BP623-Value-added-Noodles

Reference: BP623
Classroom Practice: Year 7
Title: Value-added Noodles
Duration: One day
Overview: In this unit, students replace the instant noodle flavouring pack with one of their own invention. Technological practice, classroom routines and terminology used are the same as the Year 9 Food Technology programme, to help enable a seamless transition between primary and secondary school.

The Bush Primary School's Technology Centre is located in a purpose-built technology suite at Tararua College, Pahiatua, which it shares with the college. The centre is hosted by Hillcrest School, where it was based until 2002.

Year 7 and 8 classes from 14 schools attend the centre. Classes from each school attend a one-day (9:30am-2:15pm) lesson at the centre on a 12 day cycle (the 12th being a non-contact day). Each class therefore has 15 days tuition at the centre each year. Class make-up and numbers change each year -bigger schools may have two classes working over two days whereas up to four of the smaller schools might be combined in one class.

The centre is staffed by two teachers, Jacquey Neilson and Tim Swale. Jacquey teaches a term each of Soft Materials and Food Technology at each level while Tim teaches Electronics and Workshop Materials. When Jacquey is taking a Year 7 class Tim will be taking the Year 8s from that school, and vice-versa.

Jacquey arrived at the Bush Primary School's Technology Centre with a background in primary teaching and an interest in Soft Materials and Food Technology. Jacquey has taught in mostly rural schools since 1965 (with a 12-year break to raise children). She was a teaching principal for 16 years before taking on her present role in 2003. She has mostly taught at senior level in primary schools and was keen to use this experience to take on the challenges of Food Technology.

The Value-added Noodles unit is taught within the centre's Year 7 Food Technology programme, comprising the following units:

The focus of the Value-added Noodles unit is to introduce new concepts and skills while also working towards making a smooth transition from Year 7/8 to Year 9-13 Food Technology.

The progression idea started when Jacquey and Diana Eagle of Tararua College were working in the new technology suite and discussing their learning expectations and routines in the classroom. They found their approaches matched well - for example, Jacquey's insistence right from the start on the wearing of aprons, hair nets and sanitising of work areas at the beginning and end of work reflected what Diana was doing in her workroom.

The unit evolved from here as they worked to make the transition from Jacquey's classes to Diana's as smooth as possible. Through the unit, students would become familiar with the same routines, terminology and technological processes they needed in a Year 9 Food Technology class.

Jacquey identified appropriate learning outcomes and loosely based her Year 7 programme around those. Her idea was to add value to noodles by replacing the flavour sachet with other kinds of flavourings. Along with this the class would study packaging for the first time, with an emphasis on the nutritional information and ingredients displayed.

After discussions with consulting food technologist Carol Pound, which included her suggestion that dehydrated food could be used, Jacquey reworked the unit.

At the end of term 4 a technology programme, of which this unit is part, is sent to the 14 schools that use the centre. This provides a breakdown of the learning outcomes, a summary of curriculum links and a calendar for the new year. It is a basic outline - as work progresses through the year it may take on a different focus.

This unit was presented for the first time to Jacquey's 2006 Year 7 classes. The delivery was done on one day - from 9:30am (or earlier if buses arrive earlier) to 2:15pm with a 20 and 30 minute break.
Work on this unit began with the reading and comparing of the nutritional information of four packets of two-minute noodles.

The class then deconstructed a packet of noodles, with discussion of how several ingredients can combine to make different flavours and the use of chemical additives, such as large amounts of sodium.

Jacquey had planned to have the students sieve the flavouring to help analyse the ingredients, but found the contents too fine. This, however, led to a discussion on packaging, as it was noted that the cover illustration showed chunks of vegetable which weren't actually inside.

Jacquey then sieved a packet of dehydrated instant soup so students could see the seasoning and vegetable parts. Introducing the digital scales used in the Year 9 workroom showed the students that small amounts of food can be measured accurately and enables them to realise how little seasoning is actually needed for a relatively large quantity of food - a warning against using excessive amounts of seasoning in their own recipe.

