California WIC families adopt healthy eating behaviors after participating in learner-centered education

Over the last ten years, California WIC has been seeking new ways to make their nutrition education services more effective. One of the most promising approaches has been learner-centered education (LCE). LCE redefines the traditional teacher-learner roles so that the learners do much of the talking; and in effect, take more responsibility for learning. California WIC staff created a learner-centered education training program, and with support from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, a three-year evaluation study of the feasibility and efficacy of LCE was conducted to compare this approach with that of a more traditional didactic education approach. Ten California WIC agencies participated in the study: five agencies implemented LCE in their Fruit and Vegetable nutrition classes and five served as control agencies using usual teaching methods in their Fruit and Vegetable education classes. Seven different quantitative and qualitative survey tools were designed and used to gather baseline and endpoint data from agency leaders, teachers, and participants. At the end of the study, the learner-centered approach was found to have several distinct advantages over traditional teaching methods: WIC participants in learner-centered classes were more likely to report changing their eating behaviors as well as greater satisfaction with classes, WIC teachers were more satisfied with the nutrition education teaching experience, and WIC agency leadership identified many positive outcomes from their adoption of learner-centered education classes. Given the benefits to WIC participants, teachers, and leaders, the learner-centered approach has potential to significantly advance the impact of nutrition education in WIC.