One of the core competencies in the IFT education standards for students is to achieve competency in communications skills (that is, oral and written communication, listening, interviewing, and so on). According to the IFT guidelines, by the time students graduate, they should not only be able to search for and condense information but also be…

Experiential learning activities are often viewed as impractical, and potentially unfeasible, instructional tools to employ in a large enrollment course. Research has shown, though, that the metacognitive skills that students utilize while participating in experiential learning activities enable them to assess their true level of understanding and…

It has been reported that students learn best when they use a wide variety of techniques to understand the information of the discipline, be it visual, auditory, discussion with others, metacognition, hands-on activities, or writing about the subject. We report in this article the use of academic journals not only as an aid for students to learn…

Problem-based learning (PBL) can provide an enhanced appreciation of the relationship between culture and food for students who aspire to become dietitians or nutrition educators; however, large university classes often inhibit the use of PBL. A professor who specializes in research documenting the relationships among food and culture took 17…

More than 76 million persons become ill from foodborne pathogens in the United States each year. To reduce these numbers, food safety education efforts need to be targeted at not only adults, but school children as well. The middle school grades are ideal for integrating food safety education into the curriculum while simultaneously contributing…

The busy instructor wants to help their students learn but is often pressed for time. This article presents 6 grading techniques that help the students learn without taking a lot of time. First, not grading an assignment saves time and can still be valuable as long as the instructor carefully structures it so the students still have an incentive…

Providing effective food safety education to young consumers is a national health priority to combat the nearly 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States annually. With the tremendous pressures on teachers for accountability in core subject areas, the focus of classrooms is on covering concepts that are tested on state performance…

Critical thinking skills (CTS) are the core learning outcome measures for higher education. Generally, CTS are not extensively developed or practiced during primary and secondary education. As such, early cultivation of CTS is essential for mastery prior to collegiate matriculation. Weekly engagement in 50 min of classroom discussion with student…

This analysis documents the outcomes and impacts from a series of food protection and defense educational programs conducted over a 3-y period for private and public sector food system professionals. Several measures were used to determine the professions of participants; their improvements in skills and abilities that resulted from workshops; the…

This project evaluates the attitudes of food and health professionals to 3 new food processing technologies that have been developed to respond to consumer demands such as superior taste, longer shelf life, higher nutritional content, health benefits, and environment-friendly processing. Educational brochures for high pressure (HP), pulsed…

This "case study" details how food science was introduced into the classrooms of a typically underrepresented population. James Sarakatsannis, an 8th grade physical science teacher, was planning a unit that would use fast food to teach science to his classes, when he came across the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) website and a wealth of…

In January 2006, every science department chair in U.S. public, private, and parochial high schools received information on food science, including a DVD, poster, and experiment guide developed by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), IFT Foundation, and Discovery Education. To promote the experiments and to encourage implementation of the…

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the IFT Foundation, and Discovery Education partnered to create and distribute food science information to science department and school counselor chairs in all 18,000 U.S. high schools in January 2006. Two multimedia "kits" were generated for teachers and counselors, each consisting of DVDs with food…

The purpose of this study was to use a validated instrument to determine the attitudes and knowledge of high school teachers regarding food irradiation, and to determine the correlations among their knowledge and attitudes and certain demographic variables. Knowledge and attitudes about food irradiation were measured in selected high school family…

Food mishandling is thought to be more acute among young adults; yet little is known about why they may engage in risky food handling behaviors. The purpose of this study was to create valid, reliable instruments for assessing key food safety psychosocial measures. Development of the measures began by examining published studies and behavior…