

• Who would you like to see in this video?

  • Probe for real characters vs. animation

  • Does this look like somebody that would go to your school? Why, why not?

• 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?

• Let’s imagine you watched this video in class. What kinds of activities could you do next?

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

  • Any games or activities?

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

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

[Moderator presents the second video storyboard and concept.]

• What is your first impression of what we just talked about?

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

  • Does this remind you of anything?

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

  • If you saw this in class or online, would you want to keep watching?

• What would make this video something you would like to watch?

  • What would make it interesting?

  • What could it teach you?

• Who would you like to see in this video?

  • Probe for real characters vs. animation

  • Does this look like somebody that would go to your school? Why, why not?

• 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?

• Let’s imagine you watched this video in class. What kinds of activities could you do next?

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

  • Any games or activities?

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

●      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)

[Final concept for interactive pending]

●      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 would you change about this to make it better?

●      What would you want to do next after using this?

Section V: Participatory Design (14 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 sodium in and whole grains in different foods - How to identify low sodium snacks? How do you identify foods that contain whole grains? Why it’s important to know how much sodium is in food? -  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 how to make healthy food choices.

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