Comparison of Knowledge Gained in a Face-to-Face Versus an Online College-Level Nutrition Course

Figures & data

Table 1. Comparison of nutrition knowledge pre- and post-measure.

	Combined		Fall 2019		Winter 2020
	F2F (n = 907)	Virtual (n = 1,239)	F2F (n = 436)	Virtual (n = 645)	F2F (n = 471)	Virtual (n = 594)
Nutrition knowledge score^1 (mean [SD])
Pre	8.6 (4.3)^†	8.2 (4.1)†	9.0 (4.1)^†	7.9 (4.1)^†	8.3 (4.4)	8.4 (4.0)
Post	16.3 (5.6)	14.4 (6.2)	16.3 (5.5)	13.8 (6.2)	16.3 (5.6)	15.1 (6.1)
Change	7.7 (5.2)*	6.3 (5.7)*	7.3 (5.2)*	5.9 (5.8)*	8.0 (5.3)*	6.8 (5.6)*

* p ≤ 0.05 for pre- and post-measure changes within groups.

^† Baseline differences between groups are indicated.

¹ Minimum score = 0; Maximum score = 27.

Table 2. Comparison of mean scores on class assessments.

	Combined		Fall 2019		Winter 2020
	F2F (n = 978)	Virtual (n = 1,444)	F2F (n = 467)	Virtual (n = 762)	F2F (n = 511)	Virtual (n = 682)
Overall grade (100%)	93.1 (10.4)	92.3 (11.4)	94.8 (9.8)*	91.8 (12.2)*	91.6 (10.7)*	92.8 (10.5)*
Midterm exam #1 (100 points)	84.8 (12.2)	85.1 (13.2)	86.8 (11.0)*	84.4 (13.4)*	83.0 (13.0)*	86.0 (13.0)*
Midterm exam #2 (100 points)	82.9 (12.3)*	81.6 (13.0)*	84.1 (12.0)*	80.5 (13.6)*	81.9 (12.5)	82.8 (12.2)
Final exam (100 points)	84.5 (14.6)	84.0 (14.8)	87.0 (13.4)*	84.1 (15.0)*	82.3 (15.2)	83.8 (14.6)
Quizzes (50 points)	47.8 (4.3)*	48.3 (4.4)*	47.7 (4.2)	48.0 (4.8)	48.0 (4.4)*	48.6 (3.8)*
Food diary project (50 points)	48.0 (5.4)*	46.6 (7.7)*	48.5 (5.5)*	46.2 (8.7)*	47.6 (5.4)	47.1 (6.4)
Extra credit (Fall 2019 max = 36 points; Winter 2020 max = 32 points)	24.4 (7.4)*	23.6 (8.5)*	25.1 (8.2)	24.1 (9.4)	23.7 (6.6)	23.1 (7.3)

* p ≤ 0.05.