Cruess Essay

Cruess Award Winner Essay:As I Teach How to Learn, I Learn

How to Teach Better

Iam delighted and extremely humbled to be the recipient of the 2009 WilliamV. Cruess award for excellence in teaching food science and technology,from the Institute of Food Technologists. This award touches me deeply and I

give much of the credit to my teachers, from 5th grade to graduate school, to mymentors, colleagues, and most of all to my students, who have played a majorrole in my development as a teacher.

I was not a “born teacher” like some great teachers are. While in college, Inever thought I would be a teacher. It was during my graduate studies, theresponsibility of teaching an undergraduate course in mechanical engineering,all by myself, was thrust upon me. Although at that time, I felt challenged andsomewhat overwhelmed by the task; looking back I feel that it did me a wholelot of good. Suddenly, I was on the other side of the aisle and realized thatteaching was the best way to learn and master a subject. I taught that course3 years in a row and sensed that I was enjoying it.

Another major turn in my teaching career was when I joined the Dept. ofFood Science and the Center for Advanced Food Technology at Rutgers, and wasasked to teach an undergraduate course in Food Engineering. The studentevaluations of that class showed that I was substantially off the mark with muchroom for improvement. I had bombarded and buried the students in equationswithout successfully showing them the relevance of these equations and theirapplications in food processing. I realized that there was not much “food” in thatcourse, the way I had taught it. With advice from stalwart teachers likeProfessors K. Hayakawa, M. Karel, and J. Kokini, I was able to quickly make theadjustment to bring a good amount of “food” into food engineering. The resultsin the following year showed that it had made a positive impact.

Over the years, several factors have contributed to my evolution as a teacher.Student evaluations of the instructor at the end of each course, thought by someto be not-so-accurate, have provided me valuable suggestions, especially at thebeginning of my teaching career. One comment I remember was that a studentfelt that my hand gestures were too distracting. I have also found that a voluntaryanonymous mid-course evaluation is very useful. It has allowed me to makemid-course adjustments so that students who gave the suggestions benefitedfrom it. I have continued to use mid-course evaluations and I stronglyrecommend them for new faculty members.

Having the opportunity to serve on IFT’s Higher Education Review Board,formerly the Committee on Higher Education, has also helped me take a closerlook at my own courses and teaching methods. IFT’s revised educationalstandards with greater emphasis on outcomes and assessment have provided methe impetus to redesign my courses.

I think teaching is mostly about communication and understanding students’perspectives. A successful teacher has the ability to communicate at a levelwhere it will have the most transfer of knowledge and turn on as many lights aspossible in the students’ understanding of the subject matter. Effectivecommunication is not only what you say, but also how it is received. Now, withexperience, it is easy for me to spot a spark in a student’s eye when he or shemakes the connection with the concept I am trying to explain. I had seen somegreat teachers in my middle school years and again during my undergraduate

4 Journal of Food Science Education—Vol. 9, 2010 c© 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®

Cruess award winner essay . . .

and graduate studies who had the superb ability tocommunicate what they wanted to convey, most effectively byusing simple day-to-day examples. I realized that simplicity wasthe key to their great teaching ability. Thanks to those teachersfor showing me the way.

I will never give up teaching regardless of the otherresponsibilities I take upon myself. It is one activity where I feelrelaxed and am at peace with myself. Rewards of teaching,whether in a classroom or in a research laboratory setting, are

enormous and gratifying. Often students in my class come fromvaried backgrounds. I consider that it is my job to try my best tomake each student shine to the best of his/her ability. No doubt,being a faculty member with teaching and researchresponsibilities is the best job there is.

Mukund V. KarweProfessor, Rutgers Univ.

karwe@aesop.rutgers.edu

Available on-line through ift.org Vol. 9, 2010—Journal of Food Science Education 5