Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential LearningNCT04098419
Evaluation of a Two-tiered Cross-age Teaching Model for Food Literacy-based Education
A study testing Science for Life in people with Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning, run by University of California, Davis at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This project will serve adolescents from low-income and historically underserved communities through expansion of existing after-school programs. Adolescents from these communities tend to have slower academic progression and higher high school dropout rates. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 9 to 18 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning
- What is being tested?
- Science for Life
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 18 Sep 2019to 12 Mar 2020
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 9 to 18 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- There are two groups of participants (adolescents and younger youth) that will be recruited for this study. Adolescent participants must be high school-aged, approximately 13-17 years. Younger youth must be upper elementary school-aged, approximately 9-12 years. Participants for both age groups will be recruited from existing afterschool programs within each participating school district. Comparison youth for both age groups will be recruited from other students within the same school districts.
- For the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, the participating school districts will be in Pittsburg and Williams, California.
Who cannot join
- Youth from other school districts
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of California, Davis
Davis, California, 95616
About this study
This project will serve adolescents from low-income and historically underserved communities through expansion of existing after-school programs. Adolescents from these communities tend to have slower academic progression and higher high school dropout rates. Extracurricular activities, including informal education through after-school programming, have been suggested to improve these rates and increase college enrollment by supporting traditional classroom-based education. The proposed project aims to educate high school-aged adolescents in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences through informal food literacy education. The project also includes a two-tiered cross-age teaching model, allowing for adolescents to be educated by college interns and to become educators for younger youth. Existing curricula, that encompass FANH sciences, will be utilized at each stage of the project. The purpose of the project is not only to educate adolescents in FANH sciences, but also to advance their motivation and efficacy for graduating high school, attending college, and majoring in FANH sciences. The project aims to accomplish these objectives through empowering adolescents to obtain knowledge, skills, and excitement for food literacy. As this model has not been utilized previously, this project will produce a best practices guide for implementing the existing curricula within a two-tiered cross-age teaching model. Additionally, the college internship and mentoring program created through this project will be continued at the initial sites and expanded to other communities. This will allow for a sustainable approach to educating adolescents in FANH sciences and providing mentorship that encourages future enrollment in college.
- Conditions
- Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning
- Being tested
- Science for Life
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Science for LifeBehavioural
The implementation for both school years will follow the same procedures with different cohorts. Sixteen adolescents will be recruited through existing after-school programs at each location (32 total each year). College interns will facilitate food literacy lessons after school once per week with high school-aged adolescents. Beginning in January, adolescents will participate in training led by project staff and college interns to become competent cross-age teachers for garden-enhanced nutrition curricula. This training will consist of instruction in utilization of inquiry-based teaching practices and will be followed by adolescents practicing facilitating the curricula in teaching pairs. Up to 32 younger youth participants at each location (up to 64 total each year) will be recruited from local elementary schools while adolescents complete the cross-age teaching training. With mentorship from college interns, adolescents will facilitate curricula in pairs with younger youth.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Williams Implementation | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Science for Life |
| Pittsburg Implementation | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Science for Life |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Nutrition Knowledge
Assessed using age-specific validated questionnaires. The score on this assessment is presented as a percentage of correct responses out of 30 questions. Higher percentages represent a better outcome.
Measured: 1 school year
Self-Efficacy about Teaching Nutrition
Adapted questionnaire to assess teen self-efficacy about teaching nutrition using a retrospective, post-then-pre method. This assessment features a 5-point Likert scale.
Measured: 5 months
Self-Efficacy about Cooking Skills
Motivation and cooking confidence will be measured using an adapted version of a questionnaire developed by University of Louisiana. This questionnaire assesses intrinsic motivation to cook and perceived competence using a retrospective, post-then-pre method.This assessment features a 5-point Likert scale.
Measured: 1 school year
Fruit and Vegetable Intake (Skin Carotenoids)
Fruit and vegetable consumption will be collected using reflection spectroscopy through an instrument called "Veggie Meter." The Veggie Meter can be utilized to objectively estimate carotenoid-containing fruit and vegetable consumption through measurement of skin carotenoids in the fingertip. A handout about this tool will be provided to parents/guardians with the consent form. For the most reliable results, this measurement will be collected during the same time of year to limit false results due to seasonal changes in dietary pattern.
