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Instructor: Sheryl Barringer
Tuesday and Thursday 2-5pm, 118
FS A class and laboratory setting
for the analysis of technical problems in food science and technology.
Emphasis is on fostering creative thinking to the approach and solution of
problems. Preparation and presentation of written and oral reports is
required. The course offers an opportunity for students to practice
communication of ideas and accomplishments through informal discussion,
formal presentation and report writing. The course is both a "Cap
Stone" course and a Third Writing Course. The problems met in this course
are real and current industry problems, such as you will meet when you
enter the "real world". The contribution of industry is
essential to making this course of value to the student. For each problem,
an industry representative will serve as a liaison between the company
presenting the problem and the students. Presentations, readings, grading sheets and past
projects can be found at http://class.Fst.Ohio-state.Edu/fst696/fst696.Html 2.
Objectives: -
Learn how to solve problems The format of this course
simulates the setting of an industrial Technical Services Group in order
for students to become familiar with a typical problem solving situation.
It is expected that students learn the need for mutual cooperation rather
than strict dependence upon ones own endeavors, and that every individual
counts in the success of the team.
A major objective of this course is to provide the student with the
opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, through gathering and
interpretation of information and the synthesis of solutions related to
specific industrial problems. The development of skill in determining
which questions need to be asked to provide a basis for problem solving is
also stressed. Another goal
is to provide experience in application of the "experimental
method" to problem solving. It
is a further goal that students learn how to terminate a project in an
orderly manner. Thus, it is a course requirement that students complete
professional style reports of the course activities. When students perform
satisfactorily in all aspects of this course they are well equipped for
the future to participate in decision making progress within an industrial
Marketing, Quality Assurance or R&D group In many instances there
may be more than one solution to a problem. Opportunities will arise to
assess multiple solutions and the processes that are involved in moving to
a solution most suitable for the circumstances. This is reinforced through
interaction with the industry representatives that provide the problems
and critique the solutions. 3. Approach The course is intended for
seniors and graduate students with some knowledge of food and food
processing, with the objective of providing skills and experience in
decision making relating to technical problems in food science and
technology. Communication skills, both oral
and written, are emphasized as an important element of effective problem
solving. To assist students in developing experience for such technical
writing, brief reports and interim project reports will be evaluated and
graded for content and grammar prior to submission of a required final
report. This is "capstone
course" and students are expected to mobilize their knowledge of all
aspects of food science, food processing and food law to solve specific
food industry problems through both individual and group efforts. Free and
open communication in the class will be encouraged and is necessary for
the course to be a useful experience There will be emphasis on
working in teams, such as are now used by most of the food industry.
Today, teamwork is necessary to solve complex industrial problems through
the integration of the specific skills of the individual team members. 4. Course
Structure As in a real Technical Services Group, different types of problems will
be encountered. Each different problem will be provided by a food industry
company. One person from the company will serve as a liaison between the
company and the students. For the purpose of this course, the problems will be classified as
'short term' and 'long term'. Two weeks are devoted to each short term
problem, whereas the long term problem requires the entire quarter. A. Short Term Problems: All of the students will work on the same short term problem. Teams of 3
students will form to operate independently to work on short term
problems. The teams may use any resources they wish (experts, library,
etc), except that they will not discuss the problem with other teams. The procedure utilized will be as follows: The statement of the problem will be provided by the industry. The team
will elect a Leader, who is responsible for bringing together the team's
solution. Each person shall serve as Leader once during the quarter. One
week will be given for each team to define the possible causes of the
problem and determine a line of questions they will ask to provide a basis
for solving the problem. Evaluation of related problems cited in the
literature and making contact with people knowledgeable in the field is
encouraged. The company representative will be available, either in person
or by conference phone, to provide answers to the questions. One week is
provided for the team to reach a solution. The more solutions the team comes up with, the more likely they are to
come up with a good solution. The
more techniques you try, the more solutions you will think of.
Therefore, each group is required to try at least one new problem
solving technique for each problem they work on (4 total).
Included at the end of your written report is a statement of which
technique you tried and how well it worked.
Also included needs to be a list of all of the causes and solutions
the team thought of. There
must be at least ten of each. These
can be a list; therefore you don’t need to use complete sentences.
These causes and solutions do not need to be justified or
explained. They also do not
need to be logical, legal, ethical, economical or physically possible.
This list is a result of your brainstorming sessions.
