An Immersion Approach to Teaching Food Science

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Introductory Food Science courses are most often lecture‐based courses, but some include limited laboratory experiences. As described in this paper, the course minimizes lecture and maximizes experiential or “hands‐on” learning by using an immersion approach to teach basic concepts of food science. Additionally, it requires students to work in groups to accomplish tasks, thus providing valuable experience in working cooperatively. The course has been taught in this basic manner at Ohio State for 10 y. Analysis of pre‐test and post‐test results shows that none of the students pass the pre‐test and 92% pass the post‐test. In 2002, the average increase in scores from the pre‐test to the post‐test was 65.7 ± 14.7 (n = 22).