2 minute read
Middle School
Victoria and Bella (Year 9) make lemon myrtle damper under the tuition of Murrundindi, Ngurungaeta of the Wurundjeri as part of their Planet to Plate interdisciplinary unit
Students in Year 9 Home Economics stand with their prepared meal kits, packed and ready for sale. Students learn to identify, grow and harvest Australian native plants as ingredients in their Planet to Plate unit.
Learning with purpose
Interdisciplinary learning has provided students with practical learning experiences that forge links across the whole curriculum. This approach invites Middle School students to learn in new and diverse ways, and apply what they have learned in the classroom to big, real-world questions.
In Year 9, the Meal Kits unit is one such interdisciplinary subject that combines skills and knowledge from Home Economics and Commerce. Students investigate the meal kit industry and its business potential in order to build their own meal kit and recipe cards, carefully analyse market trends and finally, market their final product to their friends and family. Students are especially encouraged to consider the role and importance of design, and as a result, thoroughly enjoy the creative process! Students are highly motivated to produce both a meal kit product that they are proud to present visually, and one that they believe has genuine commercial value. With a vested interest in its success, students undertake the subject with an authentic sense of purpose. Through their meal kit project, they connect the dots between Home Economics, Commerce, and the real-world context. For one of our Year 9 students, this was an entirely new and insightful way of learning: “In Home Economics and Commerce meal kits, I have learnt many things relating to cooking skills, also meal kits and cost. One of the main things I learnt was the 4P’s of the marketing process: product, price, place and promotion. These taught me about the people to target a product to and what product to target.” In another example of interdisciplinary learning, the Planet to Plate unit brings together the subjects of Geography and Home Economics. Students investigate Melbourne’s ‘food bowl’, focusing on sustainability, reducing food miles, food wastage and food packaging. As part of 2021’s redevelopment of the Year 9 Dr Wood Learning Centre, garden beds were incorporated into the adjoining outdoor learning space, Durt Biik (Star Country), allowing the students to plant a range of native plants and incorporate these into their food designs. Recent plantings include lemon myrtle, chocolate lily, river mint, native thyme and finger limes. All foods produced focus on reducing food miles through sourcing locally and seasonally produced ingredients, the practical application of food ethics, as well as demonstrating an understanding of the importance of fair trade, food waste issues and plant-based eating options. Students also write a “pledge” that contains realistic goals that address a particular UN Sustainable Development Goal of their own choosing. Head of Home Economics and Hospitality, Janine Konoroth, reflects, “when learning becomes meaningful, purposeful, and inter-connected, it results in learning experiences that stay with the student for a lifetime.”
