Enhancing Student Learning with Case-Based Teaching and Audience Response Systems in an Interdisciplinary Food Science Course

The purpose of this article is to discuss the implementation of case-based teaching and use of response technologies to graduate students in a food science course. The article focuses on teaching sensory science and sensometrics, presents several concrete examples used during the course, and discusses in each case some of the observed outcomes. Students' evaluations, peer feedback, and self-observations throughout the course collectively indicated that the particular initiatives were effective in engaging student participation and promoting a more active way of learning. Case-based teaching provided students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and their analytical skills to complex, real-life scenarios relevant to the subject matter. The use of audience response systems further facilitated class discussion and was extremely well received by the students; this resulted in a more enjoyable classroom experience.