Using Food Ethnographies to Promote Systems Thinking and Intergenerational Engagement among College Undergraduates

Abstract

This article discusses an intergenerational, interdisciplinary service-learning project that integrated courses on life-cycle nutrition and developmental psychology. Students from the two classes worked in teams to interview older adult learning partners in their community about diet, lifestyle, and personal life events deemed relevant to nutrition and wellbeing, to create food ethnographies based on information learned. As a service-learning component, students provided the older adults with individualized nutrition and wellness plans at the end of the project, based on the older adult's expressed interests and concerns. In this paper, we describe how the project was carried out; discuss how learning goals pertaining to systems thinking, sustainability consciousness, and intergenerational engagement were assessed; and present the results of that assessment. Results of qualitative analyses of student work, as well as quantitative analyses of a course survey indicate that the project facilitated student learning related to the three goals.

Keywords:

• food ethnography
• systems-thinking
• pedagogy
• intergenerational learning
• interdisciplinary learning
• food systems
• sustainability

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julia Lapp

Julia Lapp is an assistant professor, registered dietitian and nutritional anthropologist at Ithaca College. Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, 29 Hill Center, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA ([email protected]).

Kathryn A. Caldwell

Kathryn Caldwell is an assistant professor of psychology at Ithaca College. Department of Psychology, 115 c Williams Hall, Ithaca College, NY 14850, USA ([email protected]).