Students’ Reflections on an Experiential Learning Rotation With the Peer-Education About Weight Steadiness Club Program

Abstract

Overview. Experiential learning has become a common pedagogical approach to provide university students an opportunity to apply classroom-acquired knowledge and skills in real-world settings. Evaluation of such experiences from a student perspective is needed to improve experiential learning opportunities offered in higher education settings. Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the experience of 13 university students who rotated with a healthy lifestyle program for middle schoolers. Method. The Peer-education About Weight Steadiness Club program was implemented by peer or adult educators, as a healthy lifestyle after-school intervention. Trainees participated in a learning rotation with the program for 16 weeks and were exposed to research coordination and implementation of the nutrition and healthy lifestyles program. After finishing their rotation, trainees completed a structured elicitation interview conducted by a faculty member and a graduate assistant. The 11-question individual elicitation interview, ranging from 16 to 40 minutes, queried trainees on elements of the learning experience. A grounded theory approach was used to guide data coding and analyses, which led to formulation of themes. Results. Forty codes were assigned to segments of the interview responses, which were then coalesced to formulate six themes and 16 subthemes. Identified themes include (1) program context, (2) roles and responsibilities of trainees, (3) professional development of trainees, (4) overall program implementation, (5) factors influencing implementation, and (6) health and behavioral outcomes. Conclusions. Student trainees gained program content knowledge, acquired skills transferable to their careers, valued this learning experience, and planned to apply lessons learned.

Keywords

experiential learning healthy lifestyle programs student trainees

Experiential learning has become a common pedagogical approach for training university students in health-related disciplines, because such opportunities foster skills for implementing health interventions with child and adult populations, build knowledge about future careers, and develop talent for conducting applied research (de Groot et al., 2015; Lambert & Knight, 2017). Compared to structured classroom settings, experiential learning provides students or trainees the ability to learn in semistructured situations that resemble the workplace, as well as gain practical experience, reflect on observations, and apply knowledge (Brown & Tenison, 2018; de Groot et al., 2015). Experiential learning is characterized by three components: (1) an experience stage, when the learner is involved in an exploration, observation, or actual performance of a certain activity; (2) a reflection stage, when the learner processes the experience by discussing and analyzing it; and (3) an application phase, when the learner cements their understanding of the situation through generalizations and applications (Enfield et al., 2007). Experiential learning can be carried out through field experiences, case studies, and internships, or through service learning (Kim et al., 2003). This type of learning is a high-impact experience as identified by the College Learning for the New Global Century Guidelines and outlined by The National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise (George et al., 2017). Previous didactic learning supports real-time training during experiential learning, which can enhance student’s understanding, performance, and professional development (Adegbola, 2013; George et al., 2017). Often, experiential learning is offered through a “capstone” course that provides students with the opportunity to integrate general and discipline-specific knowledge and skills to build functional abilities for their future careers (Swanepoel et al., 2016). These experiences have been shown to improve critical thinking, enhance problem-solving capacity, elevate competencies in teamwork and interpersonal relationships, build transferable skills, and better guide trainees in their ability to apply competencies in professional settings (Baker et al., 2018; de Groot et al., 2015; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; O’Shea et al., 2019).

Service learning is a form of experiential learning that has been increasingly described in educational papers during the past 20 years, with positive endorsements regarding the benefits of such training (Bishop & Driver, 2007; Connor et al., 2010). Service learning is defined as the

type of experiential education in which students participate in service in the community and reflect on their involvement in such a way as to gain a further understanding of course content and of the discipline and of its relationship to social needs and enhanced sense of civic responsibility. (Vogt et al., 2011, p. 69)

Though the number of university students participating in these activities and programs in the health sciences has increased in recent years, few of these efforts have been evaluated (de Groot et al., 2015; George et al., 2017). Even fewer of such evaluations have taken place in undergraduate nutrition and dietetics didactic programs (Kim et al., 2003). Yet these experiences have been reported to enable students in attaining critical competencies, like communication, management, creativity, client relations, and empathy, for effectively implementing health promotion programs (Coetzee et al., 2000; Matthews et al., 2014; Zimmermann et al., 2014). Moreover, service learning allows trainees to observe and engage in applied research to better understand its complexities (Kim et al., 2003).

Reflection is a vital component of experiential learning. The reflective process allows trainees to self-evaluate their knowledge, skills, and ability to apply information to real-world scenarios (Chabot & Holben, 2003; Vogt et al., 2011). Reflection increases the meaningfulness of learning, as students actively sort experiences into memories, build their own portfolios of examples, develop their understanding and integration of old and new information, examine existing values and attitudes, and make connections between didactic data and lived experiences (Chabot & Holben, 2003; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Lott et al., 1998; Van Hoover, 2015). Several formats have been used to evaluate the benefits of experiential learning, including reflective journaling, focus groups, surveys with open-ended questions, and elicitation interviews (Vogt et al., 2011). Collectively, experiential learning has been shown to influence life choices, improve communication and elevate professional skills, increase confidence, boost knowledge in a research area, heighten tolerance and decrease prejudices, and increase willingness to challenge existing assumptions of trainees (Chabot & Holben, 2003; George & Oriel, 2009; Keen & Baldwin, 2004; Oakes & Sheehan, 2014). These opportunities also provide avenues for trainees to develop professional networks that are beneficial for career growth and development (Chabot & Holben, 2003).

