| dc.description.abstract | Assessment is necessary in many programs to be certain that expected outcomes are being met. Without curriculum evaluation, higher education faculty would be unaware if students are competent in the skills and knowledge that the faculty thought they were teaching. New curriculum competencies related to dietetics are introduced every five to seven years from the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE). CADE establishes the minimum requirements of foundation knowledge, skills, and
competencies for institutions to train entry level dietitians. Even though a variety of criteria have been proposed to evaluate curricula, no common model or format is used because of the differences in each program, college, or university. The purpose of this study is to evaluate North Dakota State University's (NDSU) dietetics program through students' understanding and knowledge as demonstrated by the change in pretest and post-test scores to ensure they are meeting competencies. The Dietetics Program Assessment Test is made up of questions contributed by each instructor in the dietetics program at NDSU regarding their particular area of expertise. The effectiveness was assessed by comparing students' Dietetics Program Assessment pretest scores, taken during sophomore year, with their post-test scores, taken during senior year. This evaluation was used to determine if pretest scores predict program course grades or if high pretest results indicate a more successful student. Therefore, the scores could be used as a selection criterion for acceptance into the dietetics program if there is a strong correlation. Results from students in the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CPD) were compared to those in the Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and those not accepted into either program to see if there is a difference between the groups. The test was also divided into dietetics core content areas (community nutrition, medical nutrition therapy/clinical, food service, basic nutrition/lifespan, and management) to see if there was an area in which students were scoring poorly. Pretests were taken by 122 pre-dietetics students; of these, 46 were admitted into the CPD, 29 were admitted into the DPD, and 47 were not admitted into either program. A paired t-test found there to be a significant difference (p<0.0001) between individual mean
pretest scores and post-test scores, which means students' knowledge about the area of dietetics had greatly improved through courses throughout each program. A t-test found there was not a significant difference between either the pretest scores (p=0.9847) or the post-test scores (p=0.4263) of those in the CPD and DPD programs. In all of the core dietetics content areas the average percentage of correct questions improved from the pretest to the post-test, and each content area had a similar improvement, roughly a 25 percentage point increase. Using an exact Kendall's Tau Test to examine the association
between pretest score and final course grades, no significant difference was found in all of the core dietetics courses expect for Food Selection and Preparation Principles (HNES 261) (p=0.0324). In conclusion, since no one content area on the post-test appears to be lacking more than any other, it would appear that the students are learning from all courses. Due to the lack of association between all core dietetics course grades and pretest scores along with the small sample size, pretest scores should not currently be used alone or as one of the selection criterion for admittance into either dietetics programs. | en_US |
