The Use of Memes to Evaluate Reflection Levels in an Evidence-Based Practice Course for Nutrition Graduate Students:...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Education
• Digital Learning Tools
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Memes are participatory, playful, and contextual online communication tools.
• Meme creation encourages reflection, synthesis, and contextualization of learned material.
• Limited research exists on using meme creation as an educational tool in higher education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the level of reflection in a master's level nutrition course using a meme creation assignment.
• To analyze student engagement with systemic and ethical issues in nutrition, research, and clinical practice through meme creation.

Main Methods:

• Graduate dietetic students (n=55) in an Evidence Based Practice course created course-related memes.
• Meme reflection depth was quantified using an established framework.
• A hybrid thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Of 82 memes, 25.6% demonstrated critical reflection and 18.3% transformative reflection.
• Significant student engagement was observed across themes: Ethics, Philosophy of Science, Art of Science, and Science and the Public.
• A majority of memes (50%) reached dialogic, transformative, or critical reflection levels.

Conclusions:

• Meme creation assignments effectively promote student reflection in higher education.
• The visual and playful nature of memes may enhance higher levels of student reflection.
• This method offers a novel approach to engaging students with complex academic material.