Journal of Food Science Education最新文献

Organizational patterns can serve as a teaching strategy for instructors and as a learning tool for students to develop their expository writing skills, which are commonly required for assignments (for example, laboratory reports and research papers) in Food Science courses and in their future careers. The article discusses the importance of organizational patterns for teaching expository writing through an interdisciplinary collaboration. The teaching collaboration occurred with professors from Food Science, English, and Anthropology in an introductory Food Science course (FSCI 232) taught at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). In FSCI 232, students learned how to use organizational patterns to interpret and explain the content of an infographic obtained from the Food Technology magazine, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). The infographic “Global Obesity's Expanding Girth, the World is Getting Fatter” served as a visual stimulus to help students identify these patterns, focusing on inquiry and analysis of scientific data and skills required for technical writing. Furthermore, the article illustrates those other potential applications of organizational patterns using the infographic could extend to interdisciplinary content (that is, Food Anthropology), which facilitates the development of cultural competency and sensitivity in food systems. Additionally, the article provides sample activities for teachers to use in their classrooms. To summarize, organizational patterns can serve as an effective teaching strategy to enhance students’ writing skills across Food Science and related disciplines.

Entrepreneurship brings several benefits, such as fostering innovation and productivity, competitiveness, and socioeconomic development. The search for professionals with different skills to overcome the current and foreseen challenges is relevant in the agri-food sector. Problem-based learning (PBL) is described as an instructional approach, which promotes interdisciplinarity and critical thinking, with the potential to meet current challenges. This article describes how PBL, aligned with an innovation program and contest, has been integrated into a master's degree in food engineering to promote academic entrepreneurship. The alignment of the PBL with the program and contest allowed the development of innovative products with a view to solving problems faced by the agri-food sector. The PBL strategy allowed students to mobilize knowledge from several curricular units of food studies for the development of different deliverables to participate in the innovation program and contest. This participation allowed students, supported by business mentors, to demonstrate their products to stakeholders. This way, it was possible to promote innovation in the agri-food sector, stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit among higher education students, and understand its potential for replication and mobilization of skills acquired in different food study courses.

Through a collaboration between a professor in academia and an industry professional, entry-level food science students were given the opportunity to critically evaluate the safety of energy drinks. This evaluation occurred through a General Education (Category A3) course designated “Critical Thinking” at California State University – Long Beach (CSULB), where students were introduced to a variety of controversial issues in food science. The goal of the course was for students to apply critical thinking skills to formulate conclusions that are factual, rather than judgmental and biased. Using Kolb's experiential learning framework, students completed exercises in an active-learning classroom (ALC) environment, which encouraged exploration, reflection, and application. For the exploration phase, students were presented with six commercially available caffeinated beverages and were asked to categorize them as “energy drink” or “not energy drink.” For the reflection phase, students were presented with news articles, as well as peer-reviewed scientific research articles. Students were tasked with reflecting on how the information in the research articles confirmed or disproved the information in the news articles. Finally, for the application phase, students were asked whether they believed energy drinks should be banned and why or why not. In conclusion, through Kolb's exploration-reflection-application framework and through the ALC environment, students learned how to use critical thinking to identify fallacies in news coverage of controversial products, such as energy drinks.

Professional development for Career Technical Education (CTE) is needed to effectively implement food science curricula in secondary education courses. Providing CTE teachers with professional development training supports increased awareness of food science academic and career pathways among students. The goal of this study was to assess a food science professional development training for Mississippi CTE teachers that would increase their self-perceived knowledge, self-perceived ability to conduct specific food science skills, and self-efficacy to implement food science-based instruction.

Thirty-one teachers participated in the 2-h professional development training that provided teachers an experiential learning opportunity to learn and apply food science concepts. Results indicated that the food science professional development training was effective at increasing teachers’ self-perceived knowledge and ability to conduct food science skills since the average scores (five-point Likert-type scale, n = 28) in all statements increased (p < 0.001) post training. For example, teachers self-perceived knowledge of the five D's of food product development at pre-survey (M = 2.00 ± 0.94) increased (p < 0.001) after the training (M = 4.29 ± 0.60). In addition, teachers’ self-perceived ability to employ the five D's of food product development before the training (M = 0.31 ± 0.54, three-point scale) significantly increased (p < 0.05) post training (M = 1.72 ± 0.53). Post training, more than 77% of the teachers “agreed” or “strongly agreed” to six out of nine self-efficacy statements which affirmed their belief to teach food science concepts. Overall, teachers were satisfied with the food science professional development training.