The students then examined a range of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods and their packaging. They put some apples and kiwifruit in the dehydrator to observe the drying process. Jacquey marked one piece of apple, weighed it on the digital scales and re-weighed it three times during the day. At the end of the day the fruit, although not completely dehydrated, was eaten by the students so they could note how the flavour had intensified during this process.

Experimentation on a selection of dehydrated foods that can be rehydrated was then conducted by the class using hot and cold liquids. They then identified ingredients that would add value to the noodles in the form of nutrition, flavour and appearance.

To make a label for their package, the students identified the labelling requirements, including the need to meet both legal and aesthetic requirements.

Jacquey Neilson: "Eleven days of noodles is not boring for me as every class comes up with something different."

Each student made up a flavouring sachet using a range of foods. While cooking their noodles, using both the stove-top and the microwave, they tested and adjusted for flavouring balance part-way through. After a final sensory testing of their noodle flavourings, the students made up another individual seasoning mixture; these were sealed using the impulse sealer.

At the end of the day the class evaluated their completed noodle project against the brief specifications and their personal goals. Worksheets have the same vocabulary that Diana uses with her classes, so that students become familiar with it. Jacquey puts a strong emphasis on individual evaluation and reflection to ensure students really understand what they have been doing.

A sheet covering deconstruction of a packet of noodles was completed and taken home for parents. Often the children are asked "What did you cook?" - this is a way of showing them that cooking is part of Food Technology but the students are there to do a lot more.

A communication notebook is used to give the classroom teacher a brief report about how the class worked and to inform them about any particular issues relating to the class.

Through units such as this - where finding, exploring, trialling and testing using base recipes are emphasised - the Year 7/8 programmes have a much stronger technology base. The advice from Diana, Carol Pound and Beacon Practice Professional Facilitator Cliff Harwood has been usefully integrated into the programme.

Jacquey has taken time time to observe secondary students in the classroom, which helps her understand what her students need to be ready for study at that level. She has also taken the opportunity to look at, and sometimes critique, the secondary planning up to Year 13. Discussing programmes with Diana enables her to avoid any repetition students might otherwise experience.

The 12-day cycle works well in that the students have plenty of time to work rather than rushing in for short periods. An advantage for those from smaller schools is the opportunity to mix with other students while working.

The one day lesson benefits the classroom teacher as it minimises the disruption of students leaving and returning. Jacquey recalls from her days at Mangatainoka School that she used the seniors 2:30pm arrival as an opportunity for them to tell their classmates what they had done, while the Juniors talked about the technology activities they'd worked on in the classroom.

Use of digital scales was informative - when an apple piece was weighed on ordinary scales the class couldn't work out its weight. The fact that they could using digital scales had the 'wow!' factor to hold their interest.

Student comments:
"The noodle session was fun because we could choose what we put in our noodles."
"The experimenting with noodles lesson was fun, enjoyable and great tasting. It was also very interesting and educational learning about packaging and nutritional value."
"I learned that you can put your own flavouring into the noodles, and to look at the back of the packages."
"I learnt that Budget plain noodles sound plain and boring but by adding dehydrated food products you will be adding flavour and value to your healthier noodles."

Jacquey Neilson: "I put quite a strong emphasis on students evaluating and reflecting on what they have done, because that way I know they understand."

Now that the draft unit has been used, Jacquey will evaluate the 2006 learning outcomes, including her own self evaluation form.

During the practical activities she would include more dehydrated foods as available ingredients - being in a small town means she couldn't always get what she wanted. Lots of kids won't put vegetables into their mix, even to make them look more attractive.

Value-added Noodles is followed by a bread-making unit which will continue into Year 8. Students will make bread bases for pizzas and further develop the labelling for their packaging, to help them grasp fully the concept of nutritional information and ingredients. In consultation with Carol, Jacquey will look at getting the students to make the actual packaging in this unit.

