STUDENTS’ IDEAS ABOUT CONVERGENCE RESEARCH IN A COMPLEX PROBLEMS COURSE ON WASTED FOOD

Convergence research combines expertise from academic, nongovernmental, governmental, and community members to address a complex societal problem, such as wasted food. In this case study, I analyzed student written assignments from a novel wasted food course for first-year students to better understand students’ ideas about wasted food as a complex problem and the importance of using convergence research to solve it. Using a combination of qualitative coding methods, I determined three main categories: students recognize that multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or convergence research are needed to address and solve wasted food. The variation in student ideas from these categories helped me to develop a continuum of student understanding of the need for convergence research in addressing wasted food, with each step on the continuum moving towards convergence. Students use a small number of similar phrases that suggest their understanding falls within one of the categories along the continuum. Some students advanced along the continuum as the semester progressed, bringing them closer to recognizing that convergence research is needed to address wasted food. The continuum can be used to measure students’ understanding of convergence research and wasted food or to evaluate their progress along the continuum over the course of a semester, and may be helpful for instructors teaching courses that involve convergence research or to those developing convergence research-focused educational material.