Lifelong Learning Programme

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Teaching Resources

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TEACHING RESOURCES INFORMATION

TITLE OF TEACHING RESOURCE
Food Education
IMAGE
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Attilio Baghino, Carlo Casu, Daniela Palamone, Davide Molinas, Federica Orrù, Laura Pinna, Lucia Murgia, Simona Cicala, Luca Lucchesi, Massimo Dall’Oglio, Pier Paolo Palamone, Sergio Casu, Stefano Martis, Susanna Canè, Valeria Casu
NAME OF PRODUCER
Applidea S.r.l.
DATE OF PRODUCTION
2000
TYPE OF PRODUCT
Web Site/Portal
LEVEL OF CHEMISTRY KNOWLEDGE
Basic
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
Problem solving
SUBJECT AREA
Food Science
TARGET GROUP LEVEL
Primary School
LANGUAGE/S OF TEACHING RESOURCES
Italian
TUTORIAL SUPPORT
No
DESCRIPTION
The prerequisites
This site can be used by pupils with no specific prerequisites. It is also useful as individual resource to deepen the knowledge of the related contents, because it provides numerous explicative texts dealing with different subjects (food, nutrients, hygiene, food labels....). The interactive section of this site (games) enables the user to evaluate his skills or the effectiveness of the learning thanks to the reading of the explicative texts. Each game allows to get immediately the feedback and, if necessary, to go back to the related explicative text.

The contents
The site mainly provides hypertexts and interactive games about the following topics:
- nutritional education: food groups, hygiene, malnutrition and food combinations
- the doctor informs: the doctor explains how to feed in healthy and equilibrate way
- seasonal foods: distribution of food on Italian territory according to the season
- history of nutrition: this section describes how different foods have spread around the world
- foods: information about different kind of food
- beverages: information about every kind of drink, with gas, sin gas, alcoholic or not
- food in sport: a quick guide for the choice of the correct food in accordance with the sport.
- food industry: the life cycle of foods, from the harvest to the table
- diets: breakfast, lunch, dinner, different diets such as the Mediterranean diet and the vegetarian diet
- labels: how to read the food labels
- food around the world: collection of cuisine traditions in different countries
- gluttonous space: sweet and salad food with the related recipes
- herbs to cook: how to use herbs for a good cuisine and to preserve health

The aims
To know the nutrients and the main food groups, to know the connection between food and health and to read with consciously the food labels

Task Description
Two kinds of tools are provided by the site:
- hypertexts, that can be read in order to build or deepen the knowledge of food science
- interactive games where objects (images or names) have to be dragged in their right box. The feedback is available immediately.

How to use it in class
A nice use of this resource can be done by organizing a scientific ‘treasure hunt’ in the following way:
- to propose open questions about digestive system and nutrients, to be answered by consulting the site
- to propose a final question connected with the previous open questions
COMMENTS
Points of strength
- The use of images in the games allows the participation of pupils with SEN
- the layout is friendly and the links among the numerous explicative texts are clearly evidenced
- games are provided of instant feedback, useful to constantly improve the results

Points of weakness
- The game about calories and nutrients are not connected to the related hypertext
- in the section dedicated to food the links do not work

Scientific reliability
It is adequate for primary school students because the discussion of the different topics manage to be simple without trivialize them or sacrifice the scientific rigour

Pedagogic value
Good, because it is a resource with different possibilities of fruition in class, meaning:
- first approach to the contents available
- assessment of the pupil skills
- insignts on food education.
The site offers new ideas to teach food science, i.e. by using connections with sport, health, history and traditions...
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
University of Genova

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


Date: 2012.09.25

Posted by Kalachanis Vasileios (Greece)

Message: This webpage looks like a children’s encyclopedia on the value of nutrition. Its design allows its use in education. The colors, images and overall construction are specifically designed for children. The material is presented in a playful way and easy to follow way. The different links made are very interesting. One has the possibility to gain a great deal of information on different types of nutrition: athletics nutrition for children, local herbs and foods, seasonal foods etc. One can find even how food and nutrition are presented in the art of great painters like Caravaggio and Van Gogh.

By presenting certain connections between food and health issues, the site can motivate young readers to ask themselves questions such as “Why do I have to eat well and choose the right foods?”. The site contains interactive games that can increase motivation to learn by providing positive feedback. In addition, these activities can be easily used by children with special needs. Another positive aspect of this webpage is that it provides interesting encyclopedic knowledge within a rigorous educational setting. All the information provided by the doctor’s advice, about the law applied in school canteens, the text outside different food products, are all very useful not only for children but teachers and parents as well.

I would like to point out however that this webpage contains also information that could sound intimidating to the young children. Terms like monosaccharides, carbohydrates and cholesterol could mean very little to 12-year old students. In this case, student motivation could be diminished.

Overall, the webpage is a very useful site which gives teachers the possibility to employ new interesting teaching methods for approaching the subject of nutrition from many different points of view and at the same time maintain an increased level of interest from their audience.

National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

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