FIRST IN PD TEACHING: FOOD INNOVATION, RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEACHING

Project Goal:The overarching goal of this project is to re-establish the food product development (FPD) curriculum and pedagogy to bridge the gaps between the industry, educators, and learners, and between consumers and producers for supporting the sustainable development of food products and production systems. This goal is aligned with the first HEC program goal of enhancing the quality of instruction for baccalaureate degrees, master's degrees, and first professional degrees in sciences that will help meet current and future workforce needs in the food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences.Project Objectives:To evaluate the teaching pedagogy, educators' challenges, and student learning outcomes in current food product development courses. Program Outputs & Processes Document?Document scan of FPD courses at participating institutionsStakeholder feedback on educator challengesReview of learning outcomesData SourcesCourse syllabiSurvey of FPD instructors and team membersStudent gradesOutcomes assessedPedagogy, including delivery, grading, experiential learning, mentoring, internships, professional developmentEducator ChallengesStudent Learning Outcomes year by yearReporting ProductsA qualitative memo summarizing current course pedagogyQualtrics online survey reportsIFT Assessment Standards & ELOs Yearly Learning AssessmentsTo assess the needs and challenges of food systems stakeholdersincluding producers, value-added processors, retailers, and consumers.Program Outputs & Processes DocumentDevelopment and administration of a need assessment instrumentData SourcesFood industry surveyOutcomes assessedNeeds and challenges of food industry professionals and consumersReporting ProductsQualtrics online survey protocolTo collaborate with food science and food system professionals on improving the current FPD curriculum and pedagogy and develop learning modules to address the needs and challenges of stakeholders, educators, and learners using IFTs ELOs as the baseline measurable learning outcomes.Program Outputs & Processes Document# of advisory board meetings heldSurvey instruments# of modules producedData SourcesFaculty, industry, and consumer surveysAdvisory board minutesDesign decisions and development processesStakeholder inerviewsOutcomes assessedModule alignment with IFT Standards and ELOsStake holder perceptions of quality and usability of modules and anticipated implementation challengesReporting ProductsQualtrics online survey reportsMemos highlighting qualitative themes from stakeholder interviewTo create educational content (teaching tools) to be used to train food product development instructors to successfully teach FPD courses and to showcase the use and implementation of instructional strategies and modules developed.Program Outputs & Processes DocumentInstructor training materials# of instructors trainedTotal hours of training providedData SourcesTraining registrationsProfessional development surveysInstructor focus groupsTraining observationsOutcomes assessedFaculty perceptionsReporting ProductsQualtrics online survey reportsMemos highlighting qualitative themes from focus groupsObservation reportTo implement and assess the proposed FPD curriculum an d pedagogy and evaluate the teaching and leaning outcomes and stakeholder feedback.Program Outputs & Processes Document# and characteristics (eg of students participating in modules)# of modules completedData SourcesModule observationsMUSIC Model of Academic Motivation InventoryModule AssessmentsOutcomes assessedImplement fidelity by facultyStudent engagement including perceptions of empowerment, utility, success, interest, and caringReporting ProductsAnnual summative report incorporating above findings on teacher pedagogy and student engagement and learning outcomesConsidering the project objectives above, key target activities will be used to gauge project success. These include but are not limited to: (1) increase the exposure of food science undergraduate and graduate students to innovative food product development practices and content; (2) facilitate the access to food product development up-to-date curriculum by instructors; (3) increase the exposure of food product development students to the food industry and other stakeholders by stimulating industry and stakeholders involved in food product development courses.Project Justification This project aligns with the Higher Education Challenges (HEC) Grants Program defined educational need areas:Curriculum development, instructional delivery systems, and expanding student career opportunities - Develop an updated, industry-driven food product development curriculum (Project Objective 3) giving faculty across U.S. universities the tools to train undergraduate and graduate students and enabling them to successfully coordinate and execute food product development projects when they become part of the food industry workforce.Faculty preparation and enhancement for teaching - Implementation of teaching tools that can be used by food product development instructors (Project Objective 5).Facilitating institutional interaction - Participation in workshops (Project Objectives 4) to learn how to teach food product development successfully using the teaching modules created by this project (Project Objectives 3 & 4).Colleges and universities are expected to provide the quality education to produce baccalaureate or higher education level graduates to improve and strengthen the nation's food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce. Relevant ways that this can be accomplished may include curriculum development, the use of diversified instructional delivery systems, and expanding student career opportunities. We recognize the opportunity to develop meaningful curricula through collaboration and the use of diversified instructional technologies, which will allow us to produce measurable outcomes that are aligned with the HEC program goals.