Cynthia Carter Ching

Wearing, Thinking, and Moving: Testing the Feasibility of Fitness Tracking with Urban Youth

Background: Wearable and mobile technologies are often used by people who wish to document their own health and lifestyle behaviors. The feasibility of health tracking among youth is unclear, particularly in low-resource communities where health strategies stand to have the greatest impact. Methods: Youth (n = 24) enrolled in an afterschool program in an urban school district were provided Fitbit physical activity monitors. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected over 6 months; logged data from Fitbit.com were examined to assess physical activity patterns and level engagement with the technology and focus groups were conducted to assess motivators and barriers to use. Results: Data logs revealed low continuous engagement that declined over time. Qualitative findings suggest that, when youth wore their devices, they noticed and engaged with their real-time device data in reflective ways. Some aspects of the devices form factor were problematic for these youth, and technology access, environmental constraints, and motivation were also barriers to continuous engagement. Translation to Health Education Practice: Taken together, these mixed methods findings suggest that effecting sustainable changes in youth behavior through health tracking alone is challenging. Adequate training, programmatic/staff support, technology access, and motivation may help sustain ongoing use and engagement. We recommend that health tracking in similar contexts be situated within educational curricula and/or a broader intervention that facilitates and motivates continuous engagement.

Volunteer Guides in Nature Reserves: Exploring Environmental Educators' Perceptions of Teaching, Learning, Place and Self.

In the following case study, we examine the interplay between self-perception, environmental perception, and the interests and practice of volunteer trail guides who were recruited to provide educational services for visitors to a natural reserve in Northern California. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 guides and observations of training sessions and educational walks, we found that although individual perspectives of volunteers varied regarding the role of an educator for the reserve, guides shared common interests in teaching and learning and in the place itself. Active guides were drawn to the program by an interest in teaching and learning, had a previous relationship to the place, and held an image of themselves that matched their perceived image of a guide. These findings on the relationship of perception and participation support existing research on issues of identity in environmental education, and extend our current understanding of volunteer participation in interpretation and education programs.