Learning outcomes from the bread making will be further built on in Year 8 during two further units: one where they will design and make breads, adapting original recipes to meet specified criteria; and a second where they will use a variety of breads for lunches and snacks and work on packaging.

Following on from this, Diana's Year 9 class will do both bread making and package construction in more detail.

Jacquey thinks that Value-added Noodles is still a very good unit and attributes this to its solid technology base. She taught it for the second time in 2008 and says it was essentially the same as the 2006 introductory unit, but that she had 'rejigged' a few things. Having done it before, she is now much more aware of how to bring a lot more technology into a classroom programme.

The previous classes had watched a video clip about dehydrating food but Jacquey decided they didn't really need to see this, and instead led a class discussion on the topic followed by the related activity.

Rather than provide over 120 students with uncooked noodles to cook their product at home, as a cost-saving measure Jacquey decided that they would take just their individual, sealed flavour sachets.

She says that the 2008 classes enjoyed working on this unit and really took on board the technology component – she didn't get any complaints about not doing any 'real' cooking. Deconstructing a noodle packet and taste-testing foods were successful activities which gave the children a good idea of how salty some food products are.

Looking at current market products was important in raising the students' awareness of food issues, particularly of the need to make comparisons between foods and to look carefully at labelling. This year they were fascinated by dehydrated potato, and discovered its potential to thicken sauce for the cooked noodles when some used it in their flavour sachets.

While this unit was planned to fit the timetable of the technology centre, Jacquey points out that it would also be easy to do over a few weeks in the usual school schedule. The teaching could be divided into components, such as one on dehydrating and testing foods, then sensory testing of current market products, and another on developing a flavour sachet using dehydrated food.

An advantage for teachers living in bigger cities is that a wider range of dried food is easier to source. Jacquey recommends making a large variety available and preferably in individual vegetable packets rather than mixed, so students aren't using time to pick out the vegetables they want.

Jacquey plans to use Value-added Noodles again, although not with every Year 7 class. With the exception of a few particular favourites, she rotates her units over two to three years because she doesn't like to have pupils arriving in the classroom expecting to do particular units in a year. This way, instead of starting with expectations about the activities they'll work on, the classes retain a fresh approach to the course.

In this section the work of students and teachers has been related to the new curriculum. This unit was planned and delivered prior to the release of the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum.

Students learnt about economic values when they analysed the contents of instant noodle packets, considered their nutritional value, and discussed how they could make their own flavour sachets with healthier ingredients. Throughout the unit they were encouraged to think critically, creatively, and reflectively as they worked on activities ranging from deconstructing a noodle packet to dehydrating a sliced apple.

Thinking
The students were given the opportunity to use critical thinking skills to develop their understanding of the use of dried foods.Students used their knowledge of ingredients to make up a flavour sachet.

Using language symbols and text
Jacquey introduced the students to new terminology such as sensory testing, rehydration and deconstruction.Students used language and symbols to produce written and visual text when they prepared food information labels for their flavour sachets.

Managing self
Students made and individual flavour mixtures which they tested part-way through cooking before adjusting the ingredients where required. After sensory testing the cooked noodles they made up and packaged their final seasoning blend.

Students were given the opportunity to manage their project when they were given a brief, encouraged to develop their sachet and evaluated their project against the brief specifications

Relating to others
Students were involved in discussions throughout the day, such as considering the uses of dried foods, how they are dried and their nutritive value. This involves them in speaking and actively listening to their classmates, as well as sharing ideas as they work on developing their individual products.

Participating and contributing
Participation and contribution to the community is promoted to students through the extension of schoolwork to home. They are encouraged to discuss their take-home work-sheet with parents/caregivers in terms of what they have done in class and any ideas arising, such as making a more nutritious noodle meal.