Leveraging Online Learning to Promote Systems Thinking for Sustainable Food Systems Training in Dietetics Education

Abstract

Educating and training a multisectoral food systems workforce is a critical part of developing sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems. This paper shares perspectives from a working group of educators, learners, and food systems subject matter experts that collaborated over the course of a year to develop, pilot test, and evaluate two interactive webinar series with a multi-site cohort of dietetics interns and graduate students. The three-part webinar series format included a training webinar, a practice activity, and a synthesis webinar. In reflecting on the effectiveness of this format, we provide direct assessments of student learning from subject matter experts alongside indirect assessments from pre- and post-surveys fielded with learners. Learners who participated in an interactive webinar series demonstrated skills in several dimensions of systems thinking and gained confidence in food systems learning outcomes. Learners also shared valuable feedback on the opportunities and challenges of using online platforms for this experience. As online learning opportunities become more common, it will become increasingly important for educators to prioritize strategies that effectively equip students with the higher-order thinking skills, such as systems thinking, needed to address the complexities of sustainable food systems. The interactive webinar series format described here provides an opportunity to leverage didactic webinars in combination with interactive experiences that enable learners to deepen their knowledge through practice with peers and subject matter experts. Though this format was piloted within dietetics education programs, many of the lessons learned are transferable to other food systems educational contexts.

How do dietetics students learn about sustainability? A scoping review

“…9,27 Most of the articles were from North America, including the United States (n = 4; 33%) and Canada (n = 4; 33%), 17,34,[36][37][38][39][40][41] with the remainder from Australia (n = 2; 17%), 35,42 New Zealand (n = 1, 8%) and Spain (n = 1, 8%) (Table 4). 43,44 The study designs included six case studies report, [34][35][36][37][38][39] four intervention studies, 17,[42][43][44] an exploratory study 40 and a descriptive study. 41 No consistency was apparent when considering the number or the timing of learning activities, in the dietetics program.…”

“…37,44 There was variability in the teaching approaches used to enhance student knowledge of sustainability. Three articles reported that the learning activity focused on content knowledge, [35][36][37] problem-based learning techniques were used in four articles, 17,34,43,44 and experiential learning activities were embedded in the curricula in five articles. [38][39][40][41][42] Of the three articles that focused on content knowledge, the learning outcomes based on the Kirkpatrick-Barr framework varied.…”

Digitalization, knowledge sharing and higher education for sustainable development

“…In terms of empirical research, in addition to surveys, interviews and focus group discussions, no one method stands out. However, researchers, including Iordache-Platis (2020) and Spiker et al, (2021), have begun building a theoretical foundation and developing frameworks which are equally beneficial for the stakeholders in academic research. Normally, empirical research consists mainly of quantitative, qualitative, and triangulation as methods.…”

“…Other domains included soil protection (Lobry et al, 2017)，clinical care (King, et al, 2021) ，plant genetics (Achigan-Dako et al, 2014)，energy issues (Popescu & Avram, 2020)，animal feeding (Islam et al, 2021)，foodstuff (Spiker et al, 2021)，agroecology (Wezel et al, 2018)，law (Wahid et al, 2018)，health (Brandão et al, 2022)，climate issues (Noy et al,, 2021) Teaching in Higher Education 64…”

“…Researchers in the higher education sector have shown to be very adaptable in using various approaches in their studies of sustainable futures (Elmassah et al, 2021). In terms of nations, the USA, UK, and Australia have been the leading forces in the study sustainability (Spiker et al, 2021). Countries such as China, Germany, and France are also aware of the significance of sustainable practices.…”