Reflection

Part 1:

(1) Two hour presentation student assessment

I deserve a P because I met every requirement expected of me.  I managed to condense all the science/medical aspects I learned (while still being in depth) and make it understandable for the class.  I defined a lot of terms too, in order to inform and give the class the right mindset for my topic.  A lot of research went into my presentation, because I covered standard and nutritional health history, going as far as explaining every aspect within the history and its importance to the dietitian. 


(2) What are you most proud of in your 2 hour and why?

I am proud of... a lot of things regarding my 2 hour.  I eventually got over my nervousness, my activities went rather well (and made sense, since I felt uneasy about them), and I said all the things I wanted to say.  Another thing that I think I should mention is that I was well prepared and all technical problems were solved the day before.  That's a proud moment right there.  I didn't lag it.
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Part 2:

(1) What did you think you did well on in the project? What could you have done better? Please explain.
I think... I did well on my I-Search.  It's the first and only "good" grade I've gotten in all of my components.  Blood, sweat, and tears were shed on that component since I found it really difficult to complete.  I really wish I could re-do my exit interview.  Despite my rehearsals, I was still nervous and had trouble getting my point across. It affected my grade and in turn, affected me mentally because it took like a week to finally get over my exit interview.

(2) What is your EQ and what is the best answer to your EQ?

What is most important to consider when developing a nutritional care plan?  Utilizing the patient's medical history.

(3) How has the last month of culminating events (e.g I-Search, Two-Hour, Exit etc) affected your answer to your EQ? Has it changed? Why or why not?

Originally I had three answers: medical history, nutrition facts panel, and plan feasibility.  Planning for my 2hr made me rethink my answers.  My third answer lacked content and it seemed more of an aspect to medical history (my first answer) than being another consideration on its own.  I incorporated plan feasibility with medical history, which actually strengthened my answer for medical history.

(4) What suggestions do you have in order to improve the senior project?

Some suggestions include:

 I didn't like how the 2hr advisory meetings were scheduled.  More time should be spent on advisory meetings so that everyone can have one on one time with the teacher, in addition to having more time discussing and planning for the actual presentation.


Specify what is expected for the independent tasks.  I didn't know what was expected from me in my first independent task.  I was given the suggestion to track what I eat on a health website since putting my brother off of soda (which was my original task/idea) wasn't a very good idea.  Tracking what I ate wasn't difficult, I did only that.  I don't know if my grade was determined based on the level of the task, the time I worked on it, or my explanation when it was time to blog about it.   

(5) Overall Senior Project Assessment 

P.  I did what was expected.  I tried my best in every component.  I made sure to turn in the components on time.  Most importantly, I applied what I learned to my own life, and I try to teach my family healthy eating habits as well.  I have this knowledge forever, my lifestyle has changed... eating/dieting wise.  

Lesson Plan

Sponge activity:  I want to see if the class can determine which food product has the highest sugar content.  There would be five food products: soda, orange juice, yogurt, cereal, and sugar.  The amount of each product is to be determined, they might have to calculate the sugar content of an individual serving, but the sugar will be one teaspoon.

There will be a few minutes for them to make calculations and estimations.  Afterwards, there will be a share out, followed by revealing which foods have the highest amount of sugar.

Introduction:  What is most important to consider when developing a nutritional care plan?

Most important to consider: An aspect that is deemed a necessity

Developing: Planning; creating

Nutritional care plan: A unique meal plan devised for an individual/family/groups to promote healthy eating and weight loss.

I chose this topic to motivate myself to lose weight.  It grew to something bigger than that over time.  I care about the health of not only myself, but my family.

                                              

My plan is to give a brief history about my topic, break down my EQ, and explain each answer, followed by an activity.  At the end of the explanation, I will give my best answer and provide my reasons.  The lesson will finally end when I finish talking about my product and thanking people as if I won an award.

Foundation:  I will define what nutrition is, what jobs/responsibilities are related to nutrition, and why it is important.

Body:

Answer 1: Respecting the patient's lifestyle

-----Activity 1:  Everyone has to make columns according to the number of people living in their household and put their names on each column.  Under each family member, including themselves, students will write down food that is associated with each relative/person.  This could mean snacks, favorite foods, food that is requested during birthdays, or any other food -centered events, etc. 

When they are finished, I'll ask them to cross off the ready to eat food, processed food, fast foods, etc.  They will keep crossing off foods until they get to food that is prepared at home.

They will share out and I'll give an explanation as to how this activity relates to my answer.

Answer 2: Education of the nutrition basics (Nutrition Facts Label)

-----Activity 2: The objective is to determine the caloric content of cereal.  Every group will get a bowl and a bag of cereal.  Or maybe I'll hand them a bag of cereal and that needs to be distributed to every table because I don't have money nor does the thought of feeding a class of like, 24 sound appealing.  The group will pick one person to pour their desired amount of cereal (the goal is that they pour in what their usual serving is) and then, as a group, they will calculate the calories and possibly everything else on the Nutrition Label.

The Nutrition Facts Label will be posted on the wall since that's part of the room's decoration.  Afterwards, they can eat the cereal.

Answer 3: Understanding of medical history

-----Activity 3:  I'll give out index cards with an ethnicity or a dietary practice (food customs that come from following a religion, or just personal beliefs, i.e. vegetarianism) and the goal is to list the traditional foods or cultural beliefs under that category.  There might be a share out.

Then I'll talk about the importance of ethnicity and cultural practices in a diagnosis setting.  I'll include what dietitians need to practice when treating someone of a different ethnicity.

What is your best answer and why?

Medical history is the best answer.  Without understanding the medical history of the patient, then it would be impossible to create a feasible plan for the patient.  Diets and various nutritional plans would all be uniform.

What is your 3 most important sources and why?--answer this

1. Nutrition and Diagnosis-Related Care (Medical textbook): I learned how dietitians make diet assessments and how to prioritize which patients are in need of immediate care.
2. Read It Before You Eat It by Bonnie Taub-Dix: This book defined the terms found on a Nutrition Facts Panel.  I learned about the differences in labeling and products.  I think I eat conscientiously now.
3. Independent Task 2 (Cooking healthy): I learned firsthand why understanding the lifestyle of a patient is important.  I wasn't on any plan, but trying to cook a healthy meal that everyone can eat, on a budget, while worrying about homework proved difficult for someone who hasn't made these considerations before.

What is your product and why?

I am my own product.  I didn't necessarily follow a strict meal plan, but I did document what I ate for a while, which is something dietitians will instruct a patient to do before creating a plan.  I lost weight and maintained it.  I plan on shedding some more pounds.  I'm comfortable with my body.  I'm extremely proud of that.