Adult Nutrition - NTRS 3510

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  NTRS 3510
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a nutrition upper-division GE course for undergraduate students by Eileen Moylan, MS, RDN at California State University, Los Angeles. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to save students money. 

Course Title and Number - Adult Nutrition NTRS 3510
Brief Description of course highlights:  The course description from the course e-catalog: Promotion of health and the prevention of chronic diseases by nutritional intervention throughout the adult life cycle. https://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/search_advanced.php?cur_cat_oid=75&search_database=Search&search_db=Search&cpage=1&ecpage=1&ppage=1&spage=1&tpage=1&location=33&filter%5Bchosen_locations%5D=&filter%5Bkeyword%5D=NTRS+3510&filter%5Bexact_match%5D=1 

Student population:  Adult Nutrition is an upper-division GE course. A variety of majors are included in the student ranks, including public health, early childhood education, radio, tv, & film, engineering, nursing, etc... These majors reflect a variety of different life science backgrounds before taking this class. On average for 90% of students, this class is their first nutrition class. Students range from sophomores to seniors.

Learning or student outcomes:  Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Discuss the relationships among health, nutrition and physical fitness.
2. Identify social, environmental, cultural and psychological factors that impact why, what, and how much we eat.
3. Use nutrition calculations and tools to analyze health status and dietary nutrient content to achieve healthy eating patterns.
4. Identify appropriate nutrition-related interventions to protect against adult chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
5. Determine reliable sources of nutrition information.
6. Review behavioral strategies to support healthy change, such as meal prepping; stretching food dollars, and choosing along an environmental-friendly spectrum.
7.  Apply nutrition knowledge to promote healthy eating patterns, including selecting nutrient-dense foods and practicing portion control.

Nutrition: Science and Everyday Application
Brief Description:  This book is designed as an Open Education Resource (OER) for introductory nutrition courses and has been adopted for use in high schools and colleges. Topics covered include basic nutrition and metabolism, information literacy, body weight and health, nutrition across life stages, dietary supplements, an in-depth look at each of the macronutrients, and major functions of vitamins and minerals. The second edition of Nutrition: Science and Everyday Application was released in August 2022. https://openwa.pressbooks.pub/nutritionscience2wa/

Authors:  Alice Callahan, PhD; Heather Leonard, MEd, RDN; and Tamberly Powell, MS, RDN

Student access:  CANVAS

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook. In the past, I used the textbook, Nutrition: An Applied Approach for this class. The cost on Amazon for a new textbook was $171.00. Two hundred students take my sections of this course per semester. Using the OER textbook, results in the savings of $34,200. per semester.

License*: CC By-NC 4.0.  Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option.  To save students money. In the past, I used a Pearson textbook, Nutrition: An Applied Approach for this class. The cost I found on Amazon for a new textbook was $171.00, which results in tremendous savings for each student.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  Reviewed titles on OER sites, read peer reviews and evaluated resources.

Sharing Best Practices:  I learned what I needed by taking the SCORE self-paced program. 

Key challenges faced and how resolved: No real challenges faced. The OER was readily accepted by students and its contents easily fit within the course, activities and assignments.

Instructor Name - Eileen Moylan, MS, RDN
Nutrition lecturer at California State University, Los Angeles. 

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.calstatela.edu/hhs/dnfs/faculty-staff

Please describe the courses/course numbers that you teach. Institutional Foodservice, Foodservice Management, Writing & Professional Skills, and Adult Nutrition.  Adult Nutrition is an upper-division general education course. The course description is the promotion of health and prevention of chronic diseases by nutritional intervention throughout the adult life cycle. 

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  My teaching philosophy centers on creating an inclusive, equitable learning environment that values the diverse experiences and needs of all students. I view teaching as more than imparting information; it involves guiding students to question assumptions, apply concepts to practical situations, and reflect on their learning. 

I strive to meet students where they are recognizing their varied backgrounds and learning styles and provide targeted support to help each student succeed. Through learning strategies such as collaborative projects, case studies, and experiential activities, I strive to support their growth as confident, capable learners and future professionals.