Professional Focus Paper
Course: Health and Food Technology
1.
Level: National 4
Who is this paper for and what is its purpose?
This paper is for teachers and other staff who provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards
Health and Food Technology National 4.
Curriculum for Excellence is a unique opportunity to raise achievement and to ensure that all learners are better
prepared than they have been in the past for learning, life and work. This is because the new curriculum gives real
scope to build learning 3–18 in a joined-up, seamless way. As a result, progression in learning can be much
stronger with a clear focus on attributes and capabilities, skills (including higher-order thinking skills), and
knowledge and understanding. These are delivered through the experiences and outcomes of the 3–15 Broad
General Education (BGE) and, at the senior phase, through programmes that build directly on the BGE leading to
qualifications. Because of a strengthened focus on the nature and quality of learning experiences, self-motivation is
likely to be increased and learners consequently more engaged and enthused. To ensure continuity and
progression, qualifications at the senior phase have been designed to embrace this unambiguous focus on highquality learning.
Curriculum for Excellence has the flexibility to meet the needs of all learners in their local circumstances, enabling
each to achieve their very best. For example, some centres may take the opportunity to offer qualifications over two
years which might involve learners bypassing qualifications at a given level, whereas others may enable learners to
work towards qualifications within one year. In both cases, the advice in this paper is relevant to the learning and
teaching approaches that learners will encounter. This paper, then, is intended to stimulate professional reflection
and dialogue about learning. It highlights important features of learning which are enhanced or different from
previous arrangements at this SCQF level.
How will you plan for progression in learning and teaching, building on the Broad General Education?
2.
What’s new and what are the implications for learning and teaching?
Health and Food Technology National 4 consists of four Units.
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Food for Health
Food Product Development
Contemporary Food Issues
Added Value Unit
To achieve Health and Food Technology National 4, learners must pass all of the Units, including the Added Value
Unit.
HEALTH AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY
What are the key aspects of Health and Food Technology National 4
The Health and Food Technology course reflects Curriculum for Excellence values, purposes and principles and
gives learners good opportunities to build further on the attributes and capabilities of the four capacities. It builds on
the principles and practice paper and the relevant experiences and outcomes for the technologies and health and
wellbeing curriculum areas.
Integrated approaches to skills development
The new Health and Food Technology National 4 course builds on the skills developed in the BGE. Learning
experiences will enable the learners to acquire skills, knowledge and an understanding of food and health, food
product development and contemporary food issues. In this course, and its component Units, there will be an
emphasis on developing knowledge and transferrable skills. These include:
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developing knowledge and understanding of the relationships between health, food and nutrition
developing knowledge and understanding of the functional properties of food
making informed food and consumer choices
developing the skills to apply knowledge in practical contexts
developing organisational and technological skills to make food products
developing safe and hygienic practices in practical food preparation.
Wider range of evidence of learning
The available methods of gathering evidence are now far broader thereby facilitating greater personalisation and
choice in learners’ experiences. Evidence should be more naturally occurring and should exemplify the learning
that has taken place. The method of assessment used should suit the needs of the individual and the task and as a
result such evidence may vary from individual to individual depending on their preferred approach. Portfolios,
verbal or written feedback, written reports, completion of a pro forma, short/restricted response questions,
presentations, observational checklists, photographic or video evidence are all valid examples of ways in which
evidence could be generated to meet the necessary outcomes and standards.
Hierarchy of Units
The hierarchical nature of the Health and Food Technology course and respective Units, allows for the delivery of
National 4 and National 5 with groups at a variety of different stages. The degree of choice within the Units further
allows for new areas of study for those who are able to progress from one level to another, while ensuring that
learners are not required to repeat content from one level to the next. Programmes should be planned to
encourage learners to aim for the highest level of achievement. The content of the courses and the skills developed
in the hierarchy of Units enables staff to plan courses to cater for bi-level delivery, and the use of a wide range of
learning and teaching approaches will ensure the course can vary from year to year as learners progress through
the levels. Careful planning will be required for any movement between National 4 and National 5 so that learners
complete all the necessary outcomes and assessment standards.
Added Value Unit
Learners will be required to provide evidence of added value through the successful completion of an assignment
that will allow them to demonstrate application and challenge. Learners will be expected to draw on, extend and
apply the skills they have learned throughout the course: this will be assessed through a sufficiently open and
flexible task to allow for personalisation and choice. They will be required to produce a food product in response to
a given brief. Learners will be expected to create specification points, develop an idea, make the product safely and
hygienically, and reflect on its success in relation to the brief.
HEALTH AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY
What are the key features of learning in Health and Food Technology National 4
Active learning
Learning experiences will need to give learners plentiful opportunities to engage and challenge their own thinking.