Specific types of experiential learning, such as engaging in service learning, community-based surveys, and health interventions, have resulted in positive outcomes for trainees (Dongre et al., 2011; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012). For example, students benefitted from research experiences by improving communication and interviewing skills (Dongre et al., 2011). In addition, students also increased their understanding of the importance of using structured questionnaires and precise data collection and analysis protocols as fundamentals for research (Dongre et al., 2011). In a separate study, trainees completed postexperience questionnaires based on their fieldwork projects (Fortune & McKinstry, 2012). Investigators found that graduate student trainees appreciated all aspects of involvement with their projects and that they acquired new skills including confidence, time management, liaison functions, staff management, teamwork, accountability, technical reporting, and trust building with their project communities (Fortune & McKinstry, 2012). Moreover, trainees reported that they were able to make positive contributions while integrating and reinforcing knowledge learned during coursework with fieldwork (Fortune & McKinstry, 2012).

In this study, undergraduate and graduate students participated in an experiential learning rotation to develop skills in conducting research and assist with the implementation and evaluation of a healthy lifestyle program in middle schools. Building on past studies that have demonstrated positive outcomes from experiential learning, the purpose of the current qualitative study was to explore the impact of participation in a rotation with the Peer-education About Weight Steadiness (PAWS) Club program on knowledge and skill development among university student trainees. Due to the qualitative research design and the intention to use grounded theory analysis, a hypothesis was not predetermined.

Method

The PAWS Club program was implemented in four middle schools in the Urbana–Champaign, Illinois, area from September 2015 to May 2017 (Muzaffar et al., 2019). PAWS Club was a healthy lifestyle intervention targeting sixth and seventh graders in middle schools as an after-school program. The 12-week intervention focused on promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and cooking skills to prevent and reduce childhood obesity. The program was grounded in stages of change learning theory, guided by social cognitive theory, and delivered by either peer educators or adult educators. The purpose of the primary research was to evaluate whether program delivery by peer or adult educators would improve healthy eating and lifestyle choices of middle school adolescents. Details of the primary study are provided elsewhere (Muzaffar et al., 2019).

Study Sample

Graduate students who were trainees in Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program, enrolled in the Master of Public Health program, or in the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department were eligible to participate in a semester long rotation with the PAWS Club program. In addition, undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department and Human Development and Family Studies Department were eligible to participate in this experiential learning opportunity. Student involvement in the PAWS Club program was also a service learning experience for them, as the program addressed a social issue of teaching children to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors. All participants were at least 18 years of age. At the beginning of each semester, recruitment messages were sent to students in the respective programs and departments. Interested students contacted the PAWS Club program coordinator, were interviewed and background checked, and then completed ethics training for research with children in schools. Student trainees were enrolled in a one-credit course for the semester. Trainees were assigned to the middle school of their choice, depending on time and transportation availability.

All trainees participating in this service learning opportunity completed training on their roles and responsibilities, including monitoring of program fidelity at each program session, setting up and cleaning up for sessions, collaborating with program staff for outcome measurements with PAWS Club program participants, and carrying out other duties as assigned to assist with program implementation. Trainees gained experience in research project coordination, research implementation, and extension-based programming during their rotations.

All trainees who volunteered for rotations with the PAWS Club program provided written informed consent to participate. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board for research involving human subjects at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (IRB No. 14807).

Data Collection

After completing the experiential learning rotation, each trainee participated in an elicitation interview conducted by a faculty member and a graduate research assistant. Elicitation interviewing is a retrospective interviewing method, which focuses on a particular experience and asks directive questions to encourage the respondent to describe the characteristics of their experience with precise details to correspond to the actual lived experience (Hogan et al., 2016). Eleven open-ended questions (Table 1) were asked to encourage trainees to reflect on their experiences with the program and to generate qualitative data. Opportunity to reflect on an experience makes the experience more educational, meaningful, and positive (Enfield, 2001). Prompts and follow-up questions were posed as needed to stimulate discussion and further probe information relayed during each interview. Each trainee completed a brief demographic questionnaire after the interview. Each interview was assigned a code number. The faculty member led each interview, while the graduate research assistant created field notes. Each interview was audiotaped with a digital recorder and transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions were independently verified against original recordings by separate research assistants to confirm accuracy. Field notes were used as needed to clarify audio files.

Table 1.

Elicitation Interview Questions for Students’ Reflections on a Learning Rotation With the PAWS Club Program.

Open-ended questions (probing questions, if needed)
1. Please describe the PAWS Club with which you interacted. (Which middle school did you visit, and can you tell me about the activities with the children and parents?)
2. What do you think was the purpose of the PAWS Club? (What groups of people were included in the activities that you observed?) (Why were these activities done, or why does this program exist? Does this program fill a need?)
3. Describe your activities with the PAWS Club. (Explain your participation in project coordination and research implementation.)
4. Describe any benefits of the PAWS Club that you observed. (Describe any people or groups of people that may be affected by this program.) (Discuss the topics that were covered during the club meetings that you attended.) (If the PAWS Club were not provided, what would be the result?)
5. Describe any weaknesses of the PAWS Club that you observed. (Discuss any topics that were missing or areas that should have been included.) (If the PAWS Club continues to be provided, what will be the result?
6. What is the purpose of Illinois Extension? (Explain the connection between the PAWS Club and Extension education and Extension programs.)
7. Explain what you understand about behavioral change interventions, based on your experience with the PAWS Club. (How did the PAWS Club use a behavioral change theory?)
8. Which components of the PAWS Club might you use in your own research? (Describe any ways in which you might use parts of the PAWS Club in your work.)
9. What is the single most important thing that you learned or will take away from this experience with the PAWS Club?
10. Please describe your intended professional goal. (What do you hope to do after you finish your degree?)
11. Please share anything else about your experience with the PAWS Club that I have not covered during this interview. (Is there anything else that you would like to share about your experience?)

