SNAP Teen Nutrition Pilot Test (State Agencies - Teachers)

Attachment E– MODERATOR POST – DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR FOCUS

GROUPS WITH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS OMB No. 0584-0606

Exp. Date 03/31/2016

Attachment E

Moderator POST – Discussion Guide for Focus Groups with High School Teachers

Timing: 90 minutes

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 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 0584-0606. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 90 minutes (1.5 hours) per response for the entire focus group, including time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather and maintain the data needed and complete and review the collection of information.

FOR OMB: All language in the survey that is BOLD and/or IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is language for the moderator and OMB review only.

I. INTRODUCTION 15 minutes

1. Moderator introduction:

   1. My name is [INSERT]. It’s nice to see you all again. As you know, I’m a researcher and trained moderator with KRC Research. Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in today’s discussion.

   2. We are conducting these discussions with teachers on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

   3. Today’s conversation is about the nutrition and physical activity class/unit you all just completed. The discussion will be about 90 minutes long. Everything you say is confidential and no individual will be identified by name with specific comments.

   4. I’m not a teacher myself and I am not as familiar as you when it comes to what makes an effective curriculum and how best to teach teenagers. I’m here to guide the discussion and to learn about your experience teaching the curriculum.

   5. To get started, let me explain how our discussion will work today:

      1. There are no right or wrong answers—we want to hear about your experiences and opinions. This conversation is about what all of you personally think.

      2. I’d like to hear from everyone here. Please speak one at a time, and let everyone have some time to speak. You may have different opinions. That’s ok--we want to hear all of your opinions. All of your opinions are important.

      3. We’re recording the discussion in an audio format. This is so I won’t need to slow down to take notes. With the recording, I’ll have an accurate record of the conversation for when I’m summarizing the discussion in a report for FNS. Again, no individuals will be identified or associated with the feedback you share today.

      4. Any questions?

2. Participant introductions:

   1. Now that you’re almost done with the first semester, what has been the best part of this school year, so far?

II. CURRICULUM DISCUSSION 50 minutes

FOR OMB - Moderator Goal: Discuss curriculum and explore teachers’ thoughts and feelings on their participation.

Let’s get started! We’ll start out by talking broadly, and then focus in on specific aspects of the curriculum.

1. Just so we are all on the same page, which lessons/activities (components) in the Teen Nutrition and Physical Activity Program did everyone complete this semester? Here is a handout that has all of the lessons and activities or components of the lessons. [MODERATOR: HAND OUT A] Please circle the lessons and components that your class completed. Then, place a star next to the lesson you feel was the best.

   1. How did you decide which lessons/activities to include, which to exclude?

      1. What specific factors influenced your decision? (PROBE: TIME, RESOURCES, AVAILABILITY OF COMPUTERS/INTERNET, TIME SPENT OUT OF CLASS BY STUDENTS, ETC.) Were the reasons for omitting specific lessons/activities pretty much the same or were they different? Talk a bit more about how your reasons for omitting different elements varied.

      2. Did you go into the program knowing which ones you would teach, or did this change as you got more into the program? For what reasons?

      3. How much influence, if any, did the students have in this decision?

2. So now that everyone here has completed the curriculum, what do you think about it? Let’s go around the table--each person summarize your overall assessment of the program?

   1. (EVERYONE SHARES THEIR PERSPECTIVE)

   2. What about your least favorite lesson and/or activity?

   3. Generally, what did you like about the curriculum?

      1. What did you find most valuable?

   4. What didn’t work so well for you? What was your least favorite lesson to teach? (PROBE: NUTRITION VS. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LESSONS)

      1. (PROBE: ASK FOR SPECIFIC EXAMPLES SUCH AS TIME CONSTRAINTS, ACCESS TO EQUIPMENT, PREPARATION TIME, SUFFICIENT INSTRUCTION TO PREPARE).

      2. What was the most challenging aspect?

      3. What would you have changed to make it better?

   5. What was your favorite lesson to teach? [MODERATOR: HAVE THEM WRITE LESSON DOWN AND WHY]

      1. What makes it your favorite? (PROBE: NUTRITION VS. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LESSONS)

   6. Did you adapt or modify any of the lessons to make them work better? Which ones? What did you do? What prompted you to make the change?

3. Were the lesson materials clear and easy to use? Why or why not?

   1. Did you pretty much use the lessons as they are currently or make changes? What kinds of changes? How did that work for you?

   2. About how much time did you spend preparing for each lesson?

   3. Are there any changes or additional materials that would make your preparation easier?

4. How did students respond?

   1. Overall? How could you tell

   2. Which lesson did they respond best to? What do you think made that lesson such a positive experience?

   3. Was there any specific activity that students especially liked?

   4. How engaging would you say the curriculum is for your students? What makes you say that? Was it fun for the students?

   5. Any concepts that were challenging for them?

   6. Able to use the SuperTracker as intended?

   7. Activities that students liked?

   8. Easy/hard to engage them in completing assignments?

   9. Was anything repetitive or information that students found boring?

   10. How could the curriculum be more valuable to them?

5. Did this curriculum give your students the tools they need to make better, more healthful decisions? What makes you say that? Can you give me some examples?

