Food Protection Trends - January/February 2023 - 24

(4, 11, 15). Direct instruction involves explicit teaching using
lectures, whereas programmed instruction uses technology
to present structured material in a sequence that allows
students to progress through the material at their own speed,
and social learning involves learning through observation or
imitation of others (17).
This study was conducted to determine the effect of
three types of food safety trainings on employee attitudes,
personal agency, perceived norms, intention, knowledge, and
compliance. Individual e-learning modules, group e-learning
modules, and group discussion-based virtual tour trainings
were developed and implemented across processing plants of
a large dairy company in North America.
METHODS
Training module development
Trainings were developed on four topics: allergen
controls, introduction to good manufacturing practices and
material controls (GMPs 1), personal responsibility and
communicable diseases (GMPs 2), and food defense. Each
training module was developed in partnership between an
instructional designer and several subject matter experts
(including three regional directors of quality, a professor
of food science, and a food science graduate student) to
ensure that the training material was relevant, effective, and
engaging. The modules were designed to take approximately
15 to 25 min to complete. Three training deliveries were
evaluated to test three learning theories: direct instruction,
programmed instruction, and social and situated learning.
The direct instruction trainings consisted of supervisors
or managers guiding a group of employees through the same
computer-based training module used in the programmed
instruction training. However, these trainings allow employees
to interact with each other and with managers to facilitate
discussions and questions.
The programmed instruction training was completed by
employees individually at their own pace on a company
computer at work. It was created using the Articulate Storyline
e-learning software (2). Each module began by reviewing the
learning outcomes of the module. Each chapter or " page " of
the module was accompanied by voiceover narration and had
buttons on the bottom of the screen to advance the user to
the next page. Each page had graphics or a type of animation
requiring user interaction. " Knowledge Check " questions
were embedded throughout the module to measure user
comprehension, and each module contained 5 to 10 questions.
When the questions were answered incorrectly, a narrated page
appeared to explain why the chosen answer was incorrect and
to inform the user of the correct answer. After completing the
computer-based training module, the user's knowledge scores
appeared, informing them of whether they had successfully
completed the module.
The social and situated learning training consisted of a
virtual tour guided by a manager or supervisor and was
24
Food Protection Trends January/February
performed in a group setting. This training was developed
using Panotour virtual tour creation software (8). 360° still
images were taken in 10 locations in a dairy processing plant
using six GoPro cameras mounted in a Freedom 360 mount.
The dairy plant processed both liquid milk and ice cream and
therefore was representative of the majority of the company's
processing plants, whether those plants processed liquid
milk, ice cream, or other dairy products. Each social and
situated learning training began in the training room and had
a hotspot that opened a 1- to 3-min introductory video or
introductory text. Each room within the tour contained hot
spots or buttons that could be clicked to reveal informative
text and images. Transitional hot spots were also present and
allowed the user to progress to the next room or return to
the previous room. The social and situated learning trainings
were designed to be led by a facilitator, either a plant manager
or supervisor, and were accompanied by a facilitator's guide
that contained instructions of how to navigate the tour. The
facilitator's guide also contained accompanying narration and
discussion-based knowledge questions to encourage group
engagement and interaction.
Instrument development
The Integrated Behavior Model (IBM) was used to
develop a model for predicting participants' intentions to
follow food safety best practices based on their knowledge,
attitudes, perceived norms, and personal agencies (1).
Because no published studies have included measurements
of these constructs in the context of the selected training
topics, a draft instrument was developed and beta
tested. This 15-min instrument measured employees'
attitudes, perceived norms, personal agency, intentions,
and knowledge regarding the food safety policies of
the associated module with a 7-point Likert scale. The
instrument was administered to employees immediately
before and after the employees experienced the training.
Supervisor observation audits were also used to collect
behavioral data by measuring noncompliance twice 1 month
before training implementation and twice after the training
had been completed. These observation audits were specific
to the training topic being assessed and recorded the level of
compliance with various food safety policies covered in the
training modules.
Data collection
Training programs were implemented at 66 dairy
processing plants across the United States that were owned
by a large dairy food company. Sixty-seven quality assurance
managers and supervisors were trained via a webinar about
how to implement the programmed instruction, direct
instruction, and social and situated learning trainings and
how to proceed in the data collection process. The webinars
were designed to explain the differences between the types
of trainings provided and instructions on how to perform
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