Note. PAWS = Peer-education About Weight Steadiness.

Data Analysis

Demographic data were analyzed using STATA/MP 14.1 (StataCorp, LP, College Station, TX). A process of coding, inductive analysis, and theme development were used to analyze qualitative data from transcripts. A grounded theory approach, which is a structured and systematic process of analysis, was adapted to explore patterns and themes (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Vogt et al., 2011). One of the defining characteristics of grounded theory is the identification and progressive refinement of themes and subthemes from the data by using a constant comparative method, in which qualitative responses are continuously coded and compared across interviews (Chapman et al., 2015). Thus, hypotheses/theory are developed from the data using an inductive approach and the results represent the perceptions and concerns of the participants (Chapman et al., 2015; Skeat & Perry, 2008). Two researchers independently analyzed data to generate codes. Transcripts were repeatedly read, and descriptive codes were applied to each meaningful segment of data. Identified codes were organized into categories to understand emergent concepts. Investigators subsequently compared codes and categories, discussing justifications, reaching agreement, and formulating final themes and subthemes.

Results

A total of 13 trainees (M ± SD age = 24.8 ± 3.5 years; 92% female; 46% White; 69% graduate student; 92% annual income of $10,000–$24,999) completed rotations with the PAWS Club program and engaged in elicitation interviews. The interview duration ranged from 16 to 40 minutes (M ± SD = 25 ± 8 minutes).

Reflection during elicitation interviews allowed the trainees to assimilate their prior knowledge and experiences with the new information and skills acquired during their rotation with the PAWS Club program and share plans of how to apply their skill set in suitable situations in the future (Enfield et al., 2007). Based on qualitative analyses, six themes (and 16 subthemes) were identified from the elicitation interview responses (Table 2). These included (1) program context (a. filling a need, b. purpose of PAWS Club program), (2) roles and responsibilities of trainees (a. assist with program delivery and data collection, b. process observation), (3) professional development of trainees (a. career path, b. motivations for being a trainee, c. integration of PAWS Club program with current and future job directions), (4) overall program implementation (a. preferred PAWS Club program activities, b. weaknesses of PAWS Club program, c. suggestions for improvement), (5) factors influencing implementation (a. real-world challenges, b. peer vs. adult education), and (6) health and behavioral outcomes (a. benefits for participants, b. benefits for educators, c. benefits for parents, d. benefits for trainees).

Table 2.

Themes and Subthemes From Grounded Theory Analysis of Elicitation Interview Responses.

Themes	Subthemes
1. Program context	1a. Filling a need 1b. Purpose of PAWS Club program
2. Roles and responsibilities of trainees	2a. Assist with program delivery and data collection 2b. Process observation
3. Professional development of trainees	3a. Career path 3b. Motivations for being a trainee 3c. Integration of PAWS Club program with current and future job directions
4. Overall program implementation	4a. Preferred PAWS Club program activities 4b. Weaknesses of PAWS Club program 4c. Suggestions for improvement
5. Factors affecting implementation	5a. Real-world challenges 5b. Peer vs. adult education
6. Health and behavioral outcomes	6a. Benefits for participants 6b. Benefits for educators 6c. Benefits for parents 6d. Benefits for trainees

Note. PAWS = Peer-education About Weight Steadiness.

Program Context

Filling a Need

All 13 trainees expressed an understanding of the need for the PAWS Club program to provide nutrition and physical activity education to middle school students. Many noted the importance of cooking skills, specifically training in knife skills and preparing fruits and vegetables, for adolescents as a hallmark of this program.

And also I felt maybe like most of these kids’ parents are working parent like both parents are working so the kids are like alone and they might not know what to eat they might not be getting the information from their parents even if they do get the information they may not have the skills to apply those things so this program fills that need as kids as 6th and 7th graders you can also do some things, as you see we did it here so we can do it at home type of thing.

Purpose of PAWS Club Program

Trainees recognized that the overall purpose of the program was to teach adolescents how to stay healthy by eating healthy and exercising regularly in a fun environment. Most trainees (n = 10) believed that the learning by PAWS Club program participants could also be beneficial for their families. Students also mentioned that the program taught children safe cooking skills to make healthy snacks and meals. One trainee indicated that the purpose of the cooking activities was to introduce new fruits and vegetables and how to prepare them.

I think the activities that were done, were done because they’re kind of for us they are probably basic skills to read nutrition labels to go grocery shopping but you don’t really realize how few people know how to do those until you are in a setting like that, so I think it was just giving them like basic life skills that you know people should know how to do.

A few trainees (n = 4) also mentioned that a secondary purpose was to assess which mode of delivery, peer-led versus adult-led sessions, was more effective with the middle school students.

I think the purpose was to see whether the kids learned better from the teacher-led group or the peer-led group I thought was the purpose.

Roles and Responsibilities of Trainees

Assist With Program Delivery and Data Collection

All respondents reflected on their responsibilities as trainees during their rotation with the PAWS Club program. They described their roles as observing, assisting, guiding, tracking, monitoring, and coordinating, and the majority indicated that they engaged with program logistics.

With the peer-led group I was more of the let’s stay on track let’s do things. With the physical activity part I was more of the keeping everyone calm because they seem to get a little bit rowdy when they get out of the class room and into the gym and hallway where we would go for the physical activity they would get a little excited. So keeping them calm and normal. But with the teacher-led group, I was more observational and watch see what happens, and I would get stuff ready or do anything the teacher would ask me to do.

