Syllabus

Master of Science in Applied Nutrition

APN 770 Nutrition Counseling and Communication – Fall A 2022

Credits - 3

Description

The role of the nutrition professional in promoting general health and wellness through a variety of communication methods will be examined. Theoretical models of nutrition counseling and behavior change and evidence-based nutrition intervention design strategies are emphasized. Topics include calculation of diet modifications for a variety of disease states, development of educational materials, techniques for communicating nutrition information to individuals, use of multimedia communication strategies, and culturally appropriate information dissemination strategies.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Assess the nutrition education needs of different patient and community populations in order to communicate dietary improvements effectively
2. Promote general health and wellness as a nutrition professional to different patient populations and communities using appropriate educational and behavioral theories, communication methods, and media
3. Design and deliver an appropriate nutrition education plan for a group or individual based on theories of nutrition education and behavior change, using effective teaching methods and media
4. Develop confidence in communication skills – in group and one-on-one settings as well as with the public and the media
5. Recognize the many diverse cultural food traditions of the United State in order to teach nutrition to various subpopulations with cultural sensitivity and awareness.

Assignments

In order to demonstrate your mastery of the concepts and skills in this course, you will complete the following assignments:

APN 770 Key Assessment – Instructional Presentation

Points: 20 (recorded presentation and promotional flier)

This assignment is a capstone presentation to design and deliver nutrition education to promote general health and wellness in a specific community in need. It should be based on one or more theoretical model(s) of behavior change and nutritional instruction that we cover in class, as a roadmap to design nutrition instruction. You will also be asked to create a promotional flier prior to your presentation.

Using the DESIGN procedure for nutrition instruction in your Contento text, create and deliver a one- to two-hour instructional presentation, in front of a face-to-face live audience capturing it as a video lecture. This project should demonstrate your competence in nutrition information and intervention strategies based on evidence and skills learned in this course and the APN program as a whole, and give you practice disseminating education.

• Incorporate a minimum of one persuasive, motivating activity like a group exercise or engaging question, and also a useful instructional aid into your presentation, that helps to simplify and clarify your message or guidelines, like a chart, video, or visual aid
• Incorporate your chosen recipe from the assignment in Week 3 into your presentation as well. You do not have to prepare the recipe for your presentation, just present the information.
• Specify dietary modifications that are appropriate for the state of wellness of your chosen group
• Explain the particular needs and challenges of the sub-population chosen
• Consider and address any ethical, cultural, or social circumstances or challenges of this group

DESIGN Procedure

Points: 21 (3 each)

The final nutrition education presentation should be based on, and include, both general and specific educational objectives determined by a chosen theoretical model, and the identified determinants of behavior change, as identified in the weekly DESIGN worksheets.

Assignment Buddy Guidelines

Points: 15 (2 points each week + 3 points for Week 7)

Throughout this course you will be working alongside another student in this class, (or possibly two), to help you through your final project. The two or three of you will check in with each other, very briefly, at least one time per week. You can choose to talk by phone, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, GotoWebinar, or another call/video communication service. These check-in sessions should be live, real-time conversations.

You will be assigned to your Buddy at the start of class. Within your assigned discussion topics, clarify your meeting time availability. Please get this done as soon as the class begins, as you are expected to meet with one another in Week One.

These meetings will help you keep on task, get through the sticky parts of the assignment, reinforce your efforts, and make the development process of a nutrition intervention much more fun! Your calls should be brief (about 20 minutes or less) and on-task.

You will answer and ask the following list of questions within the weekly worksheet assignment associated with your final DESIGN projects. Listen to feedback from your partner, then switch roles to provide the same for them. The feedback given to your Assignment Buddy is expected to be meaningful and helpful and to offer support and suggestions that will enhance their project.

The check-in questions to answer and provide feedback on are:

1. What did I say I’d do this week?
2. What I did I actually do?
3. What worked and what didn’t work?
4. What are my intended goals for the upcoming week?

You will find an Assignment Buddy Check-In Sheet as a download in each module to fill out and turn in for each session in Weeks 1 through 7.

Other Assignments

Lectures

This course is lecture-based; please see each week’s module for required, supplemental and optional viewing as applicable.

Discussions

You will be required to participate in discussions. Initial posts are due on Sundays, and responses are due by 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday, the end of the course week. If the initial post and response are not submitted within this discussion week schedule you will be given a zero. Posts submitted after the discussion week will not be graded. Your response post should be targeted to address the assigned discussion question prompt. Please do not stray from the central topic.

Your success in the course relies on robust discussion, critical thinking, and peer-response. Weekly posts responding to the prompts posed are meant to challenge you to integrate the course material into a broader understanding and, to enrich the readings, handouts, and lectures. Your initial response should be close to 400 words. Peer-responses should be close to 200 words and must be thoughtful, contain a compliment as well as constructive criticism, and maintain a professional tone.

Your peer responses should facilitate further conversation. Use your critical thinking skills to address potential assumptions of your fellow students’ posts. Challenge yourself to consider a differing interpretation or understanding of the initial prompt, and possibly bring in new research or ideas. Specific statements about nutrition and health outcomes should be appropriately supported with citations of peer-reviewed research in correct AMA style. The ideas in the initial post and response posts should relate to information from the readings and lectures presented in the course and include additional references from outside the course.

Recipes

In Weeks 3, 4, and 6 you will submit a recipe adding your analysis and a possible modification per assignment instructions. These will be posted in the Recipe discussions for the assigned week.

In regard to all assignments, please observe the following:

• All assignments must be completed using AMA formatting where appropriate.
• All times refer to Eastern Time (ET).
• All questions about assignments and all questions, in general, should be sent through email, using your UNE email account. 

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Grade, points	Percent of Final Grade
Syllabus Contract	1	1%
DESIGN Worksheets and Buddy Check-ins	36 (3 per worksheet and 2 per buddy check-in; 3 pts in Week 7)	36%
Discussions	32	32%
Recipes	6 (2 x 3 recipes)	6%
Instructional Presentation	20 (19 for recorded presentation; 1 for promotional flier)	20%
Portfolio Assignment/Reflection	5	5%
Total	100	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00