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

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.