The Effects of Three Teaching Methods of Lecture, Training Game and Role Playing on knowledge and Practice of Middle School Girls in Regard to Puberty Nutrition

Suitable nutrition is an important aspect in every stage of life, particularly in puberty stage of females. One of the important priorities of medical education is improving the quality of educational programs in regard to the puberty nutrition in middle school girls. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of three teaching methods of lecture, training games and role playing on knowledge and practice of middle school girls in regard to puberty nutrition. In this quasi-experimental research, six first grade classes from girls’ middle schools of four distracts in Mashhad were selected randomly. The students of these classes (n=174) were randomly divided into three groups of lecture (taught by giving lecture), game (taught by playing games) and role playing (taught by role playing). Each group participated in two 45-minute training sessions about puberty nutrition. The student's knowledge and practice were evaluated by acceptable valid and reliable questionnaire and checklist before, immediately after and one month after the training sessions. According to the results, mean (±standard deviation) knowledge scores of students immediately after intervention were 49.9 (±11.5) in lecture group, 57 (±8.9) in game group and 61 (±12) in role playing group that showed significant increase [respectively 20.1 (±11.6), 29 (±11) and 30.5 (±11.5)] compared to before the intervention. Mean knowledge score immediately after and one month after holding training sessions were significantly different in all three groups (P<0.0001). In role playing and game group knowledge increase was more significant comparing to the lecture group. Also, the consistency of practice in role playing group was significantly more than that in the other groups (P<0.001). It is recommended that in programs of health education in schools, especially those related to the nutrition in puberty period, more effective and dynamic methods adjusted to the educational objectives are used. Methods such as training games and role playing cause active participation of learners and not only increase the output of educational programs, but also lead to more consistency of the acquired knowledge and practice.