Paper vs. Digital Pulse Logs

in a Community-Based

Cooking Intervention

Exploring how log format relates to participant outcomes across a 6-session community cooking series centered on pulses.

Kimberly "Kimmy" Ceus · PhD Student, Nutritional Sciences & Wellness

My Teaching-as-Research project examines how paper versus digital pulse logs relate to participant learning, confidence, intention, and retention in a community-based Pulses Cooking and Nutrition Education Series. This project was embedded within the USDA-funded Pulses Study at Tucson Village Farm, where adult participants engaged in hands-on cooking classes, nutrition education, recipe support, and pulse tracking. While both paper and digital log users demonstrated strong knowledge, confidence, and intention, preliminary findings suggested that digital logs may better support participant follow-through and retention across the program.

Background

Setting & Teaching Challenge

Community-based cooking interventions offer a powerful vehicle for behavior change, but how we structure participant engagement matters as much as the content. This project investigated whether the format of a self-monitoring tool (paper vs digital log) influenced participant retention, knowledge, and confidence in a pulse-focused nutrition education series.

The Pulses Cooking & Nutrition Education Series is a USDA-funded clinical trial held at Tucson Village Farm, recruiting adult community members via newsletter flyer. Participants were assigned a weekly pulse consumption log, either paper (n=10) or digital (n=17), as an implementation choice.

Setting

Tucson Village Farm

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Program

Pulses Cooking & Nutrition Education Series

6-session biweekly cooking series with hands-on recipe preparation and take-home materials

Recruitment

Study Flow

Flyer → Interest Form → Baseline → Randomization → Intervention

Paper log (n=10) or Digital log (n=17)*

Curriculum

6 Weeks of Pulses

Study Design

3-Arm Parallel Intervention

The larger study included a control group and two intervention groups.

My TAR Project focused only on the intervention participants tracking the pulses they consumed each week.

Control

Usual Diet

Maintain usual diet
Biweekly cooking classes
MyPlate-aligned nutrition education

❌

Dose 1

TAR Focus

1.5 cup-eq/week

/2,000 kcal

Biweekly cooking classes
MyPlate + pulses-focused content
Pulses provided (2-week supply/class)
Weekly consumption log

✅

Dose 2

TAR Focus

3.0 cup-eq/week

/2,000 kcal

Biweekly cooking classes
MyPlate + pulses-focused content
Pulses provided (2-week supply/class)
Weekly consumption log

✅

Participant' Experience

Fresh ingredient’s locally sourced!

Cooking Experience

Each session combined demonstration, hands-on cooking, and community discussion. These moments capture the heart of the intervention - community.

Participants were arriving, eating an arrival snack: which consisted of the pulse of the week , learning about the pulse of the week, doing interactive Kahoot activities, and then cooking hands-on recipes themselves. They were tasting, asking questions, reacting in real time, and talking about what felt realistic for their lives.

Participants were also open about needing easier ways to balance research participation with everyday life. So the real teaching challenge became follow-through.

That is what pushed me to think more seriously about whether the pulse log format might affect how participants stayed connected to the material and to the study over time.

Education Presentation Example

Example Kahoot

Supporting Literature

One of the main behavioral models I used was Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Learning Theory. I leaned on Bandura because ideas like self-efficacy, learning through doing, modeling, and self-regulation fit this project well. Participants were building confidence by hearing information and by practicing /repeating it.

I also looked at broader behavior change frameworks. That helped me think about pulse logs not just as paperwork, but as a self-monitoring tool that might support awareness, routine, and follow-through.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.

Michie et al., 2011

Approach

Methods

Overall, the literature suggested that cooking interventions can improve confidence and dietary behaviors, multi-component programs tend to work better than information alone, self-monitoring can support habit formation, and self-efficacy matters for sustained behavior change.

Methods & Research Timeline

The intervention included six in-person cooking sessions, cooking demonstrations, hands-on prep, take-home materials, pulse tracking, and class discussion. For data, I used end-of-study survey items, attendance and retention data, and instructor observations from participant comments. Since log format was not randomized, this comparison is observational, not causal.

