Campus Lecture #2: Biology Colloquium on Hormel Food Processing

On March 19, I attended a Biology Colloquium given by Dave Ruzek of Hormel Food Corporation out of Austin, MN. Mr. Ruzek's lecture was entitled “The Alchemy of Good Chemistry, Meat Science and Marketing: TheHormel Always Tender Pork Story”. His discussion focused on the processes involved in bringing meat products to market, with more emphasis on the chemistry aspect of food processing. The topic was quite informative but in analyzing his technique for instruction, I found that his speech was lacking. As many speakers do, Mr. Ruzek used a PowerPoint to highlight his major points he was discussing. With a classroom full of Biology majoring students, Ruzek lacked an energy and excitement behind his words. His tone often fell monotonous and students quickly lost interest and attention. With topics (especially the sciences), interest is often lost more quickly. Therefore, it is up to the teacher/speaker to grasp and hold on to the attention of the students. In order to "focus mental resources" students have to be engaged in what the instructor is talking about. As I sat observing the speaker and audience members, I realized that a few students were experiencing divided attention. Some students were present but lacked focus; they were doodling on paper, checking e-mail, texting, and other various distractions. Because they were dividing their attention among listening and their gadgets, they were also exhibiting selective attention. Listeners were ignoring the speech being given and focusing on more "relevant" things to them, such as computers and cell phones.

Overall, I enjoyed Mr. Ruzek's lecture. He was very well informed in his area and provided a lot of information on the subject of food processing. Personally, I felt that the best part of his speech was the open questions from students and professors. It gave him feedback and cleared up some discrepancies within his speech. Also, the questions helped to reveal which students had given Mr. Ruzek their attention and which students found other things to occupy their time.