This study examines the integration of human-centered design (HCD) in a Food Science capstone course and explores its impact on students’ learning outcomes and skill development. This case study investigated how 42 undergraduate students engaged with HCD processes—including understanding, synthesizing, ideating, prototyping, and implementing—to develop innovative food products. Through pre- and post-surveys, interaction analysis, and performance assessments, the findings revealed that HCD activities significantly enhanced students’ knowledge, collaboration, creativity, and metacognitive skills. Additionally, students demonstrated improved food science competencies, such as product formulation and sensory evaluation. This study highlights the benefits of embedding HCD within STEM curricula to foster authentic, interdisciplinary learning experiences. The findings provide evidence-based recommendations for scaling HCD integration in applied STEM courses, emphasizing the need for structured scaffolds and iterative feedback to maximize learning outcomes.

In fall 2019, a food science instructor partnered with the design center at a large Midwestern university to create a student activity tool kit for integrating the Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-based undergraduate capstone experience. This article shows how HCD can provide a student-centered approach to a capstone course and offers practical preparation, implementation, and evaluation materials for lectures, discussions, and laboratory sessions, all of which were used to guide instructors as they integrated HCD into a STEM capstone course. While a food product development course served as the model for other STEM capstone courses, the HCD approach is not discipline-specific; the activities and assessments conducted in this course can be applied across departments, from food science to bioengineering to chemistry and beyond. Additional informationNotes on contributorsLucas O'BryanLucas O'Bryan (obryanlucas@outlook.com) is a Master of Social Work candidate at the University of Washington.Dawn BohnDawn Bohn (dbrehart@illinois.edu) is a teaching associate professor and director of the Master of Science in Food Science program in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Saadeddine ShehabSaadeddine Shehab (shehab2@ illinois.edu) is the head of the Assessment and Research team at the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), cross-campus collaborations are strongly encouraged; however, due to the vast size of the university, opportunities for student collaboration commonly rely on serendipitous events-being at the right place at the right time. On a cold day in February 2017, the required serendipity befell Clarion Mendes (Speech and Hearing Sciences [SHS]) and Dawn Bohn (Food Science and Human Nutrition [FSHN] concentration Food Science [FS]). The SHS department is part of the College of Applied Health Sciences and the FS department is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. SHS graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology pursue careers in schools, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. FS undergraduate and graduate students often pursue careers in food product development, quality assurance, sensory science, ingredient applications, and regulatory compliance. Seemingly, these two fields are contextually discrete (and geographically quite separated at UIUC). Nevertheless, through Clarion's vision and Dawn's enthusiasm, the two initiated an important student collaboration between two initially isolated, but forever connected, fields. How did professors from two very different fields determine that their students could make excellent collaborators? It all began with a well-loved, neon-orange snack food-Cheetos (R).

Setting instructional goals to drive student engagement in the classroom is essential, as research has shown that improved student engagement in a course will affect student success, as well as the development of key personal and professional skills. Student engagement is a multifaceted concept with multiple perspectives. In focusing on the behavioral perspective of student engagement, various effective teaching practices can be implemented to encourage engagement in a diverse study body. Utilizing validated tools, such as the Natl. Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Engagement Themes and Indicators, can ease the development of classroom approaches to student engagement with convenience and flexibility. Semester-long student engagement in a food science undergraduate product development capstone course was encouraged through instructional approaches styled around the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators. The variety of instructional approaches utilized in the capstone food science course are described in detail and discussed in relation to the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators with which they align.

The effective design of course materials is critical for student learning, especially for large lecture introductory courses. This quantitative study was designed to explore the effect multimedia and content difficulty has on students' cognitive load and learning outcomes. College students (n = 268) were randomized into 1 of 3 multimedia groups: text + graphics (Group 1-TG); audio + text + graphics (Group 2-ATG); or video + audio + text + graphics (Group 3-VATG). Participants answered a demographic survey and pretests before viewing 2 food science supplemental lecture materials (i.e., water mobility and amino acid structures) and completing the cognitive load instrument and post-tests within a noncontrolled setting. Cognitive load scores were tabulated and compared using a 3 x 3 ANOVA and Tukey post hoc analysis across multimedia groups and food science supplemental lecture materials. Based on the post hoc, students in Group 1-TG had higher intrinsic cognitive load scores than Group 2-ATG (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Cognitive load and post-test scores were tabulated and compared using a spearman correlation across groups. In Group 1-TG, students that reported less intrinsic cognitive load had higher post-test scores. Also, students that reported more germane cognitive load had higher post-test scores. In Groups 2-ATG and 3-VATG, students that reported less extraneous cognitive load had higher post-test scores (ANOVA, P < 0.05).

