A review of the literature dealing with nutrition education established the following: (a) that there is a need for nutrition education at the elementary school level; (b) that elementary teachers do not always have the background or motivation to meet this need for nutrition education; and (c) that new educational methods that are easier to understand and more highly motivating are needed. The Index of Nutritional Quantity (INQ), a nutrient density concept, was developed at Utah State University to answer the need for easily understood and motivating nutrition information. The INQ method of nutrition education has been used and considered successful in actual classroom situations. Up to this time, the INQ method of teaching was introduced to interested individuals and groups by the various members of the INQ research group--a method that is expensive in time and travel expense and lacks consistency. A less expensive, more standardized means of disseminating information about the Index of Nutritional Quality was needed After consideration of the various types of media available, it was decided that a self-instructional, multi-media unit, including a slide-tape and an accompanying workbook, would be a satisfactory teaching module. The module was developed and tested as a part of this study, using both an attitude survey and a didactic pre-and posttest as evaluation instruments. The test statistics were significant to conclude that learning had taken place as a result of exposure to the unit; and that the module was successful as a teaching devise.

A review of the literature indicated a need for nutrition education materials to be current with prevailing scientific knowledge, using advanced instructional technology. Individuals need help in applying nutrition principles to their dietary practices. A nutrition education program utilizing the nutrient density concept and the dietary guidelines for use on videodisc with microcomputer interface was developed and evaluated. The evaluation of the program did not prove to be effective statistically but learners did show an interest in the program and had positive feedback in regard to the information presented and the technology used.