Assessment of the Peer Educators' Involvement in Learning Experiences for an Upper Division Nutrition Course

Abstract Objectives To conduct summative assessment to determine the impact of peer educators in an upper division nutrition course for students’ learning and exam preparation Methods An online survey was administered to students (n = 43) in a 3 credit Advanced Nutrition course in Fall 2019 to evaluate the impact of peer educators on students’ learning of the course materials and exam preparation. Students (n = 20), response rate = 46.5%) completed the survey which included 6 quantitative and 1 qualitative question with responses on a Likert scale. Throughout the semester, 3 peer educator sessions, 30 minutes each, were implemented and students who performed exceptionally in the first exam, volunteered to lead as peer educators for the remainder of the semester. Results Students (70%) strongly agreed or agreed that the peer educator sessions helped them prepare for the exams. Furthermore, 75% of students strongly agreed or agreed that the peer sessions helped them understand the materials better. Majority of the participants found the sessions to be useful with varying levels of usefulness with the exception of only 5% who did not find the sessions to be at all useful. With regards to attending these sessions, 55% of participants were unlikely or extremely unlikely to attend the peer educator sessions if no extra credit was granted. Particularly for engagement with their peers, 95% students (mean ± SD = mean 1.45 ± 0.74, with 1 being extremely likely and 5 being extremely unlikely) indicated willingness to interact with their peers to succeed in a course. The students 'preference varied with 50% students preferring the instructor vs. 20% preferring peers to lead the sessions while 30% of participants indicated no preference. Via the open-ended question, students provided feedback on improving the sessions such as more time than 30 minutes, providing digital outlines for what was covered and instructor and student co-facilitating a session to maximize impact which warrants further exploration. Conclusions Peer educator sessions can be successful strategies to engage students with their peers in enhancing their learning and exam preparation. More pedagogical research is needed in understanding the role of peer educators in higher level nutrition courses. Funding Sources N/A