Overview

The Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Research Sciences (TOPRS) project developed an integrated transdisciplinary curriculum for undergraduate students on the causes and consequences of childhood obesity. The curriculum can be folded into an existing advanced research methods, practicum, service learning, or special topics course. The curriculum format includes online micro lectures by leading national experts drawn from three partnering institutions (University of Illinois, Purdue University, and California State University-Fresno). Each micro-lecture is complemented by in-classroom guides that highlight research methods used across multiple disciplines and promote collaborative team science. This format allows faculty to "flip the classroom" so valuable class time may be spent interacting with students to promote team collaboration. The curriculum also includes professional development video modules and accompanying in-class activities that reinforce leadership, team building, and communication skills.

View the TOPRS Curriculum.

Research Team

  • Barbara Fiese, Ph.D., Former Director, Family Resiliency Center Director, Human Development and Family Studies
  • Amber Hammons, Ph.D., Project Co-Director, Professor; Child, Family and Consumer Sciences; California State University, Fresno
  • Dorothy Teegarden, Project Co-Director, Professor, Nutrition Science, Purdue University
  • Brenda Koester, MS, Associate Director, Center for Social & Behavioral Science
  • Jennifer Themanson, M.Ed., Former STRONG Kids2 Coordinator, Human Development and Family Studies

Citations

Hammons, A. J., Fiese, B., Koester, B., Garcia, G. L., Parker, L., & Teegarden, D. (2020). Increasing undergraduate interdisciplinary exposure through an interdisciplinary web-based video series. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 57(3), 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1635902

Fiese, B. H., Hammons, A., Koester, B., Garcia, G. L., Parker, L., & Teegarden, D. (2019). Transdisciplinary obesity prevention research sciences (TOPRS) curriculum increases knowledge about complex causes and consequences of obesity for undergraduate students. Frontiers in Public Health, 7(AUG). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00232

Contact:
Brenda Koester
217-244-6486
bkoester@illinois.edu

Funding

This project was supported, in part, by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Higher Education Challenge Grant no. 2013-70003-20922 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.