October 31, 2019
IFSL Program Spotlight: Learning Together, Online
With the IFSL program focused on helping students break down silos in our food system, it is fitting that the program design itself also breaks down barriers by intentionally blending online and in-person learning.
In this interview with Debra Freedman, online learning program manager for the IFSL Program, we explore the strategies that are allowing the inaugural class to thrive as a learning community.
First let’s start with an overview. How would you explain the IFSL program format?
The IFSL program is a collaborative learning experience. Participants collaborate online and can expect to spend 10-12 hours per week on the program. Course credits can be applied to a future graduate degree at the University of Minnesota.
The curriculum focuses on interdependencies from farm to fork, and it investigates everything from agriculture; governance and regulation; and food safety and security to the marketing and business aspects of the industry. Because of this cross-disciplinary approach, the learning community we build is key: the program draws on faculty across the University of Minnesota, food industry advisors, and the life experiences of our students, who bring knowledge from diverse roles within the food industry and related fields.
When people think of online learning, they often think of impersonal experiences, like on-demand content or Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). What else is possible, and how is the IFSL experience different?
What’s different with IFSL is connection, is community. In a standard MOOC, there may be a huge discussion with maybe 200 people. In the IFSL program, our strategy is to leverage tiny online learning experiences instead of massive ones. Students work in small groups and have intense conversations with people who have different perspectives and ideas.
In the IFSL setting, everyone’s experiences and learning needs matter. Having lots of different perspectives on the food system really helps with these conversations. We try to group people from different backgrounds and areas so that students are getting a more layered and complicated picture.
We also break down online content into smaller, more manageable and digestible segments that are easier for the working professional. We break down topics so people can access them quickly when they have time. Videos are under 12 minutes, and content is separated into manageable chunks. It’s not that students don’t have the attention span, it’s that all learners need time in between to think about and process what they are learning while being able to easily pick up where they left off.
What kind of relationships do IFSL students have with staff and their professors?
We started this blended learning program where student and instructor interactions were a big part of the experience. During the program, we spend time on getting to know you activities and what do you do activities—it wasn’t all about job titles, it was about helping students and instructors feel connected so that when we moved to the online space everyone could work together. It was about creating a community of shared values and working norms that the whole group supported.
This strategy is working. The students have reached out to me with suggestions to improve the student experience and we’ve implemented many of them. The IFSL professors have let me know that they feel like they are learning from their students; it’s not a one-way street. Reciprocity is an important part of the process.
What else should people know about the curriculum and day-to-day experience of the program?
Students work on projects in teams of about five. The curriculum is designed to help students make connections between content areas. For example, we have an “adopt-a-product” project that helps students synthesize and apply the program concepts to a real-life product. This year, student groups are looking at power bowls, yoghurt, and frozen meals. In each course, they look at their product from a different angle, from the value chain and supply chain, through claims made on packaging, to food safety and defense issues and the business side.
In these classes, the teaching is via presentations that have been prerecorded or that involve written text with the professor guiding the students through the content. If students have questions, they can directly ask the instructor. Instructors monitor discussions and provide group and individual feedback. Just like in an on-campus course, each professor has their own style for how they enter into that relationship.
In addition, I’m roaming around in the background with my comrade-in-arms, Kelly Vallandingham. We talk almost an hour every day guiding the tech stuff behind the scenes, listening to students if they have questions. We make sure to respond in a timely manner, and if someone would rather call me and talk on the phone because it is easier, then that’s what we do.
Feeling isolated can be a key challenge of remote learning, but our students have access to program faculty and staff just like they would on campus. Students are generally surprised at the level of access they have. We really do value their input and want them to be a part of making this program the best it can be.
Wrapping Up
Engaged, energetic students who represent a wide spectrum of roles within the food system are a critical component in the IFSL program. We are proud that this program design promotes interactive learning and provides a foundation for IFSL emerging leaders. They will be able to grow and accelerate in their own careers while gaining the skills they need to make an impact within and across the food system.
Debra Freedman works with the University of Minnesota to develop teaching materials, certificate programs, courses, and training guides. She has been an Online Learning Consultant at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada); a sessional instructor at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada); and an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State University.
For more information about the University of Minnesota’s IFSL Program, visit https://ifsl.umn.edu. IFSL Program applications are accepted on a rolling basis for the next class. Schedule a consultation call for more information.