Data Analysis MacroPost
Our group while working with the third, fourth and fifth grade students at Dixon Road Elementary to teach them about gardening and healthy eating habits, we also wanted to ensure that they were retaining the information. To test this, we created a survey with questions that were directly tied to the lessons that we taught and general questions about their habits. The survey included questions pertaining to activity levels at home, participation within sports or afterschool activities, choosing the healthier option between two foods, foods that they would rather eat, we also included questions about Microgreens and information from our lesson of “Go, Glow, Grow” about healthy food options and portion sizes. I’m forever grateful that the children we worked with were highly receptive and stayed engaged with us throughout the lessons, their levels of engagement were highly evident due to the responses that we analyzed and thoroughly examined as a whole.
We gave this survey to the classes of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes we taught, and another set of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes that we did not teach (which acted as our control group for this assessment). We received 56 responses from those we taught and 55 from those that we did not teach. We do not know the conditions that the kids were in during the Google Form survey, we were not present. The students we taught had a better understanding of healthier food than those of the classes that we did not teach. However, the students we taught seemed to choose the unhealthy foods as the foods that they would rather eat, as opposed to those we did not teach that chose healthier options. The more focused questions from the survey were answered correctly by the majority of the students that we taught, while the majority that we did not teach answered inaccurately. Due to the choices selected by the students of the unhealthy foods, we decided to return for another lesson, but angled it towards food choice, (Go, Slow, Whoa), which was highly tied to the Go, Glow, Grow lesson by some of the students. I would say that the children were the most receptive during that final lesson, as they opened a dialogue with us and we’re not afraid of asking any type of food-related question and we were more than happy to answer or find an answer if we were unsure.
We also collected data from parents at Dixon Road during their Trunk-or-Treat event. We prepared and passed out 100 surveys, we received 81 back completed (72.5% felt their child would use the salad bar). Parents were asked as they neared the gym if they wanted to participate in a scavenger hunt to where their children could win a prize when the survey was returned to us completed. The questions on the survey were about what the child currently eats, interests in having a salad bar, if the students pack their lunch or eat what’s served (58% eat what’s available within the cafeteria), and even an optional question about if their child gets free/reduced meals at the school (25% do receive the benefits of this program). We also asked parents if they were aware of the food options available during meals at the school. We placed a total of five pumpkins with our survey questions around the gym. I was easily able to monitor parts of the process and helped some parents find a couple of the pumpkins that they did not venture towards. To make the process smoother, the fifth and final pumpkin was located at our table with the prizes.
Another portion of our data collection came from the faculty and staff of Dixon Road Elementary. Of the roughly 72 persons working at the school, we received 26 responses to our questions on Google Forms. 25 of those respondents voiced support for the implementation of the salad bar and 24 voiced that they would partake in it. Of those that responded roughly 69% are willing to assist students going through it. We also allowed them to voice any concerns or questions through a feedback section. We saw several common themes amongst those that submitted a response for that section. Such as: a need for monitoring, lack of time, and sanitation. All of which, we had talked about some potential solutions amongst ourselves and/or was brought up when we met with Mrs. Dana Edwards or the head of the cafeteria at the school.
This being the last Macro Post I feel compelled to say that, while our group may have had challenges tying some aspects of coursework or lessons to our practicum; I feel as though the lectures of food insecurity hit home for our group. In the sense, that a lot of children’s eating habits stem directly from the habits of the adults and more evidently by what they have access to. Dixon Road’s school garden is acting as a forerunner of change for some of these children that may not have access to some of the vegetables that are grown there. Mrs. Tingen is a catalyst of change for several children that prior to the garden and nutrition lesson implementations were continuously creating unhealthy habits for themselves. Now they know that they have a choice and if they eat unhealthy options how productive they should be to counteract the effects.