About

DESIGN Online contributes substantially to the field of nutrition education by providing an exciting and dynamic tool that combines the best of online technology with the best of evidenced-based nutrition education to create a systematic procedure for designing educational plans ready to use with groups and through other venues such as digital and electronic technology and social media. It is based on evidence that nutrition education is more likely to be effective if activities are clearly designed to go beyond food and nutrition science information to address specific behavior change goals, along with the appropriate motivators, facilitators, and supports for change for their audiences based on the findings from the field of psychology, particularly social psychology. It also uses key concepts from educational design theory to help nutrition educators organize the activities in a way that maximizes learning and behavior change. This approach to nutrition education builds over 100-year tradition of the Program in Nutrition in cutting-edge nutrition education research and practices and on a contemporary definition of nutrition education that has redefined and transformed field of nutrition education derived from the textbook Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory and Practice (Jones and Bartlett Learning). The book is now in its fourth edition with Drs. Isobel Contento and Pamela Koch as co-authors.

DESIGN Online is a collaboration between the Program in Nutrition at Teachers College Columbia University, and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Columbia University. Early versions were piloted in the course, “Strategies of Nutrition Education and Health Behavior Change,” taught at Teachers College by Drs. Isobel Contento and Pamela Koch.

Team

Program in Nutrition, Teachers College Team

• Isobel R. Contento, PhD, CDN, Principal Investigator
• Pamela Koch, EdD, RD, Co-Principal Investigator

Nutrition Education Collaborators

• Marissa Burgermaster, PhD, University of Texas, Austin
• Rachel Paul, PhD, RD, Rachel Paul Nutrition

Center for Teaching and Learning at Columbia University

• Catherine Ross, Executive Director
• Maurice Matiz, Senior Director
• Paul J. Stengel, Learning Design & Project Manager
• Susan L. Dreher, Senior Software Developer
• Marc A. Raymond, Interaction and Interface Design

DESIGN Online Overview

The DESIGN Procedure provides a systematic process that uses the research on behavior change to help you design nutrition education that is more effective at changing eating behaviors. The DESIGN Procedure provides a framework within which you can use your own creativity to produce engaging, relevant plans that are tailored to your audience.

Nutrition education has the potential to improve people’s health, support ecological sustainability of the food system, and work toward social justice related to food.

The DESIGN Procedure steps are:

1. Decide behavior
2. Explore determinants
3. Select theory-based model
4. Indicate objectives
5. Generate plans
6. Nail down evaluation

Each of the six steps have several tasks, and DESIGN online will help you track your progress.

At the end of the Decide behavior step, you will have a behavior change goal. You can use the DESIGN Procedure to develop education plans for group or technology-based education (e.g., websites, blogs, apps).

If you have the opportunity to work with an audience for more than one session or over an extended period, you may want to design several educational plans, which may or may not be directed at the same behavior change goal. You will be able to move appropriate sections from your original plan to the new plans.

Enjoy creating nutrition education plans for your audience.

How to Use the Companion Textbook with the Site

The DESIGN Procedure accompanies Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory, and Practice, by Dr. Isobel Contento, published by Jones & Bartlett Learning. We strongly suggest referring to the textbook as you complete DESIGN Online to make your nutrition education plans really effective.

The textbook has three parts:

• Part 1 of the textbook provides background on nutrition education and shows that behavior change is better achieved when nutrition education is directed at the specific influences on behavior change called determinants. These can be motivational determinants or facilitating determinants. Theory-based models are descriptions of how these determinants are related to each other and to behavior change. Thus, these theory-based models are the foundation of nutrition education and the DESIGN steps.
• Part 2 provides an overview of DESIGN and details for completing each step in the DESIGN procedure.
• Part 3 provides guidance on how to effectively deliver nutrition education.