IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i24p13517-d696666.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Being Innovative in Running an Online Food Research Project in Consumer Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Annchen Mielmann

    (Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research (AUTHeR), School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged many higher education institutions to accelerate the implementation of teaching and learning through an online mode of delivery. The unpredicted shift to online learning created unprecedented challenges for Consumer Sciences students which usually perform laboratory-oriented research projects; however, any employable skills acquired during undergraduate studies should be transferable to new circumstances within different working contexts. The aim of this article is to provide educators with a basic 10-step approach to complete an online food research project and to consider students’ engagement, reflections and experiences. The article consists of three parts. The first part provides ten research steps to complete an online food research project, followed by students’ reflections of the research project. The second part presents the results on students’ online engagement with an e-learning platform. The third part presents the results of students’ experiences from the university’s student survey of the lectured module. Recommendations made from students’ reflections stimulated their higher-order thinking as they comprehended the value and importance of research, project based-learning and critical evaluation for future improvement. Educators are responsible for helping students discover their own support networks, to provide opportunities and events to share their values and work, and to motivate and encourage student engagement and reflective discussions in the online environment to stimulate higher-order thinking and enhance students’ professional and sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Annchen Mielmann, 2021. "Being Innovative in Running an Online Food Research Project in Consumer Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13517-:d:696666
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13517/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/24/13517/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christian M. Stracke & Giada Trisolini, 2021. "A Systematic Literature Review on the Quality of MOOCs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-26, May.
    2. Sujeewa Hettiarachchi & BWR Damayanthi & Shirantha Heenkenda & DMSLB Dissanayake & Manjula Ranagalage & Lalith Ananda, 2021. "Student Satisfaction with Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study at State Universities in Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-24, October.
    3. Kühn, Frauke & Lichters, Marcel & Krey, Nina, 2020. "The touchy issue of produce: Need for touch in online grocery retailing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 244-255.
    4. Remigijus Bubnys, 2019. "A Journey of Self-Reflection in Students’ Perception of Practice and Roles in the Profession," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.
    5. Luis Miguel Lázaro Lorente & Ana Ancheta Arrabal & Cristina Pulido-Montes, 2020. "The Right to Education and ICT during COVID-19: An International Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Mariana-Daniela González-Zamar & Emilio Abad-Segura & Eloy López-Meneses & José Gómez-Galán, 2020. "Managing ICT for Sustainable Education: Research Analysis in the Context of Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Jiying Han & Xiaohui Geng & Qinxiang Wang, 2021. "Sustainable Development of University EFL Learners’ Engagement, Satisfaction, and Self-Efficacy in Online Learning Environments: Chinese Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, October.
    8. Ruiqi Deng, 2021. "Emotionally Engaged Learners Are More Satisfied with Online Courses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Jeongju Lee & Hae-Deok Song & Ah Jeong Hong, 2019. "Exploring Factors, and Indicators for Measuring Students’ Sustainable Engagement in e-Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-12, February.
    10. Laura Cervi & José Manuel Pérez Tornero & Santiago Tejedor, 2020. "The Challenge of Teaching Mobile Journalism through MOOCs: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, June.
    11. Qin Yang & Young-Chan Lee, 2021. "The Critical Factors of Student Performance in MOOCs for Sustainable Education: A Case of Chinese Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    12. Johanna Andrea Navarro-Espinosa & Manuel Vaquero-Abellán & Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno & Gerardo Pedrós-Pérez & Pilar Aparicio-Martínez & Mª Pilar Martínez-Jiménez, 2021. "The Higher Education Sustainability before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish and Ecuadorian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marco Yamba-Yugsi & Lourdes Atiaja Atiaja & Sergio Luján-Mora & Jose Luis Eguia-Gomez, 2022. "Determinants of the Intention to Use MOOCs as a Complementary Tool: An Observational Study of Ecuadorian Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-11, November.
