E-learning (Liyana)

1. Copykat Famous Recipe

In my opinion, copykat is a simple tool where students can look up recipe of what they want to cook for their coursework. On top on the recipes, the blogger also posted video on how that particular dish is prepared for certain recipes. This site also allows one to save recipes under the recipe box. This is convenient as the students will be able to recall the recipes that they have chosen. The recipes can be found under the achieves.

2. Center for Food Safety (CFS)

CFS is a non-profit public interest health and environment by limiting use of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. It also educates customers on organic products. However, i think that this website is not suitable for the upper secondary students as i find it too generally. I think this website is too deep for their level of understanding of them. As such i do not recommend this website for them to use as reference. It is useful to them to gain general knowledge but will not help much in their theory or coursework wise.

3. Brainpop

Brainpop is a game site for the different subjects. They have one section on health where in my opinion can be introduced to lower secondary students but not to the upper secondary. It is a simple game where the lower secondary students can recap some of their theories by playing the games. However, this tool is too simple for the upper secondary and will not be useful in their theory and especially coursework.

My Teaching Philosophy

My role as an educator

• To impart new knowledge to students
• To instill values in students
• Help students to develop on their strengths and improve on their weaknesses
• To motivate and encourage students to learn new knowledge
• To care for the well being of the students

How do i view learning 

• Acquire new knowledge
• Acquire new skills
• Know your mistakes
• Develop on old knowledge

What does family & consumer science mean to me

• Home management
• Relationship management
• Food science
• Nutrition
• Textiles 

My view on teacher-student relationship

• Teachers have to be approachable
• Mutual respect
• Mutual trust
• Care and concern

My philosophy as a whole

I want to teach homec in an interesting and fun lessons where students will be engaged in the lessons. It should be inspiring to them and at the same time they will be able to apply what they have learnt in my lesson to real life context. On top of that i want to instill values like integrity and respect in them to prepare them to face the 21st century after they graduate.

Isabelle's Teaching philosophy

What is my role as an educator?
My role is not only to educate them with the knowledge on nutrition, but also to guide their values and build their character in the process. At the same time, I want to foster their interest on other things such as their co-curricular activities. It can be anything such as sports as music. This will help them become a well-rounded person.

How do I view learning?
As cliché as it sounds, I believe that learning is a lifelong journey. It can be an uphill and tedious process but at the end of the day, we become a stronger and smarter person with more resilience.

What does the study of family and consumer science mean to me?
It means that we are more conscious on eating and being healthy through good meal planning, being a more conscious shopper. When students graduate after secondary school, they bring with them the knowledge of healthy eating and when they purchase things, they know what is worth the buy and what is not.

My ideas on teacher-student relationship?
I believe that teacher and students can form a positive relationship when the teacher tries to understand that each and every student is different and not see them as just a class of students. Each student has unique capabilities and if we are able to play with their strengths and bring them to good use, the students will be thankful and shine. A teacher can show some interest to the student by asking how their day goes and what are their current concerns are. The students will be able to notice that the teacher not only teaches the content of the subject that they teach, but also tries to connect with the students. However, the teacher has to be careful not to cross the line of being over helpful especially with the other gender, as the students might interpret it in a different way. 

Vincent's Teaching Philosophy

I strongly think that teaching is simply a form of help. I believe that each and every child needs help, in one form or another. I, as a teacher, may not need the students’ help but students definitely need us. Thus, I believe that through the teaching profession, I will be able to help my students build up content knowledge and hopefully also mould their character and values through incorporating different ideas when teaching whatever content, so as to bring out their true potential. I believe all students have their potential but some of them may not have discovered it yet, thus my job will be to help bring out their potential in them.

For me, teaching and learning should be a complete cycle. If teaching is taking place without the process of learning, the whole cycle will be incomplete and deemed as ineffective teaching. Thus one of my hopes as a teacher will be to make my students enjoy and appreciate the learning process; this hope will only come true when a caring and stimulating atmosphere is provided. To make a positive learning environment, I will present the content in a way which students are interested and able to relate to real-life situations. I wish to build good rapport with all students as I think good rapport can catalyze the process of effective teaching and learning. I will try to integrate different forms of teaching pedagogies and activities in order to provide students with a well-rounded and holistic education.

Students can also play the role of a teacher. Other than helping and teaching students, I think it is also very important to learn from the students too, they are able to teach us how to open up our mind and accept each and individual diverse backgrounds. They can also drive us in developing different teaching and managing styles for different kinds of students because no size fits all.

I understand that teaching is definitely not a bed of roses all the time. I must constantly tell myself not to be overly affected by problematic students and other ‘down moments’ so that I can preserve my mental and physical well-being to continue to serve my role as a helpful teacher. I will strive to be a teacher whom students will respect and look for when they need help or someone to confide in.

Role of a Teacher to me

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Believe in Students

•All students are special in their own way and bring something unique to this world.

•Assist students to develop to their fullest potential  by providing an area which is safe, supportive and invites a sharing of idea.

•Install in them the 21st century competencies (respect, accept and embrace the difference between individuals)

Act as a Guide

•Provide the students with tools needed to gain assess to knowledge/information rather than feeding them with the information itself

•Provide curriculum that  grasp their interest and makes learning relevant in real life.

•incorporate opportunities for the students to discover and construct the knowledge gain (hands on activities, groupwork, integrated themes)

•Allow adequate times and space for them to use this material and let their curiosity led them to self-directed learning

promote respect and equalityP

•Children have greater respect for their people around them and the environment when they feel safe and sure of what is expected of them.

• Setting fair and consistent rules at the beginning and stating the importance of every activity, students are shown respect for their presence and time. 

