NUTRITION EDUCATION AND THE TECHNOLOGY LEARNING AREA pg13

NUTRITION EDUCATION
AND THE TECHNOLOGY LEARNING AREA

PART C

A FOCUS ON THE TECHNOLOGY LEARNING AREA

UNIT 2 LET’S GET HEALTHY

Target audience: Lower secondary

Technology strands: Designing, making and appraising; Systems

Design situation: Personal management systems to enhance personal diet

Technology process

Sample learning experiences to develop a personal management system for a healthy diet.
Learning process for nutrition education

Developing a context for the design brief

Activity 1: What is health?

Teacher shows a collection of pictures of well known personalities (Kieren Perkins; Elle McFeast; Nicole Kidman; Pat Rafter etc), plus some pictures of healthy looking models in advertisements. Also some pictures of “typical” teenagers, and of less healthy looking people - overweight people, thin people etc. Students identify whether or not they look healthy.
After initial reactions, teacher leads a discussion about the ways these people might be healthy, in what ways they might not be so healthy - bring out different dimensions of health.
Brainstorm the features which make a healthy person.
Students write own definition of health; join in pairs, then in two pairs to refine definitions and share with class. Formulate a class definition of health.

Motivation

Activity 2: How does food affect health? What is my diet like?

Video of extracts of personalities talking about the importance of a good diet eg. sports people, TV people, singers.
Explanation of how they can evaluate their diet to see what it is like.
After teacher modelling, students collect information about what they eat for a period of one week.
Teacher models how to analyse their food intakes according to the Healthy Diet Pyramid.
Students analyse their food intakes.
Teacher models how to make judgements about their food intake, and how to find out the health implications of their food intake, leading students to be able to answer questions like:

- what is good about my food intake/

what is not so good about my food intake?
what will happen to my health if I continue with this type of food intake?
what needs to be improved?

Students evaluate their own food intake and research the implications of their diet for their own health.

Gathering, analysing and evaluating information

Students determine own design brief (each may be different)

Activity 3: Identifying the issue

In their groups, students identify the broad issue to be addressed, what each of them is aiming to achieve. Students support each other to make the briefs workable.

Goal setting

Investigating

Activity 4: Taking control of what I eat.

Teacher explains that there is a process which can be followed to take control of their diet. Teacher explains the process (empowerment process of NNES), puts each step of the process on cards on the wall to form a cyclical process Students identify where they are in the process (they have analysed and evaluated their diets and set some goals).

Understanding the process

Activity 5

Discussion of some key skills for engaging in the process of taking control of their diets - collaborative group work; and goal setting; food preparation.

Identifying barriers and enablers

Activity 6: Learning some skills for healthy eating - group work

Explanation of why it is easier to work in groups to bring about change, the meaning of collaboration.
Establishment of and practice in procedures for working in groups, group decision making processes.

Activity 7: How much control do I have over what I eat?

Students consider response individually.
Students stand on a continuum re their control; students explain why they have positioned themselves where they have.

Activity 8: What factors influence my food intake?

In small groups, students brainstorm all the factors which influence their own food intake. Students group the factors.
Teacher models how to produce a concept map.
Students produce a concept map re influences on their own food intake.

Activity 9: Learning some skills for healthy eating - food preparation.

Teacher demonstrates key skills for preparation of health promoting meals - chopping, slicing, grilling, steaming etc and students prepare a number of dishes using these techniques.
Students work in groups to prepare dishes, whether preparing individual or group dishes, they work as a team to ensure everyone finishes etc.
Teacher modelling of evaluation and reflection processes.

Group evaluations of success or otherwise of dishes prepared, including addressing how group processes are working and could be improved.

Identifying enablers and barriers

Devising

Activity 10: Devising a system to improve diet

Students investigate what will help and what will hinder them achieving their goals using information collected in their investigations eg. do not know what to eat to achieve a healthy diet, family does not eat that sort of food, do not know how to make food products that will help their goals, will be teased by siblings etc.

Activity 11: Developing options

Students consider options for their management plans

Activity 12: Planning

In their groups, students work out management systems to achieve their goals. At the start of each lesson, students review the plan and where they are up to.
As part of the plan, students return to the factors which influence their food choices and address how they will overcome the barriers (eg. how will they learn to cook the foods they want to eat; how will they persuade the family to change also; how will they cope with teasing?).

Planning

Producing

Activity 13: Implementing the management system

Students carry out their plans. Much of the action will be outside the classroom.
During class time, students could, for example:
- discuss in their groups how they are going with their goals and provide support to each other in achieving their goals

- reflect on what they are doing and record it in their journals

- prepare dishes which support their goals and evaluate these dishes in terms of the extent to which they support the goals. (Note, necessarily students will be preparing different dishes as they will have different goals (see below - Foods for “Let’s get healthy” - for an additional design scenario to complement this part).