Some specific activities included reviewing lessons before coming to class, assisting children with study questionnaires, guiding peer educators to stay on track, observing in teacher-led sessions, and helping with setup and clean-up.

Process Observation

Nine trainees reflected on their responsibility to complete fidelity logs for each session they observed. The research team provided the trainees with fidelity logs, specific for each lesson, with the list of activities and discussion to accomplish in that lesson.

Most of the time I would be kind of sitting in the back watching the peers or the teachers teach the groups and I would be taking notes about whether or not they were completing each activity and maybe small notes about each activity, such as what the reaction from the group was or what the teacher did differently than what was written on the actual outline . . .

Trainees indicated that while observing the lessons, they were able to check off more boxes in the logs for teacher-led sessions, as the teachers stuck to the program objectives.

Professional Development of Trainees

Career Path

All trainees expressed an interest in findings jobs with community-based health promotion and disease prevention organizations. Most (n = 11) perceived that this experience provided them an opportunity to build critical skills and knowledge for future professional positions.

I haven’t decided yet [which area I go into], um, but I think the skills that we learned in PAWS were very transferable to both areas.

Notably, one trainee interviewed for a full-time position during the rotation and found the experience to be invaluable in drawing from real examples to respond to interview questions. A few (n = 3) were considering changes in their focus from basic sciences and bench work to applied outreach and education.

I hope to switch fields. I was in food science and lab work type of research as you know, so I am hoping to move on to this kind of extension or like hopefully the research.

For others (n = 4), this opportunity provided trainees a chance to interact with children, and they expressed an interest to focus on “pediatric” or adolescent nutrition in school-based settings in their future work.

Motivations for Being a Trainee

Unequivocally, trainees stated that they participated in this experiential learning to gain practical skills and applied knowledge from working with a community-based nutrition education program with adolescents. Nearly all (n = 11) indicated that they wanted experience with “kids,” “middle school students,” and/or “public schools.” Specifically, one trainee stated,

Because I want to move onto this kind of community nutrition field. I really like working with people.

Integration of PAWS Club Program With Current and Future Job Directions

Being able to put knowledge into practice was perceived as a major benefit of this experiential learning opportunity by trainees. A couple of trainees indicated the specific aspects of the PAWS Club program that they were able to integrate in their current coursework. One trainee mentioned how the theory of planned behavior is applicable to PAWS Club program, as it focuses on reshaping attitudes, the peer aspects of the program may promote social support, and the participants may perceive their behavioral control to be weak if the parents ultimately made all the food decisions. Another trainee indicated how the experience helped them complete assignments for a program evaluation course.

So, one of the things that I borrowed from the PAWS program was this idea of the pre- and postassessment just to measure change as well just looking into questions that may track attitude change over time due to program exposure in the program.

In addition, trainees described development of cultural competency, communication skills, empathy, patience, adaptability, and flexibility. Nearly all interviewees (n = 11) indicated that they will use some of the materials from the PAWS Club program in future nutrition and physical activity programs with which they work.

I really enjoyed the educator perspective from this project and that’s something that I may be interested in pursuing or at least being involved in the future. So, I’m really interested in community health education especially from the nutrition side so that’s definitely something I’m going to look into when I’m getting ready to graduate.

Overall Program Implementation

Preferred PAWS Club Program Activities

Trainees (n = 7) talked about how they really liked the organization and structure of the program. Three trainees alluded to how the themes for each week built on the content discussed in the previous session. Trainees repeatedly mentioned that physical activity games (n = 6), cooking activities (n = 7), and hands-on experiments (n = 3) were the favorite aspects of the program.

A lot of the physical activity games that they really liked, they loved any of the obstacle courses ones where they were like running against their classmates or competing with them they liked that a lot.

Trainees (n = 4) remarked that the participants would enthusiastically inquire about what recipe they were making or physical activity game they were playing in each session. Three of the favorite recipes included fruit smoothies, yogurt parfait, and a yogurt dip to eat with vegetables.

And the one thing that the kids always looked forward to was the recipes at the end, so that always a big highlight. And they would even come into the room like, “what are we making today?” or try to figure it out based on the ingredients on the table which was always really cute . . .

Weaknesses of the PAWS Club Program

Trainees witnessed and experienced first-hand the weaknesses of the PAWS Club program. Noted weaknesses included format of the lesson plan as cumbersome for the peer educators to follow (n = 3), data collection questionnaires too long and some questions incomprehensible by middle schoolers (n = 4), and not having enough time to complete lesson activities especially for grocery shopping and meal planning lessons (n = 3).

I think one of the areas that needed some improvement was the way the lesson plans were written. So one of the struggles that I observed with the peer educators is that when there is a big paragraph like this for example they don’t have the skills or ability yet to look at it and kind of remember what it was and then talk to the class. So what they do is start reading it to themselves and then they think that when they mumble they think the participants understand what they are saying so they don’t also summarize it.

Suggestions for Improvement

Most trainees indicated that program implementation met the predetermined goals, objectives, and processes but noted that modifications were also periodically made to adapt to environmental conditions or learning needs of the adolescent program participants. Nine specific suggestions by trainees for program improvement include reformatting the lessons with more visuals, sequences, boxes, or arrows (n = 2); starting each lesson with physical activity to improve children’s concentration during the remainder of the lesson (n = 2); informing the trainees of any specific information, such as students’ food intolerance or behavioral issues about the kids so that they could be more accommodating (n = 1); making some physical activity games simpler and having the physical education teachers lead the physical activity (n = 2); adding a lesson about eating healthier around holidays (n = 1); adding more hands-on activities to better engage children (n = 2); revising the grocery shopping and meal planning lessons to make them more appropriate for children (n = 2); providing extra training to peer educators for preparing lessons and how to handle behavioral disruptions in class (n = 2); and more training for university trainees in terms of their roles and responsibilities so they do not overstep beyond their roles and responsibilities (n = 3).

