A government nutrition education course taught by personalized system of instruction

Abstract

Materials for and implementation of a course in government nutrition education programs taught by personalized system of instruction (PSI) is described. Twenty-four students learned by progressing through nine units of written objectives, reading assignments and tests at their own pace. Ninety percent mastery was required to pass unit tests and tests were retaken without penalty until the criterion was met. Three course assistants, called proctors, provided immediate individualized scoring of unit tests.

Twenty-two students received an A for the course; one student, a B; one student completed only one unit and received an F. Course evaluations reflected positive student and proctor attitudes toward course material and the PSI method.

Four factors correlated with final exam performance: quality cumulative average (QCA), the number of unit test retakes, total unit test errors and working rate. High ability students out-performed low ability students on the final exam. Students with fewer test retakes and errors generally did better on the final exam than students who took more tests to achieve the 90 percent mastery criterion or who made more test errors. Those who began taking tests early in the term had higher final exam grades than those who began later in the term.