Abstract:

The development of the cognitive skills necessary for the critical analysis of scientific articles is one of the main aims of university education in the science field. The paper presents and discusses the experience in two subjects of different levels (Food sensory analysis, in the second course; Food Technology (Cereal and Beverages) in the fourth course) in the degree of Food Science and Technology related to the use of scientific articles as a teaching resource in order to encourage the active participation of undergraduate students in the construction of knowledge. The proposed activities as well as the students’ feedbacks are discussed in the paper. It should be taken into account that the scientific articles for proposed activities were written in English, which it is not the mother language for those students. However, although this fact has been a challenge for some of the students, it has been evaluated in a positive way because it is considered necessary for their working life. The experiences of the present study illustrate the effectiveness of using scientific articles to develop cognitive skills and integrate theoretical and practical contents of the subjects.

Keywords:

University education, food science and technology, scientific article.