Cooking Up Confidence: Integrating Cultural Recipes in Experiential Food Science Labs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v69i1.255Keywords:
food science, experiential learning, student identity, inclusive education, cultureAbstract
FSHN 232 Science of Food Preparation teaches the application of food science principles and techniques for preparing foods. Students unfamiliar with the food applications used in the course often lacked confidence when practicing their culinary skills and had difficulty applying the food science principles. Research continues to find that students with higher self-confidence are more likely to succeed in higher education. In our research, FSHN 232 was altered to support students more inclusively by implementing culturally diverse recipes. This research aims to determine the connection between teaching diverse recipes in a food science lab course that may match students’ cultural or ethnic backgrounds and student confidence in learning. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used, collecting quantitative data and then qualitative data to further explain the quantitative results. The quantitative data showed that students' familiarity with the recipes and previous experience preparing them did not correlate with their confidence, except for one recipe (Cinnamon Rolls). The qualitative data showed that previous experience with cooking and recipes generally led to confidence. Learning is fundamentally a cultural process, and incorporating class contexts from diverse cultures and perspectives can engage students and help them learn.
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