Table 1.
Teacher perceptions of unit effectiveness and impact
| Mean | SD | |
| I think this unit on Food and Fitness will… | ||
| help children learn about the relationship between food and good health. | 4.5 | 0.72 |
| motivate children to practice better eating habits. | 4.2 | 0.82 |
| help teachers feel more comfortable with nutrition content. | 4.6 | 0.49 |
| help teachers feel more comfortable with science activities. | 4.0 | 1.10 |
| encourage students to consider careers in health or science. | 3.8 | 0.98 |
| After using this unit, my students demonstrated increased abilities to… | ||
| understand that food is the body's energy source. | 4.5 | 0.51 |
| recognize the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy body weight. | 4.0 | 0.69 |
| match a person's daily calorie needs and calorie expenditures. | 4.3 | 0.67 |
| identify healthy foods. | 4.4 | 0.78 |
| After using this unit, my students demonstrated increased knowledge about… | ||
| how energy is produced during the breakdown of food. | 4.1 | 0.79 |
| what calories measure. | 4.3 | 0.62 |
| the different amounts of energy provided by certain foods. | 4.1 | 0.92 |
| the amounts of energy their own bodies need in a day. | 4.3 | 0.62 |
| the importance of balancing daily caloric intake with caloric expenditure. | 4.1 | 0.72 |
| the nutrients their bodies need and the foods that provide them. | 3.8 | 1.10 |
| making healthy food choices. | 4.2 | 1.10 |
| the effect of exercise on the body. | 4.2 | 0.49 |
| Appropriate serving sizes for a health diet. | 3.4 | 1.30 |
| how nutritional requirements vary with individuals and their activity levels. | 4.3 | 0.70 |
Teachers responded to each item using a scale of 1 to 5, in which 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.