Objective
To determine if undergraduate students perceive that embedded learning activities aid their understanding of the Human Nutrition Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook.
Use of Theory or Research
OER adoption has become widespread across post-secondary education. The innovation of OER includes the ability to create embedded learning activities through an open-source H5P tool. Additional research is needed to explore student perceptions of embedded learning activities.
Target Audience
Students in an introductory nutrition course offered at two public universities during spring 2021.
Course/Curriculum Description
Four sections at one public university and 2 sections at second public university implemented a new Human Nutrition OER textbook that had embedded 181 interactive learning activities. 126 of the embedded learning activities are flash cards that review important terminology while the remaining 55 are drag and drops used to reinforce chapter learning objectives.
Evaluation Methods
Student usage and perceptions of embedded learning activities was assessed via online survey approximately 1 month prior to finals. Students rated the quantity of learning activities, whether learning activities helped to learn course materials, and how often they completed the learning activities. Responses were aggregated across all sections and campuses and summarized descriptively. This study was deemed exempt by both institutions’ IRB.
Results
The survey was distributed to 324 students of which 175 responded. Approximately 50% of students agreed/strongly agreed that there were an adequate number of learning activities (n = 88) and that the drag and drop activities specifically helped them to learn the material (n = 92). There were 104 students (59%) that reported doing the learning activities some or most of the time.
Conclusions
Undergraduate students valued the embedded learning activities within the OER textbook; however only two of the many H5P content specific types of tools available were used. Therefore, further exploration on the influence on grade performance and the types of embedded learning activities that resonate best with students is needed.
Funding
University of Hawaii at Manoa Outreach College, University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, CHL Summer Institute
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2022.04.197.
Appendix. SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
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Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