•Using strategies such as class meetings and positive discipline, to believe in themselves, and to love themselves

Idea of Student-Teacher
Relationship

Building relationships

•“The key to achievement for students from poverty is in creating relationships with them.”

•Simply stated, students want to be treated with respect.

•Offering positive reinforcement, being consistent, smiling, and listening to their concerns all help to gain students' trust and  friendship. 

Get to Know Your Students

• building up goodwill; praise them.

•Find out their interests. Initiate conversations with them.

•listen to what's on their minds, they will begin to see that you're someone who is genuinely interested in them

Protect their self esteem

•Adolescence have insecurities; being criticized by a teacher in front of their peers humiliates them.

•handle discipline issues without an audience; This allows for better, more genuine exchanges

Meaning of FCS to me

“…two or more persons who share resources, share responsibility for decisions,share values and goals, and have commitment to one another over time.”

•head, heart, and soul.

•The heart is the mission to improve quality of life, which reflects our passion, caring, and compassion as professionals.

• Soul puts us in touch with the “whys” of our being, that which inspires, motivates us, and gives meaning to our work. 

Leavening Agent

Leavening Agents

 Give rise to flour due to:

1.     Physical agents - air & steam

2.     Biological agents - yeast & bacteria

3.     Chemical agents - baking powder & baking soda

*most of the leavening is accomplished by CO2 produced by biological/chemical sources

1.     PHYSICAL AGENTS - AIR & STEAM

• Air is incorporated during mixing. creaming of fat and sugar, by sifting dry ingredients or by whipping egg whites.
• Water from liquids added or ingredients like eggs when heated , expanding 1600 times the original volume.

2.       BIOLOGICAL AGENTS – YEAST AND BACTERIA

• Yeast (saccharomymes cerevisiae) produce CO2 through fermentation of sugars. In the absence of oxygen, yeast produce ethanol.

When hydrated and at optimum temperature (20-27˚C), yeasts that are alive but dormant become activated.fermentation is best at 27-38˚C.Yeasts feeds off the sugar in flour and added sugar.

An enzyme in yeast hydrolyzes starch to glucose and fructose, while flour amylases break down some starch to maltose, which the yeast enzyme will further hydrolyze. Forms -  fresh, dry (active), instant (fast-acting).

• Bacteria that generates CO2 are used to leaven sourdough and salt-rising breads (beside yeast). The bacteria contribute a desirable slightly sour flavour.

3.       CHEMICAL AGENTS – Baking Soda and Baking Powder

o    Baking soda yields CO2 in the presence of moisture and acid. It is often used when the flour mixture includes lemon, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, chocolate, cocoa, citrus fruits, cream of tartar etc. the acid reacts with the baking soda which leads to carbonic acid reaction which produces carbon dioxide and water. This immediate leavening effect necessitates the product to be placed in the oven as soon as possible after mixing.

o    Baking powder yields CO2 in the presence of moisture. Acid is already present. when liquid is added, the acid reacts with the alkaline baking powder which leads to the release of CO2.

There are two different types – fast/single acting and slow/double acting baking powder. Single acting requires the product to be placed in the oven as soon as possible after mixing as CO2 escapes, the ability of the moisture to rise increases. Double acting, on the other hand, reacts twice: once during hydration and the other one during heating.

Table setting

TABLE SETTING

For the first practical lesson, we were instructed to present a proper table setting and to create a theme for it. My partner, Liyana, and I decided to opt for a café theme and our menu was carrot cupcake and mocha frappe. It was not an easy task deciding and planning for the table setting as we were quite new to it. Nevertheless, we were able to lay out a decent table setting as shown by the picture above. Below is some tips which we found is quite useful in setting a formal table setting.

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-US/HomeOrganization/Pages/how-to-properly-set-your-table.aspx

Setting the Stage

·         Spacing:When setting a dinner table, place settings should be evenly spaced and flatware should be balanced.

·         Start with Plates:Start by setting out dinner plates. Make sure plates are far enough apart to provide guests sufficient elbowroom—about 2 feet apart from plate center to plate center.

·         Let Plates be Your Guide:Once your plates are set, you can use them to balance the rest of your place settings. Cups and glasses go on the right side of the plate, butter and salad plates to the left.

Silverware & Napkins

·         Basic Placement:Place silverware in the order of its use, from the outside in, first course to main course. To simplify the setting, don't put out utensils that won't be used.

·         Forks, Spoons & Knives:Forks should be placed to the left of the plate, knives and spoons to the right. The only exception to this rule is a small cocktail fork, which goes on the outermost right side of the plate.

Tip: Place knives with their cutting edge towards the plate, and make sure all of the utensil handles line up. If possible, remove the used utensils after each course.

·         Napkins:All napkins should be cloth and go to the left of the forks. 

·         Butter Plate & Spreader:When serving bread, place a butter plate above the forks to the left of the plate and include a butter knife or spreader.

·         Dessert Silverware:If you serve dessert, the silverware should be placed above the plate with the fork handle to the left and the spoon or knife handle to the right (the cutting edge should face down). You can also just bring out dessert silverware with the dessert.

·         Special Touches:Dress up your place settings with napkin rings,

Use the diagram above as your guide when arranging your formal place settings:

1.    1. Napkin
2.    Salad fork
3.    Dinner fork
4.    Dessert fork & spoon
5.    Bread and butter plate with spreader
6.    Dinner plate
7.    Dinner knife
8.    Teaspoon
9.    Soup spoon
 Cocktail fork
11. Water glass
12. Wine glass (red wine)
13. Wine glass (white wine)
14. Coffee cup and saucer

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