Effective use of multimedia (MM) in instructional design is critical for student learning, especially for large lecture introductory courses. This study used a mixed-method approach to explore the effect of food science supporting course materials that utilized different MM formats, designed with Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) methods, on cognitive load as explained by perceived mental effort (PME) scores combined with students' perceptions. College students (n = 182) were randomized into 1 of 3 MM groups: audio + text + graphics (Group 1-ATG); text + graphics (Group 2-TG); or video + audio + text + graphics (Group 3-VATG). Participants answered a demographic survey and prior knowledge questionnaire before viewing 3 food science supporting course materials (that is, food laws, quality assurance, and sensory tests) and completed the PME instrument and open-ended questions online in a noncontrolled setting. For quantitative data, PME scores were compared among MM groups and content types using analysis of variance (ANOVA). For qualitative data, content analysis was applied to identify extraneous cognitive load (ECL)-related descriptors from students' open-ended question responses, which were used to explain quantitative survey findings. Overall, students in Group 2-TG had lower PME scores than Groups 1-ATG and 3-VATG (P < 0.05) and participants in Group 2-TG provided less ECL-related comments than those in the other 2 groups. Across MM groups, students showed higher PME scores after reviewing the quality assurance course material (P < 0.05). Additionally, despite higher PME scores, students from Groups 1-ATG and 3-VATG would take another course with these MM formats.Practical Implications: This study investigated the appropriate use of CTML methods when designing supporting course materials with various MM formats for asynchronous learning. The findings showed that instructors should consider different effects of MM formats when designing online course materials. In addition, instructors should apply mixed-method approach to evaluate effects of MM design on students' perceived cognitive load levels that cannot be fully understood with only quantitative survey data.

The overarching goal of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Initiative is to foster effective STEM teaching and learning throughout the educational system at the local, state, and national levels, thereby producing science literate citizens and a capable STEM workforce. To contribute to achieving this goal, we have assembled six food science demonstrations for use at all educational levels and have presented these lessons to students at the elementary through higher education levels. The focus of this article is to share these food science demonstrations and our experiences using them so that others can use them for engaging students in STEM disciplines, through food science, at any educational level. Featured demonstrations include: (1) liquid nitrogen ice cream: a matter of changing phases, (2) seeing our senses work together, (3) whipping up the cream, (4) milk versus dark: what is the difference?, (5) counting calories by burning them, and ( 6) culinary spherification: the wonders of cross-linking. Overall, our experience with using these demonstrations has been very positive. Students appear engaged in the learning process and love to consume the demonstration end products. Downloadable handouts containing demonstration details for each demonstration are available as supporting information.

ABSTRACT: 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 mastery of the subject matter. The objectives of this study were to (1) create and implement 2 experiential learning activities in our introductory, large enrollment course and (2) evaluate their cognitive and affective impact on student learning. For the 1st activity, completed in class during the nutrition and health section, the instructional team asked the students to complete a dietary intake assessment. For the 2nd activity, completed via the course website, the instructional team asked the students to complete a food safety survey prior to the commencement of the food microbiology and processing section to assess the students' own personal food safety behaviors. The students were asked to evaluate both the cognitive and affective aspects of the experiential learning activities by completing a reflective questionnaire after participating in each activity. The majority of the students that participated in the experiential learning activities reported that the activities helped them learn the course material (97% for the dietary intake activity and 77% for the food safety activity) and that they liked participating in the activity (85% for the dietary intake activity) or were engaged by the activity (77% for the food safety activity). These results indicate that experiential learning activities can be successfully created for and implemented in large enrollment courses.

