SOTL Research Project

Title: Student Ownership and Application of Body Image Knowledge

Renee D. Howarton, Ph.D.

Questions:

The intent of my research project will be to explore how a studentπs knowledge base of body image issues can be enhanced and the student be influenced to take ownership of the information and apply it to his or her personal life.

• What prior knowledge of body image issues do students enrolled in BURTL-417 Social Psychological Aspects of Clothing course possess that will influence their

receptiveness to the existing course content?

• Which teaching methods will students identify as being most effective in expanding their current understanding of body image issues?

• Which specific subject matter will most meaningfully impact students and result in the synthesizing, personalizing, and applying of course content to their own lives?

Course Schedule:

§ A questionnaire (exempted by IRB) was distributed to students that asked the following information:

ü Rate their current level of body image knowledge

(Knowledge possessed prior to taking the course)

ü How they feel about their personal body image.

ü Resources that have been most helpful in providing them with meaningful body image information.

ü How this particular information has impacted their lives.

ü How concerned they are about body image topics such as eating disorders, self-esteem issues, and/or mediaπs objectification of females and males.

ü What, if anything, they have ever done to apply the body image knowledge that they possess.

ü What efforts they have taken in the past 3 years to stay current with body image topics.

ü How they best learn any topic, not just body image issues.

ü What they would like to learn about body image.

• A variety of teaching methods were then used including:

ü Videos

ü Instructor-created Power Points presentations

ü Group discussions

ü Student-created body image music CDs

• Students were required to analyze what they had learned from the researching, development and presentation of the body image music CDs.

• The final step will consist of having students complete a post-survey. It will seek the following information:

ü Now that they have completed the course lectures and activities, how do they rate their level of body image knowledge?

ü Which of the course experiences were most helpful and personally meaningful to them?

ü Which body image topics were most meaningful and effective in expanding their previous level of knowledge?

ü What, if anything, will they do to apply the body image knowledge that they now possess?

ü What additional comments would they like to share regarding their body image classroom learning experience?

• Current status of my SOTL study:

ü I have analyzed the findings from the pre-survey and will be administering the post-survey next week.

ü I am also scheduled to make an on-campus body image presentation on May 4^th for the Womenπs Studies Series. I will present this research.