Pulse Consumption Log Format: Paper or Digital

Paper Log (n=10)

Traditional printed consumption log filled out by hand. Participants tracked weekly pulse intake on a paper form provided at each session.

Digital Log (n=17)

Digital format for weekly consumption tracking. Selected as an implementation choice, not randomly assigned, allowing naturalistic comparison.

Results

Retention by Log Format

Fisher's exact test revealed a statistically significant difference in retention between log formats.

p = 0.005 — statistically significant

Knowledge, Confidence & Intention

Mean survey scores (1–5 scale) were similarly high across both log formats. Differences were not statistically significant.

Wilcoxon — not significant

Attendance (Classes Attended)

Two-sample t-test showed no significant difference in attendance between digital and paper log groups.

t-test p = 0.37 — not significant

Outcomes Examined

Knowledge of pulse nutrition, self-efficacy with pulses, intention to continue, attendance, and study completion were all assessed at end of program.

Participant Resource Website: Supporting Longitudinal Engagement in the Pulse Study

Visit the Pulse Study Website

Access recipes, nutrition information, and longitudinal resources from the Pulses Cooking & Nutrition Education Series.

Visit Study Site -->

Future Directions

Collect Format Preference Data

Survey participants on their log format preferences and barriers to adherence.

Randomize Log Assignment

Future studies should randomly assign log format to allow causal inference.

Explore Retention Mechanisms

Investigate why digital format may support better retention. Is it reminders, ease of use, or accountability?

TAR Answer

Digital logs were associated with notably stronger retention (94% vs 80%, p=0.005). Knowledge, confidence, and intention outcomes were similarly high across both formats.

Interpret cautiously given observational design.

Pulse Powered Plates Community

Reflection & Takeaways

What Worked

Hands-on cooking made nutrition education feel practical, approachable, and memorable.

Biggest Surprise

The log format did not strongly change learning outcomes, but digital logs appeared to support follow-through and retention.

What I'd Do Differently

I would build in more participant feedback earlier to better understand barriers to tracking, attendance, and at-home pulse use.

Key Lesson as a growing Educator

Effective teaching fosters confidence, support, and perseverance.

About the Author

Kimberly "Kimmy" Ceus

Kimberly “Kimmy” Ceus is a PhD student in Nutritional Sciences and Wellness at the University of Arizona. Her work focuses on plant-based nutrition, functional foods, and lifestyle-related factors that support health and quality of life, with a strong emphasis on community-centered and equity-driven research. She leads coordination for the Pulses Study, a community-based nutrition research project, where she manages participant recruitment, screening, scheduling, and ongoing communication. As the primary point of contact for participants, Kimmy oversees day-to-day study operations and supports interdisciplinary research teams to ensure smooth, ethical study execution. Kimmy also contributes to IRB-approved research related to general health, chronic disease populations, and nutrition-related behaviors. With a background in clinical research coordination and nutrition coaching, she is passionate about translating nutrition research into accessible, real-world knowledge and mentoring future nutrition scientists committed to health equity and community engagement.

Citations

References

Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall; 1986.
Michie S, Johnston M, Francis J, Hardeman W, Eccles M. Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions: a meta-regression. Health Psychol. 2009;28(6):690-701.
Michie S, van Stralen MM, West R. The behaviour change wheel: a new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implement Sci. 2011;6:42.
Michie S, Richardson M, Johnston M, et al. The behavior change technique taxonomy (v1) of 93 hierarchically clustered techniques. Ann Behav Med. 2013;46(1):81-95.
Reicks M, Trofholz AC, Stang JS, Laska MN. Impact of cooking and home food preparation interventions among adults. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46(4):259-276.
Wolfson JA, Bleich SN. Is cooking at home associated with better diet quality or weight-loss intention? Public Health Nutr. 2015;18(8):1397-1406.

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