The Brain Food Project provides food to students attending tutoring sessions at Fresno City College to increase attendance and student success. Attendance at tutoring sessions known as PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) increased from 26% to 85% after introducing food. The Brain Food Project addresses the problems of low tutoring attendance and high food insecurity rates by offering students pre-packaged foods when they attend tutoring sessions. Providing this food acts as a positive reinforcement and helps meet students' basic needs, motivating them to attend more tutoring sessions where they can improve their grades and educational outcomes. Evaluation found PASS students who receive food attend tutoring significantly more and have higher GPAs than students who do not receive food
1. PASS:
Breaking
ead
Br
Br
Breaking Bread: Using a Center Model and Food as Positive
Reinforcement to Impact Tutoring/SI Attendance and Create
Student Equity and Success
Updated Title: Breaking Bread: The Development of the "Brain
Food Project®” and the Center Model to Increase SI/Tutoring
Attendance and Success
2. Why are we here?
To understand how SI and tutoring can be implemented through a center
model
To find out how PASS attendance increased from 26% to 85% in one year
3. What is PASS?
Peer Assisted Study Sessions (P.A.S.S.) at Fresno City College (27,000 enrolled
students)
Embedded tutoring/supplemental instruction adaptation for English, ESL,
linguistics, and literature classes as well as various classes primarily involving
reading and writing
Attendance is voluntary (teaching faculty decide)
4. What is PASS? (defining element)
Center Model (stable location/ 400% growth)
PASS sessions are scheduled for roughly 1.5 hours before or after class sessions (sometimes
BEFORE and AFTER).
PASS sessions are located in the PASS Centers (PASS Center 1 and PASS Center 2): One desktop
lab & One laptop lab; computers are necessary for writing assistance
The PASS Center is a type of specialized English/ESL center that embeds leaders in the
classroom
All students log in and out at a “front desk” in the PASS Centers (Verification Form)
5. What is PASS? (defining element)
Center Model
Reading and Writing support often requires more time and one-on-one support than can be
offered during the scheduled PASS sessions
PASS students are invited to visit the PASS Centers any time during open hours (open six days a
week 8am-7pm; online 24/7); no appointments necessary outside of scheduled sessions
PASS leaders (SI leaders) are scheduled for open hours; PASS supporters (tutors) assist walk-ins
PASS leaders regularly update a shared file with class notes, prompts, assignment
interpretations, and specific suggestions for other PASS leaders to access when supporting their
students (this allows us to provide specific services to students even when the primary leader is
not present)
6. What Does PASS Do?
The PASS Center serves over 70 English, ESL, linguistics, and literature
classes/sections (developmental through transfer)
Over 60 leaders, supporters, and front-desk aides (all students)
Open six days a week and serve students online 24/7 (our leaders during open hours and
professional tutors in off hours)
Provide holistic service (e.g. food)
Goal: Build community in and out of class while recognizing students as whole
people with whole and diverse needs
PASS students are significantly more successful
than non-PASS students
7. So, What’s the Problem?
LOW ATTENDANCE FOR PASS SESSIONS (THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR COLLEGES
NATIONWIDE)
National Averages: 18% attendance for SI (embedded programs) and 24% attendance
for tutoring (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2012); PASS had a
26% attendance rate in the fall of 2014.
PASS students were successful but only a small % came!
FOOD INSECURITY
Fresno is the second most food insecure city in the United States. More than 25% of
our community is unable to consistently provide food due to extreme poverty (Ram
Pantry, 2016). FOOD INSECURITY is the dirty little secret of higher education.
Central Valley is #1 ag area; half of all US food comes from us
8. Response to the Problems:
“Brain Food Project®”
“Brain Food Project ®” is a holistic implementation that provides food to
students during PASS Center sessions
“Brain Food” considers the nutritional and hedonic value of food: what
students want and what students need
Items are prepackaged and range from full meal options (e.g. peanut butter
and jam sandwiches, apple chips, string cheese, and yogurt) to snack items
(e.g. super-food bars, chips, fresh fruit/veg, and gluten free rice bars)
Brain Food is presented to students initially when logging in at the front desk
Brain Food is offered continuously during PASS Center visits
*Brain Food is presented to students immediately upon arrival to align with positive
reinforcement practices
9. Theoretical Foundations for Positive
Reinforcement and Meeting of Needs
Learning Theories
Behaviorism (Thorndike, Pavlov, Skinner, et al.)
Operant Conditioning (modifying behavior) (Skinner)
Positive Reinforcement (Skinner)
Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow)
Survival (Darwin)
ALL of these theoretical underpinnings led me to the concept of Brain Food as a
positive reinforcement instrument to increase tutoring session attendance, reduce food
insecurity , and increase student success in the PASS program.
10. How Does this Work?
Brain Food not only reduces food insecurity, but it also motivates students to attend the
PASS Center. Brain Food acts as a positive reinforcement instrument that is meaningful to
our students.
By meeting this normally unmet need, students visit more often and stay longer, which
helps mitigate underpreparedness in reading and writing focused classes; approximately 75%
of our students take one or more remedial courses in English or math. PASS is NEEDED!
The outcome of this treatment is increased engagement recognized through PASS
attendance.
PASS students also have significantly higher success and GPAs compared to non-PASS
students.
Retention is also higher.
