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<UL> <LI> Establish fidelity of implementation ranges that maximize student learning outcomes in food safety education;<LI> Expand the reach and impact of the Hands On program to provide quality food safety education to adolescent students; <LI>Strategically adapt the Hands On curriculum design to serve as a food safety education resource for a variety of 4-H programs.
Non-Technical Summary: <BR>Developing quality food safety education programs is a priority for NIFSI (111.A). The degree of fidelity with which educational interventions are implemented greatly impacts the effectiveness and results in significant variation in participant learning outcomes. Examining these variations in implementation has significant implications for improving food safety programming. The proposal will: 1) determine, through a rigorous fidelity of implementation study, which variations in implementation improve desired outcome measures and those which are detrimental, and 2) validate and apply the model to expand the use of the Hands On: Real World Lessons for Middle School Classrooms program in classrooms and 4-H programs. Three objectives have been established that integrate research, education, and extension: 1) Establish fidelity of implementation ranges that maximize student learning outcomes in food safety education; 2) Expand the reach and impact of the Hands On program to provide quality food safety education to adolescent students; and 3) Strategically adapt the Hands On curriculum design to serve as a food safety education resource for a variety of 4-H programs. This study proposes a rigorous mixed-methods research design using hierarchical regression and discourse analysis to identify optimal ranges of fidelity of implementation which can then be used to refine and improve the effectiveness of the Hands On program and expand its use for wider audiences. The successful completion of this proposal will result in the creation of a fidelity of implementation model to improve the efficacy of food safety intervention programs. <P> Approach: <BR> This study proposes a rigorous mixed-methods research design using hierarchical regression and discourse analysis to identify optimal ranges of fidelity of implementation which can then be used to refine and improve the effectiveness of the Hands On program and expand its use for wider audiences.