I think that more hands on activities would be more beneficial because most of the problems that we ran into were just kids who were rowdy because it was the end of the day and they didn’t want to have to sit down and be lectured to again like they had been all day. So maybe an emphasis on completing the physical activity at the beginning of the lesson would be good as well as just maybe not so much lecturing to the kids but more hands on type of things.

Factors Influencing Implementation

Real-World Challenges

School characteristics, program participants, and external factors were identified by trainees as elements that influenced program implementation. Classroom capacity for cooking lessons and physical activities was observed as varying by school, as was the after-school environments for snack support, school teacher presence, and other competing programs. The weather was even identified by one trainee as an external factor.

And a lot of times when we would do the physical activities there was a nice area in the school to do the activities but sometimes it wasn’t open so they would have to go to the hall to do those. . . . Other than that the kitchen space was great.

PAWS Club program participants were described as differing in number of male and female adolescents within each program, and adolescents were perceived as displaying a variety of interest levels across the lessons throughout the weeks of the program.

It was a lot of material especially with the unforeseen rambunctiousness with the students.

Peer Versus Adult Education

All trainees provided consistent descriptions of the program components and delivery modes of the program. Eight trainees were exposed to both peer-led and adult-led sessions, three only to peer-led sessions, and two only to adult-led sessions. Regardless of the middle schools where they completed their rotations, trainees (n = 8) expressed understanding of the differences in peer-led and adult-led education and described advantages and disadvantages of these approaches. Many trainees (n = 7) reflected on the racial diversity of PAWS Club program participants and expressed surprise at the attentiveness of middle schoolers in the peer-led groups.

I didn’t think that they would be as eager to listen to someone that’s like one or two years older than them.

However, trainees (n = 5) expressed that peer educators would not come to the sessions prepared for the lesson plan and would just read from the lessons. Moreover, the peer educators sometimes had difficulty keeping the participants focused and were not adept in dealing with behavioral issues that arose during the sessions.

Yeah so the teacher-led groups were more engaged than the peer-led groups I think. The teachers did a better job of keeping them on track and having a real conversation with them in terms of what they were supposed to be learning.

Health and Behavioral Outcomes

Six trainees were able to relate a theory of behavioral change to their applied experience. The theory of planned behavior was named by one trainee, three others mentioned components of the transtheoretical model, one described social support, and one described self-efficacy of the social cognitive theory.

I feel like there is a lot of self-efficacy being used. Because I think during the hands on as well as verbally teaching the participants was helping them think they can do it . . .

Most trainees commented on their perception of benefits for the participants, educators, participants’ parents, and themselves. Trainees recognized that they were primarily engaged in implementation and not outcomes assessment.

. . . I was never able to . . . see like any type of assessment, like preassessment or postassessment, and that’s why I’m not sure if they gained any knowledge or if they were implementing those, um, behaviors in their daily lives.

Benefits for Participants

Trainees (n = 7) expressed that participants learned a lot of information (e.g., reading food labels, meal planning etc.), changed some behaviors (e.g., eating out, grocery shopping etc.), and set goals for themselves (e.g., to eat breakfast, eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat more whole grains), as indicated by the participants’ or their parents’ comments.

I think that having them in the program, they seem to gain a lot of knowledge. Like by the end, similar questions that they would be having they could be like “Oh, well ok we going to read the nutrition facts label now they will be just go through it,” instead of the beginning that “oh what’s that?” so, you know what I mean? So there was improvement there.

Another common benefit perceived by the trainees (n = 6) was that children learned how to cook new recipes and try healthy foods.

And the one girl that um I saw the most progress in like she would always come the next Monday and would say “I went home and I tried that smoothie recipe with my mom and like she really liked it so like now we’re buying that when we go to the grocery store,” so I feel that even the littlest changes do make a difference.

Some trainees (n = 6) mentioned how the program provided participants an opportunity to be physically active and learn games that they could play in school or at home. Trainees (n = 3) also alluded to the program helping the participants to clear out misconceptions about healthy foods, increase their willingness to try new foods, and receive healthy snacks at the session.

Benefits for Educators

Trainees (n = 5) mentioned that peer educators, just like the participants, also learned the information and acquired skills to make healthy recipes. Additionally, they developed leadership skills, as they taught the program content to a small group of peers.

Not only are the peer educators teaching it to their peers but I think that helps them themselves be able to understand the material, it’s like the, I know there’s a teaching technique where if you can teach it to someone else it makes your own understanding better.

Trainees (n = 5) perceived the adult educators to also benefit from the program by learning the information or clarifying any potential misconception about healthy eating.

Well starting with the adult educators I think they learned a lot too, there were a lot of times where we would, cause I was there when they were being trained to for part of the time, um a lot of the stuff they didn’t even know so I thought that was kind of cool we were helping them too.

Benefits for Parents

Trainees (n = 5) recognized that parents, either by participating in separate parent sessions or by the program information shared by their children, benefitted from the PAWS Club program. The program increased their knowledge about healthy eating and how to include children in planning, shopping, and preparing healthy meals.