Help-seeking behaviors and self-regulated learning improved (anecdotally)
11. I know what you’re thinking…
1. We can’t do this at our school!
2. Students must grab food and leave!
3. Why do we have to feed college students?
4. Who pays the bill?
5. I can’t add another thing to my plate!
12. Let me explain…
1. We can’t do this at our school!
You CAN do this! The Brain Food Project ™ has an online certification process with a complete
handbook! Learn the steps to begin this on your campus by connecting with me after the presentation.
2. Students must grab food and leave!
Student sessions last well-over 1 hour on average (voluntary visits)
They break bread and learn
One hour a week of tutoring over the course of a semester can improve outcomes by one letter grade
(Munley et al., 2010)
3. Why do we have to feed college students?
Believe it or not, many administrators have asked me this question.
The answer: students are hungry, and food creates community, which results in SI/tutoring attendance
and increased outcomes.
13. Let me explain…
4. Who pays the bill? (you won’t have to do what I did!)
Step One: The community (community food bank donations)
Step Two: The school/general funds (there are monies allocated for food costs for meetings; these
funds can be used for Brain Food in SI programs)
Step Three: Grants (writing for mini-grants or requesting funds from grants (action plans) already
awarded to your institution, such as Student Equity Grant and Basic Skills Grant; many grants allow
the purchase of food for students with food safety guidelines)
And more (creative ideas including fundraisers)
TIPS
Connect with your cafeteria to find out about accessing a storage space for food.
Obtain a refrigerator for use in the office/center
14. Let me explain…
5. I can’t add another thing to my plate!
The Brain Food Project ® is a labor of love (there’s no way around it)
Anything great requires work
Institutions often seek to REFORM education to improve outcomes; this implementation seeks to
support and encourage students through action (the provision of food/basic needs), and it works!
Doing good, feels good, gets good
Once coordinators and leaders are certified, the workload is shared
Boosts morale and creates a new marketing platform for SI
15. Do Students Actually Visit the PASS Center
due to the “Brain Food Project®”?
YES!!!
Attendance without Brain Food: 26% (FA14) of students connected to PASS
attended PASS
Attendance with Brain Food: 85% (FA15) of students connected to PASS
attended PASS
In FA15, PASS served 900 unduplicated students (85%) out of roughly 1060
total students who had the option to use PASS; this was a significant success!
*With the addition of Brain Food, PASS grew astronomically!
16. Do Students Actually Visit the PASS Center
due to the “Brain Food Project®”?
True experiment overview results from a study completed just 11 days ago:
Food group attended PASS significantly more than the Non-Food group
(*results will be noted in detail in a forthcoming publication)
17. Numbers: Student Outcomes
(Success/Completion, GPAs, and Retention;
equity gaps improved)
PASS students perform better than non-PASS students (students who have
access to PASS but do not attend)
Data Card (includes outcomes for class levels and disaggregated data to show
improvement for disproportionately impacted student groups)
Data card does not include SU15 and FA15 (contact me directly for access to
forthcoming data)
21. Qualifying the “Brain Food Project®”
Impact within PASS
Significant Survey Findings (N= 300 roughly for survey responses):
About 50% of students visited PASS 4 or more times a week
A majority (71%) of students believed their grade improved because of PASS
A majority (96%) of students plan to attend PASS again the following semester
22. Qualifying the “Brain Food Project®”
Impact in PASS in their own words…
Emerged theme from recent FOCUS GROUP: Authentic care for students through
Brain Food decreases stigma for help-seeking behaviors
Student quotes:
“It was easier for me to let the leader read my paper because I didn’t feel as
nervous; I felt like you guys cared because there is food. It’s more social, and I’m
writing better.” Special Program Student/Cohort learner
“When I come to school, I can’t think… too hungry. If I leave for Taco Bell, I won’t
come back to this, and I don’t have enough cash for the cafeteria. I can eat Brain
Food with my leader here. It feels normal, like we’re special.” PASS student
“Without Brain Food and PASS, I wouldn’t be graduating this year.” Graduate
“I never came to PASS before the food because I didn’t think I needed help, ya
know. I came for the food but stayed because I like it here.” Freshman student
“I feel embarrassed because I’m hungry a lot; around here, everyone is hungry
and everyone eats the food. It’s not like it’s just me. We are a family in here.”
24. 2016 Awards and Publications for “Brain
Food Project™”
2016 Golden Award, Georgia Southern University
2016 Stanback-Stroud Diversity Award, Academic Senate for California
Community Colleges (ASCCC)
2016 NCWCA Spotlight Center by the Northern California Writing Centers
Association (NCWCA): “Brain Food: Breaking Bread during Writing Tutoring
Sessions to Increase Engagement, Reduce Food Insecurity, and Improve
Outcomes”
2016 forthcoming fall article publication in the Journal of Student Success
in Writing (JSSW) “The Brain Food Project®: Providing Food to Reduce
Food Insecurity and Increase Attendance and Success in an English and ESL
Tutoring Center”
PASS LEADER MORALE AND OWNERSHIP HAS BEEN GREATLY SUPPORTED BY THIS
25. Become a Certified Brain Food Project ®
Institution
The certification course will be released in the fall of 2016 and can be found
at brainfoodproject.org
includes an online certification course for coordinators and materials for leaders
includes the Brain Food Project ™ handbook
includes support from me!
Your challenge is to step up to the challenge
Contact brain.food@comebackcommunity.com for information on becoming a
certified Brain Food Project® institution!