Learners are expected to demonstrate the practical skills and problem-solving techniques they have developed and
consolidated throughout their learning, to produce a food product in response to a given brief for the final
assignment. Staff will want to provide learners with opportunities to develop the essential practical skills as well as
skills of analysis, creativity and reflection through a variety of problem-solving activities. Such activities could relate
to topics, such as dietary diseases, healthy eating advice or food product development
How can you introduce a wide variety of learning approaches which will motivate and challenge learners?
Learning independently
To develop independent thinking skills and learning, staff will want to reduce the focus on teacher-led activities and
place greater emphasis on learners’ experiences within which choices are made, by the learner, based on their
expertise and skill level. Staff will want to embrace learning and teaching approaches that encourage learners to
develop skills in a wide variety of investigative techniques, including the use of technology. Learners should be able
to confidently select and implement appropriate techniques as they investigate the various stages of the food
product development process, for example, when developing their own food product. Staff will want to ensure that
learners have opportunities to make choices, of particular interest, in other areas of the course as well. For
example, they may do this when considering the dietary needs of individuals or groups and preparing dishes to suit
their dietary requirements or when examining the functional properties of foods, such as binding or coating, and
using the results of their investigation to develop a food product.
What types of investigative techniques might you introduce to develop learners’ research skills?
Responsibility for learning
Practical tasks should encourage learners to take personal control of their own learning. Opportunities for learners
to reflect on and discuss their own progress should be routinely built into all planned learning experiences. In order
to do so, staff will want to ensure that learning intentions and success criteria are explicit and that learning and
teaching approaches promote the development of learners’ skills in self- and peer-group evaluation. Throughout
the course there are opportunities to develop these learning and teaching approaches particularly in the
development of new food products and when carrying out practical food activities.
How will you ensure that learners are making informed decisions about where they are in their learning and what
they need to do to progress?
Collaborative learning
Learning and teaching approaches should encourage and develop collaborative working. Staff will want to
encourage enterprising approaches to learning experiences that may also offer opportunities for learners to be
challenged across the four contexts for learning. In order to be successful, a group of learners would want to
demonstrate how each member’s particular area of skill and expertise could best be utilised to meet the needs of
the group and the task. Problem-solving tasks, such as investigating contemporary food issues, or developing a
range of food products to meet a specific need, offer excellent opportunities for learners to work in partnership and
to learn from each other.
HEALTH AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY
How will you ensure that all learners take on roles and responsibilities, appropriate to their level of skill and abilities,
in group tasks?
Applying learning and skills development
Learning experiences should enable learners to develop and apply the practical and technological skills, knowledge
and understanding necessary for them to make informed food and consumer choices. Practical activities offer
opportunities to apply the theoretical knowledge of nutrition, dietary advice, dietary diseases and the functional
properties of foods. Such approaches also allow learners the opportunity for personalisation and choice. There
should be regular opportunities for learners to develop higher-order thinking skills. Skills, such as analysis,
evaluation and creativity, can all be developed through a wide range of problem-solving activities. Also, aspects of
literacy, numeracy and employability skills can be similarly developed. The use of written and oral work, for
example, during class debates or when presenting research findings to the class will help develop learners’ literacy
skills. All practical activities will develop numeracy skills in areas such weighing and measuring, estimation and
adaptation of recipes. Partnerships with colleges, food companies and health professional can all help learners see
the link between the classroom and the world of work. Staff will want to ensure that learners are open to new ideas
and can develop the ability to think creatively by ensuring problem solving activities are challenging and support the
development of flexible thinking.
How can you ensure learners are given the opportunity to apply their learning outside the classroom?
HEALTH AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY
3.
Qualification information
The SQA website provides you with the following documents:
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Assessment Overview
Course Specification
Unit Specification
Support Notes
Course Assessment Specification
Unit Assessment Support Packages
Full information on arrangements for this qualification is available at the SQA website:
Health and Food Technology National 4: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47393.html
4.
What other materials are available on the Education Scotland website which staff
could use?
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/healthandwellbeing/principl
esandpractice/index.asp
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningteachingandassessment/curriculumareas/technologies/principlesandp
ractice/index.asp
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/f/foodidl.asp?strReferringChannel=educationscotland&strReferring
PageID=tcm:4-615801-64 – Food for Thought poster and leaflet
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/nq/h/nqresource_tcm4719407.asp?strReferringChannel=education
scotland&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-615801-64 – advice and guidance on learning and teaching approaches for
contemporary food Issues at National 4/5
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/resources/e/genericresource_tcm4207710.asp?strReferringChannel=educatio
nscotland&strReferringPageID=tcm:4-615801-64 – excellent link to NHS Eatwell site with a wide variety of
information on healthy eating, budgeting, eating disorders, food safety and much more
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/video/s/video_tcm4580626.asp – product development
Support materials have been produced over the last year to support Curriculum for Excellence and further support
materials and events are planned. This downloadable list is updated quarterly with the most up-to-date details
available from the page below.
Published and planned support for Curriculum for Excellence:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/publishedandplannedsupport
T +44 (0)141 282 5000 E enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk W www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA
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