GEM No. 515
Using Popular-press Nutrition Books to Develop Critical
Reading Skills of First-Year College Students
Jamie Benedict, PhD, RD
INTRODUCTION
First-year experience courses, also
known as first-year seminars or freshman seminars, are commonly offered
at colleges and universities as a means
of enhancing students' academic experience, easing their transition from
high school to college, and ultimately,
increasing the proportion of students
who are retained to the second year.1,2
Although there is variation in regard
to the content and organization of
these courses, many now place greater
emphasis on critical thinking through
reading and writing assignments.3
Critical thinking was recently defined by the Association of American
Colleges and Universities as ‘‘a habit
of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas,
artifacts, and events before accepting
or formulating an opinion or conclusion.’’4 It is associated with a specific
disposition and skill set that is
thought to enhance reasoning and decision making; interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of information
are examples of such skills.5 When
readers approach their text from a critical stance—as critical readers—they
consider the author's purposes, evaluate the quality of evidence that is presented, and relate the material to their
prior experiences and knowledge.6
However, many first-year students
have not been taught to read critically, and therefore they are not prepared to approach their reading with
questions that explore underlying assumptions or intentions.7 This skill
is important for future nutrition and
food professionals who will make decisions by analyzing evidence.8
Success Strategies in Nutrition was
a first-year experience course offered
at the University of Nevada, Reno
from 2007 to 2011. It was a required
course for entering freshmen who
had declared nutrition as their major
and an elective course for those who
were undecided about their major.
The general purpose was to help ensure that students would be successful
in earning their nutrition degree. As
such, the focus was on degree requirements, campus resources, academic
skills, and career opportunities—
topics that are often included in firstyear-experience courses.9
Students' feedback from the course
evaluations in 2007 and 2008 was the
impetus for the assignment described
here. Many students were disappointed that the course content did
not include nutritional science. They
were eager to learn about nutrient
functions and sources, and how diet
influences health. These topics were
all addressed in other required courses
within the curriculum that students
complete once they have fulfilled
specified prerequisites (eg, chemistry
and physiology). The critical reading
assignment was an attempt to respond to students' feedback without
significantly departing from the intent of this first-year experience
course. The assignment provided students the opportunity to explore a nutrition topic of personal interest while
also developing select academic skills,
namely critical reading and writing.
Upon completion of the assignment,
Department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nevada,
Reno, NV
Address for correspondence: Jamie Benedict, PhD, RD, Department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Veterinary Sciences, Mailstop 202, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557;
Phone: (775) 784-6445; Fax: (775) 784-1375; E-mail: [email protected]
J Nutr Educ Behav. 2013;45:188-190
Ó2013 SOCIETY FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION AND BEHAVIOR
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2012.07.006
188
it was expected that students could
(1) describe the overall thesis and
main ideas of 1 of 4 popular books
about nutrition; (2) identify the perspective from which the author is
writing; (3) describe the strengths
and limitations of the evidence used
by the author to support the thesis/
main ideas; (4) compare the personal
impact of the text to the author's
intent; and (5) describe the author's
assumptions about the reader. The assignment was a course requirement
for 3 years (2009-2011).
The purpose of this article is to explain the critical reading assignment,
including how it was implemented
and evaluated, and to describe students' response to the assignment.
The specific information provided below reflects what occurred during the
2010 academic year at which time enrollment was 38, which was typical for
this course.
THE CRITICAL READING
ASSIGNMENT
Students were to select, read, and write
about 1 of the following 4 books: It's
Not Just Your Genes! by R. DeBusk and
Y. Joffe;10 Mindless Eating: Why We
Eat More Than We Think, by B. Wansink;11 Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It,
by S. Abramsky;12 and Diet for a Hot
Planet: The Climate Crises at the End of
Your Fork and What You Can Do About
It, by A. Lappe.13 Consistent with the
guidelines offered by Trand and
Eberly,3 the instructor made an effort
to select books that were suitable for
a lay audience (ie, books that did not
assume knowledge of nutrition and familiarity with scientific terminology),
were written in an engaging and persuasive writing style, and reflected
timely nutrition issues (eg, gene expression, obesity, food insecurity, sustainable food systems) that would
enhance students' awareness of the
diversity of the nutrition discipline.
