Teachers study excitement factor
by Rebecca Gill
Sandra Wittwer normally spends her days teaching students at Quorn Area School. But recently, she found herself the student at UniSA’s School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences.
Wittwer was one of the many South Australian teachers who, between July and September, updated their knowledge and skills in industry-based workplace practicums as part of the Premier’s Industry Awards for Science and Mathematics Teachers.
A partnership between industry and schools, the initiative aims to address the current drop-off in student numbers in the areas of maths and science through the creation of exciting lesson plans.
Associate Professor Stuart Andrews said the award’s allows UniSA to introduce science teachers to food scenarios which they can develop into science lessons which students will find stimulating and enjoyable.
“Apart from the obvious food processing and food service industries, food preparation is a component in many careers such nursing, early childhood education, as well as a general life skill. So it’s highly relevant to introduce some basic food science and food handling principles into the science curricula,” he said.
When UniSA News visited one of the laboratory sessions, Prof Andrews and Wittwer were evaluating the microbiological safety of sushi.
Sushi has many potential risk factors. The main ingredient, rice, contains bacterial spores ─ which can survive the cooking process. When the cooked rice isn’t properly cooled and refrigerated, these spores can germinate and multiply to levels where food poisoning could occur. In addition, if improper food handling occurs, potential food poisoning bacteria can be transferred from the person into sushi where they may grow to dangerous levels if incorrectly stored.
Prof Andrews and Wittwer created models to demonstrate what would happen if either or both of these scenarios were to occur.
“We cooked some rice and then left it overnight at room temperature before testing it to measure how many bacteria were in the rice. We also made a large pot of thick soup and left it to cool overnight whilst monitoring the temperature to demonstrate how slowly the food cooled down. These results illustrate how important temperature control is in handling foods.”
“We also swabbed hands and noses of volunteers to demonstrate how many and what types of bacteria can be transferred from our noses to our hands and then into foods, especially those that require a lot of handling such as filling and rolling up sushi.”
“These microbiological tests provided very visual outcomes of the transfer and growth of bacteria in food, especially since many of the media develop very colourful colonies which school students find very impressive. Wittwer’s introduction of the material to Year 9 students has been very enthusiastically received and we believe the students are making strong links with concepts in food safety.”
For Wittwer, this was the first time back in a lab in 30 years.
“There’s a lot to learn about a modern micro-lab and sterile technology. Everything is in so much more detail. The kids will really enjoy doing this. They love anything to do with food,” she said.
Prof Andrews said the Premier’s Awards connects UniSA with the education community and shows the University’s commitment to teaching and learning.
“Sandra will create a number of lesson plans and develop resources to pass onto her peers, and this also provides a framework to explore other similar activities in the classroom,” Prof Andrews said.