I think those students that went home and you know went grocery shopping with their families or did the fruit parfaits or vegetables that we roasted things like that the ones that came back and said that they did them with their families I think those families also benefited from them.

Benefits for Trainees

Trainees (n = 6) recognized the benefit of learning a lot of nutrition information and cooking skills for themselves too. They were glad to have some misconceptions clarified by the program content, learn about food safety, and be reminded of adopting healthy eating behaviors.

I am 29 years old but still I didn’t know most of the stuff that was being said in there and I didn’t know there are better ways to cook certain vegetables and there are easier, healthier, tastier ways.

Some trainees also mentioned the benefits of learning how to teach children, developing empathy for program participants, practicing program delivery in the real-world setting, and developing communication skills.

But just you know how to work with people better and different age groups, I hadn’t really worked with children in that kind of setting before with nutrition um so that was kind of cool.

Discussion

Trainees who participated in a service learning rotation with the PAWS Club program expressed high value for this experiential learning opportunity. The semester-long rotation with the program provided the trainees the time and opportunities for experimental learning to occur, and the experience culminated with an elicitation interview comprising open-ended questions to hone their understanding and application of experiential learning. Open-ended questions aid in comprehensive reflection of the experience, as the participants can share their beliefs regarding how the experience improved their knowledge, competence, self-efficacy, and skills (Enfield et al., 2007). Many trainees perceived that the practical knowledge and skills that they obtained through this experience would transfer to their future careers. The three steps of experiential learning, experience, reflection, and application, have shown to be effective in developing and enhancing related knowledge, self-efficacy, and skill set (Enfield et al., 2007). This is consistent with findings that demonstrated that competency scores in entry-level dietitians in Canada were predicted, in part, by total hours engaged in and breadth of experiential learning opportunities while students (Djalilvand et al., 2020). Moreover in a separate study, pharmacy students believed that an experiential learning clinic was a positive experience and valuable for their integrated learning (Lysak et al., 2018).

Past studies overwhelmingly show that the primary benefit of experiential/service learning is the ability to develop higher order skills in future professionals (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015; Djalilvand et al., 2020; Dongre et al., 2011; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Keen & Baldwin, 2004; Lysak et al., 2018; Matthews et al., 2014; Rosenkranz, 2012; Vogt et al., 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2014). These skills include interpersonal communications (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015; Dongre et al., 2011; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Keen & Baldwin, 2004; Matthews et al., 2014; Zimmermann et al., 2014), empathy (de Groot et al., 2015; Dongre et al., 2011; Rosenkranz, 2012; Vogt et al., 2011), and teamwork (Coetzee et al., 2000; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012). Additional benefits relate to development of basic workplace skills such as public speaking, flexibility, patience, creativity, and innovation (Matthews et al., 2014; Zimmermann et al., 2014). Findings in the current study concur with previous qualitative and quantitative studies on the benefits of experiential learning. Several studies have shown that students who complete service learning programs with their educational training gain a better understanding of the communities in which they will work (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015; Dongre et al., 2011; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Zimmermann et al., 2014), including the racial and economic diversity of individuals within those communities (Coetzee et al., 2000). This was found in the current study as well. Gaining business acumen and management techniques and abilities such as conflict resolution, personnel supervision, and motivating others, in addition to program responsibility were cited by participants in at least four studies (Coetzee et al., 2000; George & Oriel, 2009; Vogt et al., 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2014).

Conceptually, experiential learning is designed to complement and enhance didactic or traditional classroom-based teaching to build practical knowledge and skills (Bishop & Driver, 2007; Chabot & Holben, 2003; Connor et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2003; Lott et al., 1998; Rosenkranz, 2012; Szeto et al., 2016). Research in kinesiology (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015), speech pathology (Skeat & Perry, 2008), and dietetics (Djalilvand et al., 2020; Kim et al., 2003; Matthews et al., 2014) among other applied health–related disciplines has shown the effectiveness of this approach for translating theoretical knowledge into practice and technical skills in the workplace, as evidenced by students’ self-perceptions of their experiences (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015; Djalilvand et al., 2020; Dongre et al., 2011; George & Oriel, 2009; Keen & Baldwin, 2004; Kim et al., 2003; Lysak et al., 2018; Matthews et al., 2014; Skeat & Perry, 2008; Vogt et al., 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2014). Including opportunities and time for students to self-evaluate and reflect on their applied experiences appears to be important to their deeper understanding and internalization of disciplinary concepts and practice-based norms (Brown & Tenison, 2018; Coetzee et al., 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Reflection during elicitation interviews allowed the trainees to assimilate their prior knowledge and experiences with the new information and skills and share plans for applying their skill set in suitable situations in the future. The trainees experience as illustrated by their responses is in line with Dewey’s (1938) and Kolb’s (1984) definition of experiential learning as a “recurring cycle,” defined succinctly as previous experiences influence current experience that in turn will affect future experiences (Dewey, 1938; Enfield et al., 2007; Kolb, 1984). The study described in this article is novel in terms of the breadth of health professions (nutrition, public health, human development and family studies, and kinesiology) represented by student trainees in the same study, and the opportunity for all students to rotate with the same 16-week healthy lifestyle program. Some studies referenced in this article have placed students in the same cohort to different sites and programs for service learning/experiential learning opportunities resulting in varied experiences of those students (Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; George et al., 2017; Vogt et al., 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2014). Elicitation interviews have not been widely used to evaluate experiential learning rotations, even though they have been recognized as an effective evaluation tool to encourage student reflection (Vogt et al., 2011). Thus, this study contributes evidence that elicitation interviews are a valuable way to invoke self-reflections on students’ experiences.

