Engaging middle school students in prevention topics through a multimedia science education curriculum

Middle school is a period of risk for drug use, but these students can be critical and resistant consumers of prevention messages. Because health messages presented in engaging ways are more likely to retained and translated into attitude and behavior change, innovative approaches are always needed. To this end, multimedia applications such as CD-ROM based games, where difficult concepts are illustrated, and interactive and competitive elements are included to engage the learners, may hold promise. This paper will present the results of an evaluation of a multimedia science education curriculum developed with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Topics covered by this curriculum include the brain and how drugs of abuse change the brain. This curriculum was developed using pedagogical and behavior change theories, featuring interactive games developed with input from the target audience. This multimedia curriculum was then evaluated using a pretest, post-test quasi experimental design. Using data from this evaluation, this paper will explore the following research questions: To what extent does inclusion of multimedia elements impact students' acquisition of the information? To what extent does this curriculum influence student beliefs that may prevent later drug use? The evaluation uses a nested design to examine characteristics of students that show a progression of knowledge and attitude change after exposure to the curriculum, and how these changes may relate to actual risk behaviors in students. These findings may help the prevention field design and implement more effective and engaging programs.