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 45, Number 2, 2013
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 45, Number 2, 2013
Benedict 189
Students were given a handout on the
assignment that characterized the process of critical reading, listed the learning objectives (noted above), provided
detailed instructions, and gave the
evaluation criteria and rubric. To guide
students' analysis of the text, the instructions included 5 prompts they
were to address in their paper. An example prompt was, ‘‘What kinds of evidence does the author use to support
the main ideas? What evidence was
most and least effective?’’
Complementary activities were
conducted throughout the semester.
These activities included guest
speakers with expertise related to the
chosen book titles (eg, an organic producer). In addition, several senior nutrition students volunteered to work
with the class by facilitating small
group discussions during regularly
scheduled class sessions and online.
STUDENTS’
PERFORMANCE AND
RESPONSE TO THE
ASSIGNMENT
The instructor evaluated the students'
work using the rubric shown in the
Figure. In comparison to the stated
criteria, the students did very well.
The performance of 46% of those
who completed the assignment (n ¼
35) was rated as ‘‘excellent,’’ 46%
were rated as ‘‘good,’’ and 8% were
rated as ‘‘average.’’ The mean score of
the class was 86.6% (SD ¼ 6.5).
Students were also invited to provide feedback about the assignment
in a brief, anonymous survey distributed at the final class meeting.
Thirty-four completed surveys were
returned, representing 89% of those
enrolled in the class. In regard to materials and activities designed to help
them successfully complete the assignment, students' responses were
mixed. Using a scale from 1 (not helpful) to 5 (very helpful), the mean ratings were as follows: handout on the
assignment ¼ 4.6 0.8, instructor's
review of the assignment in class ¼
4.2 0.9, discussions with senior nutrition students in class ¼ 3.6 0.9,
and discussions online ¼ 2.3 1.1.
An objective assessment of critical
thinking skills was not included
here. Rather, the students' perceived
improvements in select reading and
Figure. Critical reading assignment evaluation rubric.
writing skills were determined by
their relative agreement/disagreement
with 5 statements listed in the Table.
Based on these responses, most students did perceive the assignment to
be of benefit toward developing skills
that reflect critical reading/thinking.
Students were also asked whether the
critical reading assignment should be
included in the upcoming year. All
but 1 student responded positively.
Reasons provided to support their recommendations most often related to
positive reactions to the books' content (eg, found the topic of interest)
and what they had gained as a result
(eg, helped them better understand
their major).
Table. Perceptions of the Impact of the Critical Reading Assignment on Select
Academic Skills among Nutrition Students Enrolled in a First-Year
Experience Class (n ¼ 34)
Academic Skill
I am better able to consider an author’s purpose
as a result of the critical reading assignment.
I am better able to identify the main ideas from
a text as a result of the critical reading assignment.
I am better able to evaluate the evidence presented by an
author as a result of the critical reading assignment.
I am better able to develop and organize my own
thoughts and ideas regarding a text as a result
of the critical reading assignment.
I am better able to convey my thoughts and ideas in
writing as a result of the critical reading assignment.
% of Students Who
‘‘Agreed’’ or
‘‘Strongly Agreed’’
97
94
82
91
82
190 Benedict
CONCLUSION
A critical reading assignment was developed and incorporated into a firstyear experience class for nutrition
students. Students were able to choose
among several popular nutrition
books for the assignment, providing
them the opportunity to learn about
a topic of personal interest. To complement the reading, activities were
conducted that included senior-year
students and local nutrition and
food experts. Students responded positively to the assignment and perceived it to be of benefit relative to
select academic skills. However, the
degree to which this assignment
improved their critical reading skills
or their knowledge of nutrition is
unknown.
The scholarly literature in food and
nutrition provides evidence of educators' interest in enhancing the critical
thinking skills among students.14-16
The inclusion of an assignment such
as the one described here may
provide a means to develop these
skills in first-year courses. Evaluating
the impact of such an assignment on
students' nutrition knowledge and
critical reading skills represents
a need for further research.
NOTES
Institutional Review Board approval
was not necessary for this effort, according to the Office of Human Research Protection at the University of
Nevada, Reno. A copy of the assignment handout and evaluation ques-
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 45, Number 2, 2013
tionnaire can be found in
Supplementary Data online.
the
7.
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Supplementary data associated with
this article can be found in the online
version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.jneb.2012.07.006.
8.
9.
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