Exploring Student Teamwork in an Intensive, Large Online Summer Course in Food Science: An Empirical Work

Abstract

We explored how students engaged in teamwork in an intensive online summer course and how teamwork supported students’ learning of food science. We reviewed 23 team contracts and team reflections as part of the course assessment and we facilitated two focus group discussion after the completion of the course. Students reported that teamwork supported their learning by fostering their cognitive engagement in the course materials and fostering affective and social engagement. Most notably, students reported that they gained appreciation of each other’s diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. Despite experienced time constraints that might have hindered their learning and their exploration, students reported a positive learning experience via teamwork.