- Email: [email protected]
Nutrition Pursuit: A Review Game
Nutrition Pursuit: A Review Game .........................................................................................
Melanie 7: Burns, M.S., R.D., Family and Consumer Sciences, 600 N. Lincoln Ave., Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920; El: (217) 5816680; Fax: (21 7) 581-6090; E-mail: [email protected] Human nutrition is a complex subject with many facts and principles to learn and remember. In an effort to aid senior dietetics students in refreshing and/or reviewing crucial nutrition information, a game entitled "Nutrition Pursuit" was developed (Fig. 1). The purpose of this activity is to review basic nutrition in a fun and easygoing manner. Each game includes a laminated game board; assorted playing pieces, such as paperclips and various coins; and a set of 150 questions (25 questions per color category). T h e game board-is made of white-poster board with the spaces colored with markers. T h e game is played with three teams of three to four players per game board. If you have an uneven number of participants, one person for each board can be designated as the reader of the questions and does not participate in the playing of the game. The game begins with one team rolling the die and moving the playing piece around the board. The first team to correctly answer one question right in all six color categories wins. The six color categories include macronutrients, nutrition assessment, digestion, micronutrients, diet and disease, and potpourri. A sample question from each color category is depicted in Table 1. Ouestions from each of the six categories are based on material presented in beginning and intermediate nutrition courses and are of similar difficulty (basic knowledge). T h e q u e s t i o n s o f c o l o r c a t e g o r y are printed o n separate sheets of paper. T h e reader starts with the first question vrinted o n each individual sheet of paper for each color category. Also o n the game board are brown-colored spaces, which are "free" spaces where the lavers are able to choose the color category of their preference, and "roll again" spaces, which add flexibility to the game board. If con-
.
L
Figure 1. Nutrition Pursuit gameboard.
troversy arises related to the "correctness" of an answer, the instructor decides o n the appropriateness of the answer given by the students. T h e game usually takes 45 minutes to complete. Prizes may be awarded to the winning teams if deemed appropriate by the instructor. First used on the beginning class day as a review and icebreaker in a senior-level nutrition therapy course, the game has continued to be used in the nutrition therapy course as well as used as a teaching technique example in nu-
trition education courses. The use of the game, either modified or not, could also be incorporated into a student association meeting. With a few modifications to questions, this game could also be used in beginning or intermediate-level nutrition courses.The game board is versatile; in fact, it can be used with questions of other nutrition-related topics, such as disease states, nutrition support, interpreting laboratory values, etc. Game players over the past 3 years have been very positive in verbal and
Table 1. Sample question from each color category Category
Question
Red-Nutrition
Assessment
This disease is caused by a diet consistently low in calories.
Blue-Digestion
This hormone regulates the majority of the stomach's digestive processes.
Green-Diet
This is an erosion into the tissue of the stomach or small intestine.
and Disease
Yellow-Macronutrients
Name one of the two essential fatty acids.
Orange-Micronutrients
Liver, mushrooms, spinach, and milk are the most nutrient-dense sources of this watersoluble vitamin.
Purple-Potpourri
What is the term for a thiamin deficiency?
,
written evaluations. In written evaluations, the majority of the students (60%) indicated that the game was a stimulating and refreshing way to review basic nutrition. Using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree, students responded that the questions were easy to understand but not necessarily easy well written (4.l), and to answer (4.2), broad in scope (4.9).Allstudents indi-
cated that they would enjoy playing this game again with different questions as a unit review. Many students commented that they tend to forget "things" over the summer and that the game helps them to realize that the nutrition therapy course is a crucial one in the series of dietetics courses. Future editions of this game could provide for several enhancements.The inclusion of a variety of different top-
ics, such as nutrition in the life cycle and food security, would be feasible. Also, questions written at varying cognitive levels beyond basic knowledge could enhance this review game.
NOTE If YOU are interested in obtaining more information about the game, please contact the author.
Melanie 7: Burns, M.S., R.D., Family and Consumer Sciences, 600 N. Lincoln Ave., Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920; El: (217) 5816680; Fax: (21 7) 581-6090; E-mail: [email protected] Human nutrition is a complex subject with many facts and principles to learn and remember. In an effort to aid senior dietetics students in refreshing and/or reviewing crucial nutrition information, a game entitled "Nutrition Pursuit" was developed (Fig. 1). The purpose of this activity is to review basic nutrition in a fun and easygoing manner. Each game includes a laminated game board; assorted playing pieces, such as paperclips and various coins; and a set of 150 questions (25 questions per color category). T h e game board-is made of white-poster board with the spaces colored with markers. T h e game is played with three teams of three to four players per game board. If you have an uneven number of participants, one person for each board can be designated as the reader of the questions and does not participate in the playing of the game. The game begins with one team rolling the die and moving the playing piece around the board. The first team to correctly answer one question right in all six color categories wins. The six color categories include macronutrients, nutrition assessment, digestion, micronutrients, diet and disease, and potpourri. A sample question from each color category is depicted in Table 1. Ouestions from each of the six categories are based on material presented in beginning and intermediate nutrition courses and are of similar difficulty (basic knowledge). T h e q u e s t i o n s o f c o l o r c a t e g o r y are printed o n separate sheets of paper. T h e reader starts with the first question vrinted o n each individual sheet of paper for each color category. Also o n the game board are brown-colored spaces, which are "free" spaces where the lavers are able to choose the color category of their preference, and "roll again" spaces, which add flexibility to the game board. If con-
.
L
Figure 1. Nutrition Pursuit gameboard.
troversy arises related to the "correctness" of an answer, the instructor decides o n the appropriateness of the answer given by the students. T h e game usually takes 45 minutes to complete. Prizes may be awarded to the winning teams if deemed appropriate by the instructor. First used on the beginning class day as a review and icebreaker in a senior-level nutrition therapy course, the game has continued to be used in the nutrition therapy course as well as used as a teaching technique example in nu-
trition education courses. The use of the game, either modified or not, could also be incorporated into a student association meeting. With a few modifications to questions, this game could also be used in beginning or intermediate-level nutrition courses.The game board is versatile; in fact, it can be used with questions of other nutrition-related topics, such as disease states, nutrition support, interpreting laboratory values, etc. Game players over the past 3 years have been very positive in verbal and
Table 1. Sample question from each color category Category
Question
Red-Nutrition
Assessment
This disease is caused by a diet consistently low in calories.
Blue-Digestion
This hormone regulates the majority of the stomach's digestive processes.
Green-Diet
This is an erosion into the tissue of the stomach or small intestine.
and Disease
Yellow-Macronutrients
Name one of the two essential fatty acids.
Orange-Micronutrients
Liver, mushrooms, spinach, and milk are the most nutrient-dense sources of this watersoluble vitamin.
Purple-Potpourri
What is the term for a thiamin deficiency?
,
written evaluations. In written evaluations, the majority of the students (60%) indicated that the game was a stimulating and refreshing way to review basic nutrition. Using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree, students responded that the questions were easy to understand but not necessarily easy well written (4.l), and to answer (4.2), broad in scope (4.9).Allstudents indi-
cated that they would enjoy playing this game again with different questions as a unit review. Many students commented that they tend to forget "things" over the summer and that the game helps them to realize that the nutrition therapy course is a crucial one in the series of dietetics courses. Future editions of this game could provide for several enhancements.The inclusion of a variety of different top-
ics, such as nutrition in the life cycle and food security, would be feasible. Also, questions written at varying cognitive levels beyond basic knowledge could enhance this review game.
NOTE If YOU are interested in obtaining more information about the game, please contact the author.