Learn about food science and systems in a guided course that lets you work at your own pace.
|Start / End Dates||Monday January 24 - Monday June 30, 2022|
|2 Sibling Discount||$300|
|1 Learner + add-on||$300|
|2 Sibling Discount + add-on||$500|
This is a guided course where you will learn about food systems (conventional industrial, organic industrial, sustainable, wild) in the United States today.
Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Young Reader’s Edition, will be the guiding textbook for the course. For each section of the book, there will be 1-2 activities offered for you to do independently (alone or with family) that connect to the topic discussed in the book.
Each main part of the book will include a larger cumulative project to reinforce topics learned. Final project options will be offered at the end of the course.
As a guided class, you will do most of this class at your own pace (no full class live meetings on a regular basis), with periodic check-ins with the instructor for feedback, guidance, and review.
This guided class structure is great for a learner with a flexible schedule, or who likes to go at their own pace and get a little guidance as needed. Self-motivated and advanced/gifted students may find a good fit with this course.
This course was planned around completing 1 section + activity per week, but as a guided class, you can take as much or as little time as you need.
There are 22 chapters in the book (spread across 4 main parts), each with 1-2 activities that help to engage active learning, along with suggested cumulative projects for each main part of the book.
Each chapter of reading should take no more than 30 minutes for average-speed middle-school readers. Activities will take between 1-3 hours.
This course is worth 60 instructional hours based on an estimate of reading, activities, and instructor feedback/interaction.
In addition to course material, you will be able to interact asynchronously with the instructor throughout the course (maximum of 20 hours asynchronous interaction time spent by instructor). This will be the way you can check in with the instructor to answer questions, get help, and receive feedback on activities and projects.
These check-ins can be done in several ways – through email or Discord – and will mostly be asynchronous. When you begin the class, you will have an opportunity to discuss with the instructor how best to handle these check-ins based on what works for you.
Included in the class will be 2 hours of live meeting time on Zoom or Discord. You may choose Option 1 or 2 as a way to allocate this time. You may also purchase the add-on to add 2 more hours of live meeting time to use as described in Option 3 (combination of 1 & 2).
Option 1: 4 30-minute Check-ins
Learner will meet for 30 minutes after after reading each main section of the book (4). Meetings must be scheduled by the listed date:
- Part 1 meeting will take place by March 31, 2022
- Part 2 meeting will take place by April 30, 2022
- Part 3 meeting will take place by May 31, 2022
- Part 4 meeting will take place by June 20, 2022
This is a good option if you like more relaxed check-ins to help with pacing and review, but don’t want to do a large project.
Option 2: 2 1-hour Project Check-ins
Learner will meet for one hour to plan a final project and one hour to review the final project and give feedback. The planning session needs to be scheduled at least 14 days in advance and take place no later than May 1, 2022 to give time for project completion. The review session needs to be scheduled at least 14 days in advance and take place no later than June 30, 2022.
This is a good option if you want to focus on doing one large summary project for the class and don’t want to do regular check-ins.
Option 3: Regular Check-ins + Project Check-ins (add-on purchase)
This option combines Option 1 and Option 2, giving you more live check-in time (4 hours total). You must purchase the add-on for this.
We will meet for 30 minutes to check-in after each of the four main parts (as in Option 1) and also meet for 1 hour to plan a project and 1 hour to review the project upon completion (as in Option 2).
This is a good option if you want the structure of regular section check-ins and want to do a large project at the end of the course.
Access to the course will be open until the end of the semester (June 30), but if you need more time, you may contact the instructor to extend access.
Scheduling accommodations in the case of extreme circumstances are available after discussion with instructor.
This course is intended to be done mostly independently, with opportunities to check-in with the instructor periodically. Activities that accompany each part of the text are intended as opportunities for you to engage more fully with the material, however they are not required to be completed and will not be graded. Please inquire with the instructor before registering if you want to receive a grade for this course so they can work with you on a process that meets your learner’s needs.
A check-in at the end of each of the four main parts (live or asynchronous) is expected in order to receive credit for completing the course. You are responsible for contacting the instructor to arrange a date and time to check-in, since everyone will complete reading at their own pace.
Quick questions and engagement can happen any time over Discord (where there will be a class channel for learners to engage with each other and share) and by email. Check-ins will be slightly more structured – either a live chat or video meeting, or series of email conversations. A summary project is recommended to demonstrate mastery of concepts from the section – details on options will be provided on the course site.
If you choose Option 2 to focus on a single final project, then main part check-ins should be done as a quick asynchronous Discord or email check-in rather than a live meeting. Details on this will be provided in the course materials.
Click here to view the course outline
(Note: details may change slightly to better fit learner needs and course logistics)
You will need a copy of The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Young Readers Edition, by Michael Pollan. This course will NOT use the original (adult) edition of The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
This book is available in hard copy (paperback and hardback), as well as in digital and audiobook.
Activities will require some materials depending on how you choose to accomplish them.
For example, you may need a way to take notes while checking prices of foods at a store. Some project may involve an option to buy food and eat it. However, all activities should be able to be completed without incurring excessive cost or needing special materials unless you choose to try something specific (like cook with new ingredients).
Check-ins with the instructor can be done using email or Discord (text). Live interaction with the instructor will use Zoom unless you prefer another option (check with instructor). If you wish to talk with the instructor during live meetings, a working microphone will be needed.
Assignments may be turned in to the instructor by email or Dropbox. Please contact the instructor beforehand to choose how best to send in an assignment.
Dr. Sabrina Weiss
Dr. Sabrina Weiss specializes in developing theoretical models that represent the ethical and social dimensions of issues at the intersection of science, technology, and society.
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