Part of the SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions Toolkit.*
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: Nutrition (HBHM) Workshops for Teachers is a direct education intervention designed to increase the knowledge and self-efficacy of teachers, in order to support them in providing SNAP-Ed direct education in their classroom. HBHM is a series of 8 workshops that provide background nutrition information, as well as ideas and resources for incorporating nutrition and physical activity into the school day. These teacher trainings are not designed to be delivered in isolation, but instead should be offered as part of a more comprehensive model of programming. SNAP-Ed resources should be provided to teachers as part of the series and professional development topics should align with these resources. When possible, SNAP-Ed staff should be supporting the site with PSE change to support the nutrition education programming and increase opportunities for students to make healthy choices.
HBHM includes the delivery of interactive workshops that provide teachers with nutrition knowledge and resources to teach their students about healthy eating and physical activity. In order to be successful, the workshops should be offered as part of a larger intervention, including direct ed taught by teachers and PSE changes at the site. The workshops are adaptable to a variety of grades and curricula, however, the workshop topics must match what is being taught to students. It may not be necessary to conduct all 8 workshops, but for maximum effectiveness each workshop requires a minimum of 30 minutes. Implementation of the intervention requires a discussion with site administrators to determine if there is time for the workshops to be delivered with all teachers. Then a curriculum must be identified for classroom-based direct ed so that appropriate workshop topics and dates can be chosen. Feedback should be obtained after each workshop and direct ed should be monitored for fidelity.
The HBHM in not currently available on the Food Trust website. Contact Heidi Gorniok for more information.
HBHM includes two validated tools for evaluating effectiveness and outcomes. The Nutrition-Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (NTSES) is a 20 question pre and post-test survey that evaluates self-efficacy related to teaching a variety of nutrition concepts. The modified NTSES post-test also asks for feedback on the entirety of the series. A process evaluation is also available for use after each workshop to assess participant satisfaction, self-reported motivation, and any suggestions for future trainings.
*SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for States is a compilation of interventions. The toolkit was developed by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, The Association of SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT), and the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the USDA. It is designed and updated to help state SNAP-Ed administrative and implementing agencies identify evidence-based obesity prevention programs and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies and interventions to include in their SNAP-Ed plans.