Measured: 1 year
Dietary intake
A commonly used food frequency questionnaire will be utilized to measure dietary intake in adolescents and younger youth (Block Kids 2004). The tool has been determined to be appropriate for ages 7-17 years. To best assess the eating pattern of the target populations, the option for inclusion of food commonly eaten by Hispanic populations has been selected. This assessment tool will be provided in both English and Spanish so that parents/guardians can help participants complete the assessment at home. Additionally, serving size references will be sent home with the questionnaire. This assessment includes a variety of foods and asks participants how many days in the last week they consumed each food.
Measured: 1 school year
Secondary outcomes (8)
Household Food Security
Household food security will be measured using the USDA's U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. This widely utilized 12-item module has been modified to a fillable questionnaire for parents or guardians of youth to complete.
Measured: 1 school year
Anthropometrics (to calculate BMI)
Height, and weight will be measured and used to calculate BMI percentile and BMI-z scores. Participants will be measured in light outdoor clothing after the removal of shoes. Height will be measured to the nearest 0.1cm using a transportable stadiometer and body weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1kg using an electronic scale. Waist circumference will be measured to the nearest cm using a body circumference measuring tape. Adiposity and obesity risk will be assessed via age- and sex-specific BMI percentile as recommended by the Expert Committee on Childhood and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity.
Measured: 1 school year
Civic Responsibility
Civic responsibility will be measured using a reliable questionnaire developed as a part of the 4-H Youth Development Program Healthy Living Measures by the Service-Learning Research and Development Center at University of California, Berkeley. The 24-item questionnaire assesses civic responsibility by measuring three key aspects: connection to community, civic awareness, and civic efficacy. This assessment features a 6-point Likert scale.
Measured: 1 school year
Motivation for Educational Attainment
Motivation and self-efficacy for attaining higher education will be measured using the Adolescent Education Aspirations Questionnaire. This 16-item questionnaire assesses adolescents' motivation and self-efficacy to graduate high school and attend college. This assessment features a 5-point Likert scale.
Measured: 1 school year
Academic self-efficacy
The Academic Self-Efficacy Scale was developed based on the Social Cognitive Theory and found reliable when tested in Indian adolescents. The instrument also demonstrated face and content validity. While translated to English, the tool needed further revision to be appropriate for American adolescents.
Measured: 1 school year
Social and emotional self-efficacy
Portions of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) will be utilized to assess social and emotional self-efficacy. While originally developed in the Netherlands, this questionnaire was tested in two large samples of American adolescents in middle school and high school and found to be an appropriate tool with minor revisions. With assessment of academic self-efficacy being completed with the previously mentioned questionnaire, items referring to academics have been removed from this tool.
Measured: 1 school year
Disposition toward FANH sciences
Disposition toward FANH sciences will be assessed using a modified version of the STEM Semantics Survey. This five-part survey has been shown to reliably measure disposition toward STEM in high school-aged adolescents.
Measured: 1 school year
Self-esteem and locus of control
Self-esteem will be assessed in the high school-aged adolescents and perceptions of locus of control will be measured in both adolescents and younger youth using previously used tools.
Measured: 1 school year
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Sep 2019
- Study start18 Sep 2019
- Primary completion12 Mar 2020
- Study completion12 Mar 2020
Why it stopped: Discontinuing the study because of COVID-19
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential LearningStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, DavisThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Davis
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04098419
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1473718
- Status last verified
- Jun 2023
- First submitted
- 9 Sep 2019
- Last updated
- 15 Jun 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Jun 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluation of a Two-tiered Cross-age Teaching Model for Food Literacy-based Education
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04098419
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1473718
- Conditions
- Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- TerminatedReason stopped: Discontinuing the study because of COVID-19
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, DavisUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 18 Sep 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 12 Mar 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 12 Mar 2020 (actual)
- First posted
- 23 Sep 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This project will serve adolescents from low-income and historically underserved communities through expansion of existing after-school programs. Adolescents from these communities tend to have slower academic progression and higher high school dropout rates. Extracurricular activities, including informal education through after-school programming, have been suggested to improve these rates and increase college enrollment by supporting traditional classroom-based education. The proposed project aims to educate high school-aged adolescents in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences through informal food literacy education. The project also includes a two-tiered cross-age teaching model, allowing for adolescents to be educated by college interns and to become educators for younger youth. Existing curricula, that encompass FANH sciences, will be utilized at each stage of the project. The purpose of the project is not only to educate adolescents in FANH sciences, but also to advance their motivation and efficacy for graduating high school, attending college, and majoring in FANH sciences. The project aims to accomplish these objectives through empowering adolescents to obtain knowledge, skills, and excitement for food literacy. As this model has not been utilized previously, this project will produce a best practices guide for implementing the existing curricula within a two-tiered cross-age teaching model. Additionally, the college internship and mentoring program created through this project will be continued at the initial sites and expanded to other communities. This will allow for a sustainable approach to educating adolescents in FANH sciences and providing mentorship that encourages future enrollment in college.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Williams Implementation | Experimental | Behavioral: Science for Life |
| Pittsburg Implementation | Experimental | Behavioral: Science for Life |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 9 to 18 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- There are two groups of participants (adolescents and younger youth) that will be recruited for this study. Adolescent participants must be high school-aged, approximately 13-17 years. Younger youth must be upper elementary school-aged, approximately 9-12 years. Participants for both age groups will be recruited from existing afterschool programs within each participating school district. Comparison youth for both age groups will be recruited from other students within the same school districts.
