Overview of Food and Nutrition Lesson 1

Today in class we were introduced to the overall framework of Home Economics and Food and Nutrition. We did comparisons across different streams and level. In addition, we explored a coursework question and came up with keywords and questions related to the identified keywords.

‘O’ and ‘N’ level syllabus

The comparisons, we did were in the  following sections : aims, assessment objectives, topics covered and examination format. Here are our findings:

Aims: The aims across both syllabus were the same except in the aspect of food science.

‘O’ Level : To develop candidate’s understanding of the principles of food science

‘N’ Level : To introduce the principles of food Science

Clearly, at the ‘N’ level stage, the concept of food science is fairly new  to the students and the  students may not be required to develop a deep understanding in this topic. However the term ‘develop’ as stated in the O level syllabus , indicates a higher level than introduction. Students are expected to have some knowledge of the topic and this knowledge is further enhanced during the course of ‘O’ level year. Hence students are constructing new knowledge based on their existing understanding of food science. 

Assessment Objectives : Similar to aims, we found the assessment objectives in the ‘O’ level encompassed more aspects. The following were the criteria in the ‘O’ level syllabus but not in the‘N’ level.

 

The ‘O’ level students are expected to acquire skills such as observing, recording and evaluating data.These skills are necessary when students are doing coursework B. 

Subject Content: The two are different in two aspects i.e. the topics covered and the learning outcomes. The topic ‘Digestion’ is covered in the ‘O’ level syllabus and not in the ‘N’ level syllabus. While the learning outcomes for the ‘N’ level students require them to have the basic knowledge on a particular topic, the learning outcomes for the ‘O’ levels students ,require them to understand and comprehend the topic. This is evident e.g. in the ‘N’ level learning outcomes, students are expected to define essential and non essential amino acids, while the ‘O’ level students are required to ‘differentiate essential amino acids’ . According to Bloom’s taxonomy, define requires a lower level of thinking as compared to differentiate as students need to understand and do a comparison. 

http://thinkonline.smarttutor.com/blooming-orange-blooms-taxonomy-helpful-verbs-poster/

Following this activity, we were tasked to compare the upper and lower secondary syllabus.Our findings showed that topics in upper secondary are mainly an extension from the lower secondary syllabus. Here are some interesting ideas of how we can introduce upper secondary syllabus into the lower secondary syllabus :

• Practical sessions is a good platform to introduce upper secondary to the students. During this time, teachers can  introduce macro and micro nutrients present in the food or introducing terminologies or processes related to food science e.g. maillard browning, caremelisation , gel formation, gelatinization. Students are generally engaged during practical sessions, hence, teachers should seize the opportunity to pass on as much knowledge to the students. I recalled during a practical session with the secondary one normal technical class. We were making mushroom omelette. During the demo session, while waiting for the proteins to set, and to flip it to the other side, i used the waiting time, to introduce the term coagulation and maillard browning. After the practical class, I asked the students to recall what the have learned and they mentioned the two terms. This has made me realized that students learn when they are engaged and as teachers, we should not underestimate the abilities of our students. 

-The current curriculum has provided more allowance  in the curriculum, known as the white space. Schools are encouraged to implement elective activities during this period. Hence teachers can incorporated interesting food science electives where students are taught experimental skills such as measuring, observing and drawing conclusions.

-Teachers can also introduce coursework at the lower secondary level, but we must keep in mind to make it simple, and interesting. Mrs Stevenson mentioned we can implement a mini project that incorporates certain aspect of the coursework.

Often students are not aware of the demands in food and nutrition, which lead to feeling of disappointment and regret joining food and nutrition. Most of them commented that they never expected the subject to be demanding. Hence it is important to introduce upper secondary syllabus in the lower secondary syllabus  so as to provide students with the realistic overview of food and nutrition. Having said that, Mrs Stevenson reminded us not to implement the entire coursework in the lower secondary syllabus, because we have to keep in mind that only a small percentage of the students will be taking food and nutrition. 

Lastly we were given a coursework question and  in our group, we had to identify keywords and churn relevant questions . We did a gallery walk to share our findings with the rest of the classmates. During the gallery walk, Mrs Stevenson gave us sticky notes to comment on other groups’ work. We felt that the gallery walk is a great classroom activity for sharing because it allows us participate actively, hence learning is enhanced. This is something that we will definitely incorporate in our classroom. 

 Here are some questions that we collated:

1. What are the reasons that children dislike vegetables?
2. What are the safety aspects when preparing food for children?
3. What is the appropriate serving size for children?
4. What type of food is served in childcare centre?
5. What is the effect of heat on the chosen vegetable?
6. How can food be appealing to children?