Background …
Tararua College, Pahiatua, is a decile 4 school with a roll of approximately 428 students. Bush Primary School's Technology Centre provides Technology education to Year 7/8 students from 14 primary schools. It has been located at the college since the Technology suite was constructed in 2002.
Diana Eagle (Teacher in Charge - Food Technology, Tararua College) and Jacquey Neilson (Food and Soft Materials Technology, Bush Primary School's Technology Centre) established a working relationship after Jacquey's arrival in 2003. The following year they jointly applied to become a Beacon Practice school, with a focus on establishing a smooth transition process for students moving from Years 7-8 Food Technology through to Years 9-13. See the BP623 - Value-added Noodles case study.
The two teachers worked together to ensure that students use the same routines, terminology and technological processes through their Year 7-13 Food Technology. A student taking the subject at college level would add new skills and depths of knowledge, based on the training established at Year 7.
The 'seamless transition' approach has been successful and Year 8 students now enter the Year 9 class with a Food Technology background and expectation already developed.
In 2002, her first year of teaching Food Technology, Diana contacted food technologist Carol Pound, to help her develop a trial unit. Their collaboration has continued; Carol was able to advise her on how to incorporate industry-oriented Food Technological Practice into her units and Diana has gained a wide base of knowledge in the subject. Carol in turn has gained understanding of how much students could be expected to learn from the vast amount of knowledge available. See the BP642: Links with a practicing food technologist case study.
Diana Eagle:
"I felt ready to look at progression because I had the technological practice fairly well under my belt and was looking at how to get more substance into the teaching programme. To do that I realised that something had to give; that meant you can't just keep churning out one project after another –you've got to do some planned teaching".
Carol and Jacquey have also worked together to strengthen the Food Technology aspects in the Year 7-8 programme.
By 2006 Diana felt that she had a strong foundation in the subject so felt ready to look at progression. She was concerned that her Year 12 students were finishing with good technological practice but with their Food Technology skills, techniques and knowledge a bit of a "hotchpotch". She wanted to provide better progression through from Years 9 to 12 and her association with Jacquey provided an opportunity to include Years 7 and 8 in this.