Important additional advantages of experiential learning include the boost in confidence and self-efficacy that occur with applied opportunities (de Groot et al., 2015; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Lambert & Knight, 2017; Vogt et al., 2011). At least one report suggests that combinations of experiential learning, didactic training, work experiences, and continuing learning are essential for professional preparation and competency (Barr et al., 2002). In our study as in other investigations, students and trainees remarked on the importance of translating knowledge and transferring skills from the classroom into the workplace to elevate the personal belief that they could successfully carry out the responsibilities of their chosen profession (Coetzee et al., 2000; de Groot et al., 2015; Fortune & McKinstry, 2012; Lysak et al., 2018; Vogt et al., 2011; Zimmermann et al., 2014). Trainees also talked about application of the knowledge and skills acquired during their rotation with the PAWS Club into their course work, job interviews, current jobs, and research assignments. They also mentioned how this experience will affect their future career directions and assist with career and research goals. This sentiment is in line with the Dewey’s (1938) principle of interaction and continuity, which suggests that current experiences evolve into additional learning over time. Moreover, in the current study, several trainees indicated that experience with the PAWS Club program affirmed their career selection by offering snapshots into the realities of the daily workplace and expectations that they will encounter. In previous studies, those student learners who witnessed transformations in health outcomes of their target audiences described further added benefits from experiential learning (de Groot et al., 2015; Skeat & Perry, 2008).

Limitations

There were several limitations to this study, notably that the university trainees self-selected into this experiential learning opportunity. Second, we did not collect any objective data and have relied on self-reported qualitative information. Third, the number of trainees interviewed was limited and small (n = 13, 50%) compared to the total number of trainees who completed the rotation (n = 26). However, based on responses to questions and follow-up probes, saturation in reactions and reflections was believed to have been achieved after completing interviews with 13 students. Fourth, this study was only able to capture self-assessments from trainees after a 16-week experience, where trainees were not able to learn of the outcomes of their experiences on program participants or reflect on the long-term benefits for themselves. Finally, we did not conduct any preassessment with the trainees, which limit our ability to assess the extent of improvement in any personal or professional skills after participating in the experiential learning rotation. However, the trainees did talk about learning the program content and increased professional skills. Additionally, we also did not conduct any follow-up assessment to evaluate if the trainees’ maintained/improved the knowledge and skills acquired during experiential learning and if they had the opportunity to apply these skills/knowledge in another setting. The strength of this qualitative evaluation of student experience with the PAWS Club program was that all student trainees were exposed to the same 16-week rotation, underwent the same amount of training, and had the same roles and responsibilities of assisting with program implementation and evaluation, which also explains why saturation in responses was achieved after interviewing 13 students. Another strength of this study is that an inductive and robust grounded theory analysis was conducted to identify themes and subthemes from student responses.

Conclusion

Evaluation of this experiential learning opportunity for university students in a healthy lifestyle program for middle schoolers indicated that trainees gained program content knowledge, acquired skills transferable to their careers, valued this learning experience, and planned to apply lessons learned. This article adds to the body of evidence supporting the various benefits of structured experiential learning opportunities while also providing considerations for faculty and health promotion professionals regarding logistical implications and practical barriers to success in an applied nutrition research setting. The experiential learning trainees provided valuable process evaluation data, beyond that captured in a structured fidelity log, making their presence at the program implementation sites and subsequent interviews valuable in providing additional data to address the overarching research question. Integrating experiential learning opportunities into research design and time line will allow for more trainees to have these opportunities while also maximizing data collection about program implementation. For future coordinators of experiential learning, this study provides further indications of the value of elicitation interviews to capture this data for research purposes as well as for trainees’ self-reflection. Additionally, these interviews may reveal, as they did in the current study, how service learning rotations with the same program can result in a diversity of experiences for students, due to the site they work within as well as their own educational background and long-term aspirations.

Footnotes

Authors’ Note

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Research Involving Human Subjects at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IRB #14807). Written informed consent was obtained from each individual who participated in this research. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This article is based on work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Award No. 2012-68001-22032).

ORCID iD

Henna Muzaffar

References

Adegbola

(2013). Relevance of service learning to nursing education. Journal of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty, 24(2), 39–41.

Baker

Trabulsi

Evans

Smith

(2018). Improving nutrition students’ knowledge and perceived competence to provide nutrition education to adults with disabilities via experiential learning. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 118(1), 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.12.009

Barr

A. B.

Walters

M. A.

Hagan

D. W.

(2002). The value of experiential education in dietetics. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102(10), 1458–1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(02)90323-8

Bishop

Driver

(2007). Implementing service-learning in undergraduate adapted physical education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 78(8), 15–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2007.10598071

Brown

M. L.

Tenison

(2018). Creation of a dual-purpose collegiate athlete nutrition advising program and educational curriculum. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50(10), 1046–1052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.07.004

Chabot

J. M.

Holben

D. H.

(2003). Integrating service-learning into dietetics and nutrition education. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, 18(1), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.1097/00008486-200307000-00006

Chapman

A. L.

Hadfield

Chapman

C. J.

(2015). Qualitative research in healthcare: An introduction to grounded theory using thematic analysis. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 45(3), 201–205. https://doi.org/10.4997/JRCPE.2015.305

Coetzee

B. A.

Bloemhoff

H. J.

Naude

(2000). Students’ reflections on the attainment of competencies in a community service-learning module in human movement science: Curriculum issues. African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 71(2), 39–45.

