Outcomes
Jacquey Neilson:
"Technology is empowering the students to be inventive, to explore things and to modify as they go along. Until quite recently you got your recipe or pattern and didn't deviate from it. Now they're encouraged to take a basic formulation or pattern and adapt it, modify it, trial and test, go back and do it again."
Jacquey finds this a very effective unit - "The kids loved it and the DVD was a real hit; it formed a very sound base for written and practical aspects of the unit and promoted excellent discussion and thinking skills."
She says that overall the unit was valuable for discussion and consolidation of skills, providing students with the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge, especially with regard to packaging. "Some students entered into very thought-provoking discussion regarding space travel and preserving food."
Jacquey follows up each unit with a quick round-up in the next lesson, asking about family reaction to their product and who has made it again at home. The unit work sheet includes the base recipe and also serves as an opportunity to show parents what is involved in Food Technology.
She finds that a few students have problems with measurement. – some find the use of scales and measuring spoons, etc, a new experience and have difficulty measuring accurately, others simply don't understand fractions ("what does ¼ mean?").
Is there time to cater for students needing more from the lesson, when they're only seen every 12 days? Jacquey expects a lot more from more able students in their responses and written briefs. She orders National Library service books for each new unit, which provide a resource to extend these students. Every now and then when a student has writing difficulties Jacquey will write their responses in their own words, so that they can focus on the technological process and she knows what they're thinking and understanding.
