Outcomes
Although Carol isn't usually in the classroom, she noticed that the student work she saw in 2007 was a lot better than before. She attributes this to students picking up the Toolbox knowledge relatively well and it being reflected in their work. Introducing students to particular components of the Toolbox first, working on various activities around it, and then starting a project, appears to Carol a much more successful way of working than in the past when the focus was on assessment. "If a student doesn't understand something and it hasn't been taught as a class exercise, then, unless it's part of their project, they've missed the boat, they don't really pick it up again".
Students are taught Food Technology skills along with writing a brief or key factor, and Diana comments that if this is all stored together that's when the Toolbox comes in. A teacher can tell a student to "go to your Toolbox, look at all the ways you could test your product, pick two you think would work for your project and come back to discuss it with me".
This shared understanding means the teacher isn't telling the student what they could do but supporting them through discussion; "Well, that's an okay choice but there are some others, why have you chosen this one?" The student can confidently discuss the merits because they have done the testing already as a class exercise. Diana would also refer to the Toolbox when commenting on student work "Is that really how to write a process flow diagram? I don't think so, go and look at your Toolbox". This was also useful when students claimed they didn't know how to do something because she knew they did!
The programme, based on the Toolbox, was a lot more successful than in previous years, when students had launched into their projects and then tried to work out how to approach it. Some students work very well under that method, says Diana, but a lot don't, especially if they're struggling with the topic area.
Diana, Carol and Jacquey presented their Food Technology Toolbox at the 2007 TENZ conference as a draft document, and asked for comment.