Connor

Johnson

Elliott

(2010). What emphasis should service-learning have in the development of a professional? Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(3), 54–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2010.10598450

10.

de Groot

Alexander

Culp

Keith

. (2015). Experiential learning in kinesiology: A student perspective. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 1(3), 123–133. https://doi.org/10.1177/2373379915594391

11.

Dewey

(1938). Experience and education. Macmillan.

12.

Djalilvand

Seabrook

J. A.

Dworatzek

P. D. N.

Matthews

J. I.

(2020). Participating in faculty-supervised extracurricular experiential learning activities contributes to dietetic competency development. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 8(1), 37–43. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2019-024

13.

Dongre

A. R.

Kalaiselvan

Mahalakshmy

(2011). The benefits to medical undergraduates of exposure to community-based survey research. Education for Health (Abingdon), 24(3), 591–597.

14.

Enfield

R. P.

(2001). Connections between 4-H and John Dewey’s philosophy of education. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Connections-Between-4-H-and-John-Dewey's-Philosophy-Enfield/2431a884035d18880baed551b0e978bc018a2c68

15.

Enfield

R. P.

Schmitt-McQuitty

Smith

M. H.

(2007). The development and evaluation of experiential learning workshops for 4-H volunteers. Journal of Extension, 45(1).

16.

Fortune

McKinstry

(2012). Project-based fieldwork: Perspectives of graduate entry students and project sponsors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 59(4), 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2012.01026.x

17.

George

C. L.

Oriel

K. N.

(2009). Interdisciplinary learning experience: Two years of experience with an interdisciplinary learning engagement for physical therapy and special education students. Journal of Allied Health, 38(1), e22–e28.

18.

George

C. L.

Wood-Kanupka

Oriel

K. N.

(2017). Impact of participation in community-based research among undergraduate and graduate students. Journal of Allied Health, 46(1), e15–e24.

19.

Hogan

Hinrichs

Hornecker

(2016). The elicitation interview technique: Capturing people’s experiences of data representations. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 22(12), 2579–2593. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2015.2511718

20.

Keen

Baldwin

(2004). Students promoting economic development and environmental sustainability: An analysis of the impact of involvement in a community-based research and service-learning program. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 5(4), 384–394. https://doi.org/10.1108/14676370410561081

21.

Kim

Clasen

Canfield

(2003). Effectiveness of service learning and learning through service in dietetics education. Journal of Allied Health, 32(4), 275–278.

22.

Kolb

D. A.

(1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.

23.

Lambert

Knight

(2017). Experiential learning: Value of incorporating research into a graduate course: Students’ perspectives. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(9), A45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.06.123

24.

Lincoln

Y. S.

Guba

E. G.

(1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.

25.

Lott

C. E.

Michelmore

C. W.

Sullivan-Cosetti

Wister

J. A.

(1998). Learning through service: A faculty perspective. Liberal Education, 83(1), 40–45.

26.

Lysak

Berenbaum

S. L.

Landry

E. J.

Mulhall

S. M.

Perepelkin

J. P.

Schevchuk

Y. M.

Taylor

J. G.

Jorgenson

D. J.

(2018). Student perceptions of an experiential education clinic within a pharmacy school. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 10(12), 1636–1640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2018.09.001

27.

Matthews

J. I.

Zok

A. V.

Quenneville

E. P.

Dworatzek

P. D.

(2014). Development and implementation of FRESH: A post-secondary nutrition education program incorporating population strategies, experiential learning and intersectoral partnerships. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 105(4), e306–e311. https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.105.4481

28.

Muzaffar

Nikolaus

C. J.

Ogolsky

B. G.

Oakley

A. O.

Liguori

Nickols-Richardson

(2019). Promoting cooking, nutrition, and physical activity in afterschool settings. American Journal of Health Behavior, 43(6), 1050–1063. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.43.6.4

29.

Oakes

C. E.

Sheehan

N. W.

(2014). Students’ perceptions of a community-based service-learning project related to aging in place. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 35(3), 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2014.907158

30.

O’Shea

M. C.

Reeves

N. E.

Bialocerkowski

Cardell

(2019). Using simulation-based learning to provide interprofessional education in diabetes to nutrition and dietetics and exercise physiology students through telehealth. Advances in Simulation, 4, Article 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-019-0116-7

31.

Rosenkranz

R. R.

(2012). Service-learning in higher education relevant to the promotion of physical activity, healthful eating, and prevention of obesity. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 3(10), 672–681.

32.

Skeat

Perry

(2008). Exploring the implementation and use of outcome measurement in practice: A qualitative study. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43(2), 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820701449984

33.

Swanepoel

Tweedie

Maher

(2016). Building dietetic student confidence and professional identity through participation in a university health clinic. Nutrition & Dietetics, 73(3), 229–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12268

34.

Szeto

Haines

Bucholz

A. C.

(2016). Impact of an optional experiential learning opportunity on student engagement and performance in undergraduate nutrition courses. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 77(2), 84–88. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2015-038

35.

Van Hoover

. (2015). Innovation in health policy education: Project-based service learning at a distance for graduate midwifery students. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 60(5), 554–560. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.12264

36.

Vogt

M. A.

Chavez

Schaffner

(2011). Baccalaureate nursing student experiences at a camp for children with diabetes: The impact of a service-learning model. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 37(2), 69–73.

37.

Zimmermann

J. A. M.

Dupree

Hodges

J. S.

(2014). The delivery of recreation programs: Students gain entry level management skills through service learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(4), 144–163. https://doi.org/10.14434/v14i1.4761