6. What about the SuperTracker and Physical Activity Tracker?

   1. What did you think of these tools?

      1. Was it easy for you to become familiar with them? Guide students in their use of them?

      2. Did you use them in the way that the lessons describe/intend? If not, how and why?

      3. Was Internet access a challenge in anyway? If yes, how so? What did you do to address the challenge?

   2. How useful do you think students found the SuperTracker? What specifically did they find useful? What aspect wasn’t so useful?

      1. How can it be improved?

      2. Was anything about it difficult or confusing?

   3. Do you think your students will use either of the Trackers now that the class is over? Why or why not? Which one do you think they will use more? What makes you say that?

      1. What do you think they’ll use it for?

      2. (SUPERTRACKER PROBE: USE TO CREATE A FOOD PLAN, RECORDING FOOD CHOICES OVER TIME, PERSONAL CALORIE NEEDS)

      3. (PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROBE: USE TO TRACK ACTIVITIES, TRACK WEEKLY TARGETS, REVIEWING PERSONAL GOALS)

7. Thinking overall, in what ways has the program impacted your students?

   1. Anything surprising?

   2. Any big accomplishments your students had during the program?

      1. What are they?

   3. Was anything repetitive or any information that students found boring?

      1. How could it have been more engaging/appealing to them?

   4. Is there something you wanted your students to learn about that isn’t in the curriculum?

      1. How would that have been useful for your students?

In what ways has the program impacted the way you teach, if at all?

8. Now let’s drill down a bit on the topic of nutrition, healthy food and healthy food choices. Did you notice any changes in…

   1. Student values, perceptions, or attitudes? How so?

   2. Student interest in nutrition and healthy eating?

   3. Student knowledge levels?

   4. Student sense of self-efficacy--in other words, their confidence in their ability to eat a balanced diet, overcome barriers, etc.?

   5. Student effort to make healthy food choices?

   6. Student intent to make healthy food choices?

   7. Indications that students were making healthier food choices?

9. Now let’s drill down a bit on the topic of physical activity. Did you notice any changes in…

   1. Student values, perceptions, or attitudes? How so?

   2. Student interest in being more physically active?

   3. Student knowledge levels?

   4. Student sense of self-efficacy--in other words, their confidence in their ability to eat a balanced diet, overcome barriers?

   5. Student effort to engage in physical activity?

   6. Indications that students increasing their physical activity?

10. Is this curriculum one that you plan to offer/teach in the future? Why? Why not?

    1. What components of the curriculum to do think you will continue?

11. Would you recommend this curriculum to others?

    1. If so, who would you recommend this to? (PROBE: SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY, ETC.)

    2. Should this curriculum be expanded to other schools? What makes you say that?

    3. Any advice you would give them?

III. CURRICULUM NAME BRAINSTORM 15 minutes

Ok, I want you to step back and think for a minute and think about this curriculum as a whole. The one thing it doesn’t have is a name. Would you name the curriculum? IF NOT: For what reasons would you avoid naming it? IF YES: What would you name this curriculum? (EVERYONE COMES UP WITH A NAME) What do you find appealing about that name?

IV. WRAP UP 10 minutes

1. To wrap things up, I’d like you to write down your number one piece of advice to the USDA as they work to strengthen and refine this curriculum.

   1. What would you change?

   2. What would you keep the same? What’s a must have?
      
      
      

This concludes our focus group. Thank you all so much for taking the time out of your day to have this conversation with me. Enjoy the rest of your day!

HANDOUT A – LIST OF PROGRAM LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES

Below is a list of all the lessons and associated activities for the Teen Nutrition and Physical Activity Program.

Please circle the lessons and components of the lessons that your class completed this semester. Then, put a star next to the lesson you feel was the best.

Lesson Name	Components Covered
Track Your Snack	SuperTracker Food-a-Pedia Pledge Sodium quiz 100 calorie healthy snacks
Team Project Kickoff	Develop SuperTracker groups for class or school Select student teams Share favorite recipe Learn food budgeting My Plate Stars
What’s Your Plan?	Major foods for MyPlate Video Survey Monkey questionnaire Calories Nurses video Understanding of food groups and the major nutrients each contain Proficiency of SuperTracker Empty calories Personalized food plan
Recipe Makeover	Redoing a favorite recipe Understanding how ingredients can affect nutrition quality and calories
Three-Day Food Record	Tracking food intake Analyze average intake of food groups and calories
Healthy Food Shopping	Registered dietitian as guest speaker Understanding how to navigate grocery store Understanding how to read food labels
Balance Your Calories	Understanding what a calorie is and how our bodies use calories Concept of calorie balance and how it relates to weight management
Finding Balance	Understand how to determine the amount of physical activity needed based on individual needs
Get Active	Understand the importance of being physically active Learn the recommended amounts of exercise, and how to include physical activity in any lifestyle Use SuperTracker to track activity
Adding Physical Activity To Your Day	Personal trainer or coach visits class Develop personalized workout plan
Build Healthy Meals	Create a daily meal plan using SuperTracker’s Food Tracker feature
Group Presentation	Present a recipe makeover to an audience

USDA/FNS

1.25.2021

Moderator Discussion Guide

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