- For the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, the participating school districts will be in Pittsburg and Williams, California.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Youth from other school districts
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Science for LifeThe implementation for both school years will follow the same procedures with different cohorts. Sixteen adolescents will be recruited through existing after-school programs at each location (32 total each year). College interns will facilitate food literacy lessons after school once per week with high school-aged adolescents. Beginning in January, adolescents will participate in training led by project staff and college interns to become competent cross-age teachers for garden-enhanced nutrition curricula. This training will consist of instruction in utilization of inquiry-based teaching practices and will be followed by adolescents practicing facilitating the curricula in teaching pairs. Up to 32 younger youth participants at each location (up to 64 total each year) will be recruited from local elementary schools while adolescents complete the cross-age teaching training. With mentorship from college interns, adolescents will facilitate curricula in pairs with younger youth. | Behavioural | Pittsburg Implementation, Williams Implementation |
Primary outcome
Nutrition Knowledge
Time frame: 1 school year
Assessed using age-specific validated questionnaires. The score on this assessment is presented as a percentage of correct responses out of 30 questions. Higher percentages represent a better outcome.
Self-Efficacy about Teaching Nutrition
Time frame: 5 months
Adapted questionnaire to assess teen self-efficacy about teaching nutrition using a retrospective, post-then-pre method. This assessment features a 5-point Likert scale.
Self-Efficacy about Cooking Skills
Time frame: 1 school year
Motivation and cooking confidence will be measured using an adapted version of a questionnaire developed by University of Louisiana. This questionnaire assesses intrinsic motivation to cook and perceived competence using a retrospective, post-then-pre method.This assessment features a 5-point Likert scale.
Fruit and Vegetable Intake (Skin Carotenoids)
Time frame: 1 year
Fruit and vegetable consumption will be collected using reflection spectroscopy through an instrument called "Veggie Meter." The Veggie Meter can be utilized to objectively estimate carotenoid-containing fruit and vegetable consumption through measurement of skin carotenoids in the fingertip. A handout about this tool will be provided to parents/guardians with the consent form. For the most reliable results, this measurement will be collected during the same time of year to limit false results due to seasonal changes in dietary pattern.
Dietary intake
Time frame: 1 school year
A commonly used food frequency questionnaire will be utilized to measure dietary intake in adolescents and younger youth (Block Kids 2004). The tool has been determined to be appropriate for ages 7-17 years. To best assess the eating pattern of the target populations, the option for inclusion of food commonly eaten by Hispanic populations has been selected. This assessment tool will be provided in both English and Spanish so that parents/guardians can help participants complete the assessment at home. Additionally, serving size references will be sent home with the questionnaire. This assessment includes a variety of foods and asks participants how many days in the last week they consumed each food.
8 secondary outcomes
Household Food Security
Time frame: 1 school year
Anthropometrics (to calculate BMI)
Time frame: 1 school year
Civic Responsibility
Time frame: 1 school year
Motivation for Educational Attainment
Time frame: 1 school year
Academic self-efficacy
Time frame: 1 school year
Social and emotional self-efficacy
Time frame: 1 school year
Disposition toward FANH sciences
Time frame: 1 school year
Self-esteem and locus of control
Time frame: 1 school year
Results and safety
The study was stopped early (reason given: Discontinuing the study because of COVID-19). Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Jun 2023.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Science for Life in people with Food Literacy; Adolescent Health; Cross-age Teaching; Nutrition Education; Experiential Learning, run by University of California, Davis at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Jun 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study was stopped early (reason given: Discontinuing the study because of COVID-19). Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Nutrition Knowledge (time frame: 1 school year). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Jun 2023.