Fifty-five Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) comprise the required content for food science degrees approved by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), yet the importance of each outcome for graduate industry readiness is expected to vary. To analyze this variance, we assessed the industry relevance of IFT's recently revised (2018) ELOs and compared them to The University of British Columbia's food science graduate proficiency levels. Additionally, we investigated key learning experiences and future directions of the industry to further strengthen food science programs. Significant, positive correlations were found between industry ELO importance ratings and alumni (r = 0.229, p = 0.002) and new graduate (r = 0.476, p < 0.001) self-reported proficiency levels. ELOs in food safety, critical thinking, and professionalism were rated by industry as most important for graduates. Beyond IFT requirements, labs, case studies, and industry exposure through site visits, Co-op, and guest speakers were rated the most effective course learning activities. Industry respondents advised food science programs ensure a strong background in hands-on product development, application of government regulations, and project management. As the IFT considers further ELO refinements, our study suggests that inclusion of business, sustainability, and food science-specific computational skills could enhance graduate professional preparedness and impact. We hope this study will inform appropriate ELO weighting within food science curricula so that collectively we can best prepare graduates to address food science challenges of the future.

Continuing on the previous theme of exploring books that are not specifically written for faculty but still involve teaching and learning, I picked up Teaching Information Literacy in Higher Education. Information literacy, always important, is even more important for today's students because they have access to so much information but don't always have the skills to be able to filter, critique, and summarize what they find. This book addresses this issue, giving a comprehensive overview of why information literacy is important and how to teach it to undergraduates.

The authors (Lokse, Lag, Solberg, Andreassen, & Stenersen) are all librarians at universities and so have firsthand knowledge of why information literacy is so important. Interestingly, this book is written for university library staff, who usually offer short sessions to students—maybe an hour or two per semester—on information literacy and related topics, like using citations and creating a reference section in a paper. However, many university courses have a writing component, so faculty can also benefit from reading this book and incorporating elements of information literacy into their courses.

The book is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter explains why information literacy is important and the intentions of the book, providing a framework for teaching information literacy. This chapter makes an excellent case for the need to teach information literacy to students. Information literacy and its uses are defined in the second chapter. Although it has a number of definitions, information literacy can be considered to be the knowledge and skill set needed to locate, evaluate, process, summarize, and synthesize information. Students need firm grounding in all of these abilities for proper information literacy. Unfortunately, there are several obstacles related to teaching information literacy, including lack of resources and student disinterest. But Lokse and others point out that information literacy is critical for students because it is integral to learning: students need to be able to properly absorb, evaluate, and integrate information for deep learning.

Chapters 3 and 4 discuss fundamental principles of how learning works and learning strategies, respectively. Readers of educational literature will find the information in these chapters familiar, but the chapters do contain a good summary of how information is processed by the brain, how working memory operates, and what study strategies are and are not effective. Although the processes of learning are not discussed in great detail, these chapters are a good crash course in the process of learning for those unfamiliar with the topic. After laying this foundation, Lokse and others present an argument on how information literacy impacts critical thinking and academic integrity in Chapter 5. This chapter reinforces the importance of a solid grounding in information literacy for developing

A few years ago, I was out to dinner with a few colleagues and a candidate that we had invited to interview for an open faculty position. Everyone around the table was chatting about the research they do and the latest news and happenings in our respective fields. Then, during a brief lull in the conversation, the candidate asked me a question: “I've heard that you are an award-winning teacher, so would you mind sharing with me what you think is the most important thing you do in your classroom?”

Wow, what a question…one thing that I do, the most important thing I do…let me see…uhm. As I was quickly trying to formulate a response, a million and one possible ideas began running through my mind – use of active learning activities, focus on student-centered teaching strategies, emphasis on helping students learn how to learn, etc. Then, without my mind yet settled on an answer, out came my response: “I think the most important thing that I do is care, really care, about my students.” For a split second I felt like I wanted to take my seemingly primitive, unsophisticated response back and come up with something more impressive and pedagogically robust. But then, my mind seemed to relax and become more comfortable and satisfied with my rather spontaneous response—caring about my students, really caring, IS one of the most important things I do in my classroom. Perhaps my response was intuitive, rather than spontaneous?! The conversation busily continued around teaching and learning and soon dinner was served. However, through the rest of the evening and for many, many days and months to come, I kept thinking about how my response was connected to all the other things I do in my classroom that I also think are important…the list just kept growing. Then it dawned on me: everything good that I do as a teacher begins and ends with caring for my students. And so began my exploration of the scholarly literature about caring in higher education.

In this editorial, I would like to share with you the findings and implications of one of the articles that I came across in my search entitled, “‘If they don't care, I don't care’: Millennial and Generation Z students and the impact of faculty caring” by Miller and Mills (2019).

