“The Design and Acceptability of a Hip Hop Themed Integrated Nutrition Math Curriculum for Minoritized 5th Grade Students Using the Multisensory Multilevel Health Education Model”

Abstract

Digital technology creates new opportunities to design multisensory learning experiences. Evidence suggests that digital innovation can greatly benefit health education, including nutrition programs. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education sector, forcing schools to modify standard practices from exclusively in-person delivery to online or blended learning. Digitalized curriculums became particularly useful as an Emergency Remote Teaching tool. This article focuses on developing and implementing a multimedia, multisensory, and scalable Hip-Hop Healthy Eating and Living in Schools (H.E.A.L.S.) Nutrition–Math Curriculum (NMC). NMC comprises 20 lessons—music-based multimedia resources used in the classroom or at home. Fourteen lessons represent self-directed online modules (asynchronous learning) hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) called “Gooru.” The remaining six lessons are teacher-facilitated (in person or using Zoom) review sessions (synchronous learning). The article discusses (1) the development of NMC through the lens of the Multisensory Multilevel Health Education Model (MMHEM), (2) the high acceptability of NMC evaluated using a mixed-methods design among minoritized fifth-grade students attending an after-school program, and (3) the students’ completion and mastery rates of the NMC modules based on LMS data. Multimedia nutrition education programs integrated with common core curriculum content, such as NMC, may be a promising avenue for disseminating health education to minoritized children living in New York City and similar high fast-food density cities.