clementine fuji apple garden salad (with shredded cheese, croutons, and low-cal dressing) tea with 2 tablespoons of honey water 1C soy milk CHOICE 2 CHOICE 2 CHOICE 2 CHOICE 2 Western omelet (ham, cheese, green peppers, onions) McDonald's Quarter pounder with cheese 3/4 of a frozen supreme tombstone pizza king sized snickers 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (with butter and jelly) McDonald's large fry garden salad (with shredded cheese, croutons, and full calorie dressing 8 oz glass of orange juice McDonald's apple pie 2C 2% milk coffee with 0.25 oz cream and 2 tsp sucrose 32 oz. coca-cola 4 oreos CHOICE 3 CHOICE 3 CHOICE 3 CHOICE 3

Historically, saturated salt solutions in desiccators have been used to investigate the effects of increasing relative humidity and temperature on the volatile retention efficiency of amorphous glasses. Obtaining data using desiccators is a static process that gives the researcher discrete data points with which to draw conclusions. Dynamic vapor sorption (DVS; SMS, London, U.K.) is a humidification system that creates specific relative humidity and temperature environments within a chamber that contains the material being investigated. This study had two specific aims: (1) to develop a DVS-fast GC-FID method that dynamically evaluates the effects of humidification and temperature increases on volatile release from amorphous carbohydrate glasses and (2) to evaluate the validity of the DVS-fast GC-FID method. Artificial cherry Durarome (Firmenich, Plainsboro, NJ) was used as the model system. The DVS-fast GC-FID method proved to be an innovative, accurate, and precise technique that can be used to conduct humidification/temperature-volatile release studies.

Uncertainty analysis was conducted with a dynamic vapor sorption-fast gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (DVS-fast GC-FID) method, developed to rapidly analyze the extent of volatile release that occurs from carbohydrate glasses due to humidification and temperature increases. Triplicate samples progressed through a two-step special automatic operation method in the DVS. Samples were exposed to relative humidities ranging from 40 to 90% (in 10% increments) at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C. Uncertainty analysis shows that the DVS-fast GC-FID method uncertainty is smaller than the natural sample uncertainty, indicating that the variability in a sample's physical properties has a dominant impact on the overall uncertainty of the volatile retention results obtained using the DVS-fast GC-FID method. Uncertainty analysis also indicates that the variance associated with the mass of benzaldehyde measured by the DVS-fast GC-FID is the largest contributor to the overall benzaldehyde retention variance when the cumulative mass of benzaldehyde measured is small.

Physicochemical changes that occur in artificial cherry Durarome (R) (benzaldehyde entrapped in an amorphous sucrose glassy matrix) when exposed to humid environments were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) and DSC (DVS-DSC), and DVS-fast gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (DVS-fast GC-FID). The average measured midpoint glass transitoin temperature (Tg) value for "as is" Durarome was 45.9 +/- 1.86 degrees C, indicating that Durarome is in the glassy state at the experimental temperature (T) of 25 degrees C. Humidification of Durarome increased the matrix moisture content and subsequently depressed its Tg. An appreciable percentage of the original benzaldehyde released from the Durarome matrix, measured using the dynamic, open DVS system, began when the Tg was depressed to approximately -5 degrees C, T-Tg = 30 degrees C. Volatile release initiations is influenced by the physicochemical characteristics of both the matrix material and the volatile compound, as well as the humidification system used (that is, static, closed versus dynamic, open). Thus, it is reasonable to expect that each volatile entrapping matrix system will exhibit a different T-Tg release profile.

ABSTRACT: :Learning styles vary among individuals, and understanding which instructional tools certain learning styles prefer can be utilized to enhance student learning. Students in the introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition course (FSHN 101), taught at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, were asked to complete Gregorc's Learning Style DelineatorTM, which identifies dominant learning style(s). In addition, students were asked to complete a survey that asked them to identify which instructional tools used in FSHN 101 they preferred and which they did not. All students, regardless of learning style, preferred the in‐class lecture, outlined lecture notes, the WebCT site as a whole, lecture study guide questions, and example exam questions.