Some thoughts from a food science and technology educator

Abstract

If asked for practical advice to gain students' attention and en-thusiasm, I would refer to basically 5 keywords (ROSIS, for short): (i) Reality-let classes develop as rationalizations of students' own past experiences, thus enhancing applicability; (ii) Originality- go one step beyond published texts, and incorporate unique examples that make a difference; (iii) Suspense-build lectures as detective plots that gradually attract interest, until the climax of conclusions is attained; (iv) Integration-tie scattered ideas from disparate fields of knowledge through fundamental concepts, side by side with a synthesis methodology; and (v) Simplicity-avoid the temptation of hiding behind complex representations-outline instead what really matters. As part of systematic implementation of an ever-improving teaching philosophy, I have, over the years, tried to: (i) prepare classes carefully and rationally; (ii) incorporate students' opinions and suggestions into my own performance, through a coordinated and iterative feedback process; (iii) make lectures and discussion classes as simple and intelligible as possible; (iv) highlight main points in the classroom; (v) provide individual homework problems to stress details; (vi) emphasize relationships of the subject to other fields of practical interest; (vii) be available for individual students or small groups for clarification of important or difficult-to-understand points; (viii) foster critical thinking skills, so students learn to develop reasoning methods rather than problem-solving routines; and last (but certainly not least), (ix) be fair in the evaluation, by providing comprehensive exams with a balance of conceptual and analytical questions.