    2. Anna Rutkowska & Katarzyna Kacperak & Sebastian Rutkowski & Luisa Cacciante & Pawel Kiper & Jan Szczegielniak, 2021. "The Impact of Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Physical Activity Levels in Adult Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-9, January.
    3. Eduardo Sandoval-Obando & Nicolás Pareja Arellano & Ángel Acevedo-Duque & Hernán Riquelme-Brevis & Claudio Hernández-Mosqueira & Johan Rivas-Valenzuela, 2022. "Understanding the Relational Dynamics of Chilean Rural Teachers: Contributions from a Narrative-Generative Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Julen Izagirre-Olaizola & Jon Morandeira-Arca, 2020. "Business Management Teaching-Learning Processes in Times of Pandemic: Flipped Classroom at A Distance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Eugénia de Matos Pedro & João Leitão & Helena Alves, 2021. "HEI Efficiency and Quality of Life: Seeding the Pro-Sustainability Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Syed Mohsin Saif & Syed Immamul Ansarullah & Mohamed Tahar Ben Othman & Sami Alshmrany & Muhammad Shafiq & Habib Hamam, 2022. "Impact of ICT in Modernizing the Global Education Industry to Yield Better Academic Outreach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Bumho Lee & Jinwoo Kim, 2023. "Managing Social Presence in Collaborative Learning with Agent Facilitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Ariane Díaz-Iso & Almudena Eizaguirre & Ana García-Olalla, 2020. "Understanding the Role of Social Interactions in the Development of an Extracurricular University Volunteer Activity in a Developing Country," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-17, June.
    9. Tidarat Luangrungruang & Urachart Kokaew, 2022. "E-Learning Model to Identify the Learning Styles of Hearing-Impaired Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    10. Ruiqi Deng, 2021. "Emotionally Engaged Learners Are More Satisfied with Online Courses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Valentin Kuleto & Milena P. Ilić & Nevenka Popović Šević & Marko Ranković & Dušan Stojaković & Milutin Dobrilović, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Teaching Process in Higher Education in the Republic of Serbia during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Mohammed Arshad Khan & Vivek & Mohammed Kamalun Nabi & Maysoon Khojah & Muhammad Tahir, 2020. "Students’ Perception towards E-Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic in India: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    13. John Dermott Alexander Withers & Cecilia Sik-Lanyi, 2021. "Sustaining Inclusive, Quality Education during COVID-19 Lockdowns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Asheena Singh-Pillay, 2023. "Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience of Learning about Sustainability in Technology Education in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, January.
    15. Yolanda Álvarez-Pérez & Lilisbeth Perestelo-Pérez & Amado Rivero-Santanta & Alezandra Torres-Castaño & Ana Toledo-Chávarri & Andrea Duarte-Díaz & Vinita Mahtani-Chugani & María Dolores Marrero-Díaz & , 2022. "Co-Creation of Massive Open Online Courses to Improve Digital Health Literacy in Pregnant and Lactating Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Zhigang Li & Yalin Yang, 2023. "Determinants of College Students’ Online Fragmented Learning Effect: An Analysis of Teaching Courses on Scientific Research Software on the Bilibili Platform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-16, November.
    17. Cecilia Temilola Olugbara & Moeketsi Letseka & Oludayo O. Olugbara, 2021. "Multiple Correspondence Analysis of Factors Influencing Student Acceptance of Massive Open Online Courses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Ellen Van Droogenbroeck & Léon Van Hove, 2021. "Adoption and usage of E-grocery shopping: A context-specific UTAUT2 model," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/324918, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Francisco Gómez Gómez & Pilar Munuera Gómez, 2021. "Use of MOOCs in Health Care Training: A Descriptive-Exploratory Case Study in the Setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, September.
    20. Cristian Timbi-Sisalima & Mary Sánchez-Gordón & José Ramón Hilera-Gonzalez & Salvador Otón-Tortosa, 2022. "Quality Assurance in E-Learning: A Proposal from Accessibility to Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-27, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:24:p:13517-:d:696666. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.