Incorporating the Popularity of Reality Competition to Enhance Learning
Nancy Harris
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
The undergraduate nutrition and dietetics curriculum at East Carolina University includes a
writing intensive course, NUTR 4600, “Dietetics Exit Seminar”. The catalog description for this
two semester hour course states that the course applies continuous quality improvement to
dietetic services and identifies trends and issues in dietetics. The course objectives include: (1)
Apply knowledge of scientific research and practice in nutrition and dietetics through oral and
written activities. (2) Review relevant trends, practices, and issues in the profession. (3) Initiate
the development of a professional portfolio. (4) Complete the Exit Exam for the Didactic
Program in Dietetics (DPD) with a minimum score of 80%. This is intended to be a capstone
course that compiles a comprehensive curriculum assessment, writing intensive objectives and
professional development activities.
For several years the instructional approach for this course has been dismal with little attention
given to improving outcomes. The focus has been primarily on testing outcomes and the writing
components have been busy work tasks with no apparent theme. About the time the course was
assigned to me, a request for participation in the Institute in Teaching Writing Intensive Course
was announced. I responded to the inquiry and was awarded an opportunity to attend. My
expectations were to discover a formula or template from the instruction to apply to the
reconstruction of my course. Instead, I discovered a series of faculty presentations from various
disciplines and observed how their academic training, personalities, teaching styles and media
utilization enhanced the empowerment of their students in both structured and creative
expression through participatory learning. Kenneth Wilburn best expressed it as “writing to
learn”. In the Writing Institute, we visited essays, literacy narratives, field trips, error analysis,
evaluation methods, one sentence paragraphs, academic integrity, understanding audience,
critical thinking and instructional web casts. The Institute was an engaging process but the
independent parts were not clearly solving the equation for me. Then it occurred to me to utilize
the lessons I was learning to the students I was teaching. In this way, I was able to enhance my
own effectiveness as well as help the student discover new ways to communicate meaning in a
variety of ways that are significant. This collaborative learning became the template for the
course.
Seven writing assignments were constructed. These assignments involved a variety of writing
skills: interpretation of an American Dietetic Association position paper on a current nutrition
issue; development a professional resume incorporating suggestions from presentations from
faculty at the ECU career center; compiling a professional portfolio featuring outstanding
academic, extracurricular, workplace or volunteer performance; completion of a reflective paper
after participating in a professional conference; scripting a narrative that included personal and
career goals with professional standards and criteria; and adapting a narrative on the same topic
for different audiences. Initially students were reluctant to be expressive, but their confidence
improved during the semester and they became more confident to transcend from structured
writing to more personalized, expressive communications.
In addition to the writing expectations, students needed to successfully complete a
comprehensive exam encompassing all major courses in the undergraduate curriculum. This
exam assists students in reviewing the curriculum to identify areas of needed improvement prior
to completing a dietetic internship which is supervised practice involving approximately 1300
hours. The exam also prepares students for successful performance on the national registration
exam for dietitians at the conclusion of the internship which is a requirement to practice as a
registered, licensed dietitian. It is a challenge to meet both writing intensive and comprehensive
testing components in the same two semester hour course. Moreover, past student evaluations
indicated the need to improve the testing outcomes. In an effort to revitalize the course and
encourage student participation in the process, a number of new approaches were incorporated.
Once again the Institute helped stimulate some ideas. In our text, active participation was
encouraged in order to result in a greater educational experience. It stated that while there are
several means of encouraging student engagement,1group activities are well suited for this
purpose. Dunaway (2005) took this approach in a higher level setting and noted that students felt
obligated to prepare beforehand for group interaction and collectively believed the experience
enhanced learning. Additionally, there was a notable increase in enthusiasm among the students.2
Another resource described how the game show Jeopardy had been used frequently in
educational settings to enhance learning in a more entertaining manner.3
Based on these ideas, one new methodology was used to engage students in a curriculum review
process that encouraged individual contribution to a team oriented process. The objective of the
methodology was to improve student engagement and perceptions via classroom implementation
of a popular reality game shoe. Each student was assigned a topic domain from the nutrition
curriculum to review and prepare a detailed content outline and to prepare ten test questions
highlighting the most critical content from their domain. The class was randomly divided into
two teams to compete in a contest that included both student derived and previous exam
questions. Prior to the contest, all content outlines and questions were provided to the students to
enhance their review in preparation for the contest and actual comprehensive exam. A reality
show theme incorporating the survival-type competition was adopted to stimulate team building
activities and to improve the competitive spirit of the activity.
Initially, each member of the winning team was to receive 10 bonus points toward the
comprehensive exam. Students requested that the bonus points be prorated between the teams so
that everyone would be a winner with a proportionate advantage. This willingness to support the
entire class was a pleasant response in a major that students are often very competitive
individually and less supportive of other students’ success. Both teams demonstrated evidence of
preparation and study prior to the game. The team scores were roughly equal (44 to 41 points)
and few questions were missed overall. Students reacted favorably to the approach with active
engagement in the activity and had fun with costumes, motivational team cheers and island
decorations. An added bonus to learning was having fun. In the future, passing rates on the
comprehensive exam from this class will be compared with other classes and used to modify
teaching strategies as indicated.
This concept was presented as a poster presentation at the 31st International Improvement in
University Teaching Conference, Extending Our Boundaries: New Solutions for Complex
Problems in Higher Education in Dunedin, New Zealand in July 2006. The response from
conference participants was incredibly positive and enthusiastic and fostered the sharing of
instructional techniques that enhance learning in inventive and creative venues.
So, in reality, the Institute never produced the formula or template I had initially sought.
However, I was reminded that my attitude toward learning should be receptive to new ideas and I
should consistently seek inspiration to assure my growth continues. If I am successful with my
own development, I will be better equipped to enhance the learning environment I offer to my
students.
References
Weaver, R., and Qi, J. (2005). Classroom organization and participation: College students’
perceptions. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 570-601.
Dunaway, G. (2005). Adaptation of team learning to an introductory graduate pharmacology
course. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 17(1), 56-62.
Keutzer, C. (1993, February). Jeopardy© in abnormal psychology. Teaching in Psychology,
20(1), 45-46.