Food Fermentations and Flavor: A Curiosity and Creativity Driven Approach for Interdisciplinary and Research-Oriented Science Education

The interdisciplinary nature of food makes it an effective teaching vehicle in many fields. This article shows specifically how flavor and food fermentation, two topics not usually featured in the undergraduate STEM curriculum, can inspire a powerful interdisciplinary learning experience. Importantly, because of their accessible nature and relatively unexplored status in current research, these two topics are also uniquely attractive as authentic research experiences for students from diverse backgrounds. Focusing on these topics, the author designed and executed a student-centered science course. The course is unusual from other Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in being highly inquiry-driven and discovery-based, with students independently defining their research topics. By emphasizing curiosity, creativity, and practicing how to generate “good” research questions, the course fills a gap in the traditional undergraduate research experience and curriculum. The findings of the article are based on hundreds of enrolled students from five course offerings. It shows that the course promotes student engagement and curiosity, as well as gains in conceptual learning and in self-reported learning of concepts and science skills. Further, students report valuing the hands-on and inquiry-based format for improving their learning, engagement, and sense of curiosity about the material.