The written report should be presented in 5 parts: o
Statement of the problem, with any pertinent
information o
Probable causes of the problem, backed up by citation
of relevant references and Suggested Solutions
o
References - cited in the manner used by the Journal
of Food Science. http://ift.manuscriptcentral.com/index.html?mode=instruction o
List
of possible causes and solutions (10 min each) o
Technique(s)
used and if they worked The
written report will be evaluated for grammar and spelling as well as for
content.
The first two points cannot exceed 2 pages.
The oral report should be concise, but follow the same format.
Maximum of 5 minutes. Following
presentation of all reports, a discussion will be held to evaluate the
different approaches and to determine which solution is best for the
particular situation. Generally, with teams working independently, a
number of different solutions are suggested. Multiple solutions are often
feasible, and the choice of a solution may depend on a number of factors.
[Remember that compromises may be necessary in providing the best solution
for the circumstances, which will depend in part on available resources
and costs.]
B. Long Term Problems: Two teams formed for the short term problems will be combined into a
research group for the long term problem. One major technical project will
be studied for the entire quarter, using the facilities of the
department's pilot plants and laboratories to give hands-on experience in
problem solving. The Group will need to divide up the work, using the
different backgrounds of the individual members. Weekly discussion of the
team’s progress will be presented and future direction determined. The
problem may be one related to product development or the solution of some
product or processing problem associated with a food product. Each group will have the option of selecting a problem from a list of
problems prepared for the class. After selection of the problem, the group
will contact the company liaison person to get more specific information
of the nature of the problem and to discuss the company’s objectives and
possible directions for approaching the problem. When the Technical Services Group meets as a "Committee of the
Whole", a leader and a recorder will be elected in advance to conduct
the class discussions in an orderly manner. The class will become, to a
large extent, self-directing within 3-4 class periods. The instructors
function as resources for information and will provide equipment and
materials as required by the group. The instructors are also the
facilitators for technical or analytical approaches to the problem
solution and provide input by suggestions or questions. In the early class
periods the instructors provide background information on problem solving
techniques and on background for the specific problems selected. The group
is encouraged to use experimental approaches to assist in the long term
problem solution process and to share responsibility for all of the work
within the group. The group should plan to meet with the instructor on a regular basis to
present progress and to get suggestions for future directions. Team
Learning: The nature of the course makes it necessary for students to work in
groups. For the group to be successful, it is essential that each student
contributes to the overall effort of the group. Each student is encourage
to participate in all weekly discussions. All team members should review
the final project report before it is submitted. Oral
Presentation:
Oral presentations will be made by individuals for short term problems
and by groups for the long term problem.
The oral presentation should be not more than 5 minutes. The
presentation will be evaluated on the basis of the following:
A critique of the presentation will be given back to the student
following the presentation. Preparation
of the Final FST 696 Report for the Long Term Project: The
following are suggestions to help you write your final technical report. To be effective you must be concise. Unnecessarily long reports will not
be rewarded. Incomplete reports will be penalized. Be sure you write
clearly and avoid careless mistakes. Do not hand in a report that is not
legible. An interim report will be graded for content and grammar and
returned to the student in time for preparation of the final report. The
final report will be graded on the following basis: Accuracy of reporting,
completeness of assignment, evidence of creativeness, grammar and English
usage, style of reporting, adherence to format and timeliness of
submission. Follow the following format: (Use the underlined topics as
headings for different sections of the report. The sections need not be
separated by new pages). A. Title Page (single page) B. Table of Contents (single page) C. Summary (about 100-200 words). State what this report is about and
the significant conclusions. D. Introduction
E. Review of Literature Do your library work to survey what is known about the problem area.
This is a good place to highlight special topics used in the oral
presentations. Be sure to cite your references in the text of your paper,
so that the origin of the information can be available for later
reference. F. Methods Outline the approach that you used towards solving the problem. Provide
enough detail in respect to the methods used that someone else not
knowledgeable in the field could duplicate your work. G. Results and Discussion
Relate your findings to the over-all problem. In your discussion you
might consider the following points: Consider the following in narrating your discussion:
H. Recommendations. What else needs to be done to bring ultimate success to this problem?
What would you do next? Why? I. List of References (List all cited literature according to style used
in J. Food Sci. and arrange them alphabetically.) Where information has
been gained from individuals, cite the reference as Personal
Communication. 5.
Participation and Peer Review: Participation means:
During the quarter, a questionnaire will be distributed to give each
student an opportunity to provide feedback on their own participation and
others in the group. It is expected that the group will resolve any
conflicts that may arise from failure of one of the group to participate.
In those rare cases where resolution within the group is not possible, the
group may undertake a "divorce" procedure. In such cases the
Instructor will meet with the entire group to resolve the problem. 6.
Responsibility of the Students
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03/01/06
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