Acting

Evaluating

Activity 14: Reflection

Students reposition themselves on the continuum and explain why they have changed, if they have.

Reflecting

CONTENTS | PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE

Technology process	Sample learning experiences to develop a personal management system for a healthy diet.	Learning process for nutrition education
Developing a context for the design brief	Activity 1: What is health? Teacher shows a collection of pictures of well known personalities (Kieren Perkins; Elle McFeast; Nicole Kidman; Pat Rafter etc), plus some pictures of healthy looking models in advertisements. Also some pictures of “typical” teenagers, and of less healthy looking people - overweight people, thin people etc. Students identify whether or not they look healthy. After initial reactions, teacher leads a discussion about the ways these people might be healthy, in what ways they might not be so healthy - bring out different dimensions of health. Brainstorm the features which make a healthy person. Students write own definition of health; join in pairs, then in two pairs to refine definitions and share with class. Formulate a class definition of health.	Motivation
	Activity 2: How does food affect health? What is my diet like? Video of extracts of personalities talking about the importance of a good diet eg. sports people, TV people, singers. Explanation of how they can evaluate their diet to see what it is like. After teacher modelling, students collect information about what they eat for a period of one week. Teacher models how to analyse their food intakes according to the Healthy Diet Pyramid. Students analyse their food intakes. Teacher models how to make judgements about their food intake, and how to find out the health implications of their food intake, leading students to be able to answer questions like: - what is good about my food intake/ what is not so good about my food intake? what will happen to my health if I continue with this type of food intake? what needs to be improved? Students evaluate their own food intake and research the implications of their diet for their own health.	Gathering, analysing and evaluating information
Students determine own design brief (each may be different)	Activity 3: Identifying the issue In their groups, students identify the broad issue to be addressed, what each of them is aiming to achieve. Students support each other to make the briefs workable.	Goal setting
Investigating	Activity 4: Taking control of what I eat. Teacher explains that there is a process which can be followed to take control of their diet. Teacher explains the process (empowerment process of NNES), puts each step of the process on cards on the wall to form a cyclical process Students identify where they are in the process (they have analysed and evaluated their diets and set some goals).	Understanding the process
	Activity 5 Discussion of some key skills for engaging in the process of taking control of their diets - collaborative group work; and goal setting; food preparation.	Identifying barriers and enablers
	Activity 6: Learning some skills for healthy eating - group work Explanation of why it is easier to work in groups to bring about change, the meaning of collaboration. Establishment of and practice in procedures for working in groups, group decision making processes.
	Activity 7: How much control do I have over what I eat? Students consider response individually. Students stand on a continuum re their control; students explain why they have positioned themselves where they have.
	Activity 8: What factors influence my food intake? In small groups, students brainstorm all the factors which influence their own food intake. Students group the factors. Teacher models how to produce a concept map. Students produce a concept map re influences on their own food intake.
	Activity 9: Learning some skills for healthy eating - food preparation. Teacher demonstrates key skills for preparation of health promoting meals - chopping, slicing, grilling, steaming etc and students prepare a number of dishes using these techniques. Students work in groups to prepare dishes, whether preparing individual or group dishes, they work as a team to ensure everyone finishes etc. Teacher modelling of evaluation and reflection processes. Group evaluations of success or otherwise of dishes prepared, including addressing how group processes are working and could be improved.	Identifying enablers and barriers
Devising	Activity 10: Devising a system to improve diet Students investigate what will help and what will hinder them achieving their goals using information collected in their investigations eg. do not know what to eat to achieve a healthy diet, family does not eat that sort of food, do not know how to make food products that will help their goals, will be teased by siblings etc.
	Activity 11: Developing options Students consider options for their management plans
	Activity 12: Planning In their groups, students work out management systems to achieve their goals. At the start of each lesson, students review the plan and where they are up to. As part of the plan, students return to the factors which influence their food choices and address how they will overcome the barriers (eg. how will they learn to cook the foods they want to eat; how will they persuade the family to change also; how will they cope with teasing?).	Planning
Producing	Activity 13: Implementing the management system Students carry out their plans. Much of the action will be outside the classroom. During class time, students could, for example: - discuss in their groups how they are going with their goals and provide support to each other in achieving their goals - reflect on what they are doing and record it in their journals - prepare dishes which support their goals and evaluate these dishes in terms of the extent to which they support the goals. (Note, necessarily students will be preparing different dishes as they will have different goals (see below - Foods for “Let’s get healthy” - for an additional design scenario to complement this part).	Acting
Evaluating	Activity 14: Reflection Students reposition themselves on the continuum and explain why they have changed, if they have.	Reflecting