Paper Title
PROBLEM BASED LEARNING AS A WAY TO PROMOTE ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND STUDENT’S ENGAGEMENT: CASE STUDY OF SYLLABUS “FOOD PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT”

Abstract
Abstract - The present work describes the pedagogic strategies based on problem solving and practical application of knowledge and competences used in the ambit of the syllabus “Food Production Management”, of the 2nd year of the Higher Specialization Course (CTESP – CursoTécnico Superior Especializado) of Gastronomy, Tourism and Well-Being ministered in the Department of Food Industry of the Agrarian School at the Polytechnic University of Viseu. The students were asked to develop a project built around culinary preparations. The theme chosen was recipes including chestnut, considering that is is one nut with a high relevance in Portugal, and belonging to the tradition of culinary in the country. The project, comprised two parts, developed in parallel. One part involved a collection of existing recipes using chestnut, and the other consisted in the development of an innovative thematic menu, composed of original recipes containing chestnut. All tasks were developed in groups of students, who had to conjugate collaborative learning with project based problem solving. The results obtained were very encouraging, with all students showing successful realisation of the proposed tasks, and achieving a good academic performance at this syllabus, with high classifications, resulting from the involvement, motivation and desire to achieve success of all students. Keywords - Academic Performance, Collaborative Learning, Problem Based Learning.