The Miller and Mills (2019) article begins by affirming the well-established centrality of caring to effective teaching in primary and secondary school settings (e.g., Finn, Schrodt, Witt, Elledge, Jernberg, & Larson, 2009). The article then quickly moves to introducing the more recent scholarship that has begun to call attention to the importance of faculty caring to students’ learning and success in higher education (e.g., Meyers, 2009; Slate, LaPrairie, Schulte, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011). According to Miller and Mills (2019), this interest in the impact of caring faculty in higher education has emerged from both rising efforts to retain a

Recruitment of food science and technology graduates remains a priority for the UK food industry in the wake of skills shortages. As a result of the contemporary pressures faced by the food industry, it is essential that students applying for such roles are aware of and ready for management, leadership, and relevant professional competencies. This collaborative study uses the industry-informed established framework, namely, Competencies for Food Graduate Careers (CFGC) and assesses the integration of this resource into careers education for food-related programs of four higher education institutions: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Nottingham and University of Reading. Mixed method analysis was conducted with students prior to and on conclusion of the teaching sessions, including surveys and focus groups. Students confirmed that CFGC was informative and useful for preparing them for a graduate career in food science and technology. No single method of integration of CFGC was proposed; instead, intervention can be undertaken by a variety of approaches, suitable for the level of study and Institutional operation as outlined in the study.

Food Science is a relatively small yet critical field of science that covers a wide array of topic areas, ranging from food chemistry to microbiology to processing to sensory science to product development, just to name a few. Accordingly, it can often be difficult for food science instructors to connect with other instructors who teach similar courses and to locate teaching resources for the specific topic areas that they teach. This can be especially challenging for instructors who wish to utilize realistic industry case studies in their courses, but who do not have prior food industry work experience. Lastly, more recently, food science instructors have been faced with the challenge of reinventing critical hands-on student learning experiences for the online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help assist food science instructors with transitioning their course learning activities to the online format and to broaden their repertoire of food science related learning activities, IFT's Education, Extension, and Outreach Division (EEOD) organized a virtual faculty networking event (IFT, 2020) where instructors shared how they transitioned their food science courses online and what innovative and engaging course activities they use to facilitate student learning in their courses. This Guest Editorial aims to summarize the ideas shared and generated from this event and highlight other online teaching resources available to food science instructors that can be used for both online and in-person courses.

Below is a summary of the ideas shared and generated within the four categorical breakout rooms at the virtual event. Full URLs to access the resources shared at this event can be found at the end of this article (Supplemental Material #1). Please note that due to limited representation from Food Laws, Regulation, and Quality Assurance, participants interested in this breakout room were asked to select an alternative room. Additional food science course learning resources for instructors, shared with or created previously by IFT's EEOD are also shared at the end of this article as Supplemental Material #2.

One of the largest challenges impacting food microbiology and safety courses during the pandemic has been the loss of in-person laboratory experiences. To recreate this experience, one attendee shared how they had students conduct at home food fermentation projects (wine, hard-apple cider, cheese, kombucha, yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir) to apply and visualize the concepts taught in class. Other attendees shared virtual environmental monitoring and seafood sanitation inspection exercises, and e-learning modules for quality control and food safety issues associated with ice cream and artisan cheese production that include videos, interactive knowledge checks, case studies, and audit exercises (Supplemental Material #1 - Food Microbiology tab).

Plant tours are also known to be a critical learning experien

You have probably heard the news by now that after nearly 20 years of service, the Journal of Food Science Education will be retired, with the final issue to be published in October 2021. In a nutshell, the end of JFSE is collateral damage due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Institute of Food Technologists. As articulated by Rich Hartel in his recent editorial (Journal of Food Science, 86(3), 639) on the topic, “Despite its clear value to the education community, IFT leadership has decided that JFSE as a stand-alone journal will no longer be published after 2021. This decision was taken, for the most part, due to the financial concerns during this pandemic, that the resources dedicated to managing it are needed elsewhere.”1 How I wish there was a way to keep JFSE going and growing in its present form! But after discussing a variety of possible ideas of “how to save JFSE” with Rich Hartel and a number of others, it seems that the time has come to look for a new way forward.

The idea of looking forward reminds me of the Habitude2 by Tim Elmore (2013) entitled “Windshields and Rearview Mirrors.” The message underlying this driving analogy habitude is that looking at what lies in front of us (through the windshield) is more important for our future than starring at what is behind us (in the rearview mirror). Now, I think we can all agree that a rearview mirror does have its purposes, but if we spend too much time looking at what is behind us, we will miss what is going on ahead of us. So, in the spirit of “Windshields and Rearview Mirrors,” let's take a quick glance back and a gaze forward.

I fondly remember the momentum in the early 1990's surrounding the creation of the IFT Education Division that Rich Hartel mentioned in his editorial. There was a buzz in the air as food science education was making a name and place for itself. The Education Division was given probationary status in 1995 and chapter status in 1997. Much thanks go to Faye Dong and Wayne Iwaoka, along with a number of others, who spearheaded the petition process for creating the new division.

The idea of creating a journal dedicated specifically to food science education bubbled up from the division around 1998, with the inaugural issue of the Journal of Food Science Education being published in 2002. I am exceedingly grateful to IFT for making the JFSE free of charge for nearly 20 years, putting food science education research strategies, best classroom practices, and engaging approaches of teaching science through food into the hands of educators at all levels.

One thing I know is true about the immediate future – if anything new is going to happen, it is going to require individuals who are willing to step out, step up, and take the lead. What do YOU envision is the future of sharing educational research and best classroom practices? How can we best serve the foo