Food Science and Technology (Applied Learning Programme – ALP)
Introduction
Dunearn Secondary School’s Applied Learning Programme (ALP) is Food Science and Technology (FSciTech). This school-wide STEM programme complements the school’s core academic and student development programmes. In view of the growing importance of Food Science and Food Safety in this fast changing world and, in particular, the manufacturing sector, the potential for our students to further their interest through courses at ITE, polytechnic and university are vast and sustainable.
Objectives of ALP
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To appreciate the relevance and value of what is learnt in the curriculum and to develop 21st century competencies
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To provide exposure to STEM-related applied learning and careers and to help ignite students’ interest in pursuing STEM-related post-secondary courses, leading to STEM-related careers
Implementation - Tier 1 Programmes
The Lower Secondary classes undergo a series of interesting Food Science and electronics-related modules designed by a Curriculum Specialist from STEM INC, a unit in Singapore Science Centre which supports schools in their STEM-related ALP. Learning journeys are conducted for the Secondary 3 classes so that they can gain greater awareness and exposure to the application of food science and technology to real world situations.
We believe our ALP will develop Dunearnites as confident and creative young scientists, who possess critical thinking skills, creativity and inventive thinking, and communication and ICT skills. Further to this, the experiential nature of FSciTech will develop in our students the dispositions associated with scientific literacy.
Tier 2 Programmes
Tier 2 programmes involve selected groups of students participating in food science activities and competitions.
Dunearn Wins First Runner Up in the Eat Your Farm Competition 2022
Two teams of nine students from Dunearn Secondary School participated in the Interschool Eat Your Farm Competition 2022 where students vie for top honours in this Health and Food Science Challenge organised by Science Centre and Republic Polytechnic on 18 Aug 2022.
During this competition, the teams were equipped with knowledge through online workshops on food nutrition, hydroponics and micro:bit. They were also exposed to food innovation technologies in an eye-opening journey to Republic Polytechnic.
The knowledge they had gained from the online workshops helped them to plan and create a nutritious, sumptuous and attractive dish for teenagers which must feature the hydroponic vegetables that they have grown.
Eighteen teams from several schools participated in this competition. The teams spent a period of two months to develop and finalised their ideas and dish.
We are proud to announce that the DSS Team 1 comprising STEPHEN, QUANXIN, TARUNICKA and WAIE ZAIN emerged as First Runner-Up for the competition and did the school proud! Congratulations and well done team!
Molecular Sciences in Food Gastronomy and Preservation Workshop by our Industry Partner – BioAcumen Global
In May 2022, BioAcumen Global, founded by our very own alumnus Mr Jimmy Toh, conducted a Molecular Sciences in Food Gastronomy and Preservation workshop for our sec 1 ALP students. Along with learning about the different food preservation methods and how alginate gummies are formed, the student had the opportunity to create their own fruity spaghetti that were decorated with frozen dried fruits prepared by the company. Concluding the workshop with by tasting their self-created unconventional noodles, the students enjoyed and learned a lot from Mr Toh, including possible STEM careers.
Our Industry Partner - Fraser & Neave Ltd
F&N Sensory Evaluation Workshop
In May 2022, students from Dunearn Science Ambassadors Programme (SAP) participated in a Sensory Evaluation Workshop held by Fraser & Neave Ltd (F&N Ltd). With guide from the sensory evaluators, the students learned about the nutritional values of the food products. They even had the opportunity to put their five senses to test and had fun evaluating the strawberry yoghurt drink! They subsequently designed and created their very own yoghurt drinks and presented their products to their peers. Coupled with learning more about STEM careers in the food industry, this workshop was certainly an enriching food science experience!
Feedback from Our Students
“I enjoy the ALP programme a lot because I have learnt many new things through the programme. The new skills I have learnt benefit my learning for the future. I hope to attend more of these programmes in future”.
~ Annalisa
“I find the ALP programme interesting as during the programme, we learnt about food science, which is surprisingly fun. It is also interesting to conduct experiments with the different ingredients and my favourite experiment is definitely the alginate gummy experiment.”
~ Johnathan
Having gone through the Lower Secondary ALP, I have learnt a lot of new and interesting things such as lighting up a LED bulb using Arduino boards and making your own ice cream. These hands-on activities are not only fun but it also teaches us some knowledge on food science and technology
~ Kerrie
From the learning journey, I realised the amount of effort put in for the growing of vegetables such as wheatgrass and thus appreciate them more. One thing I like most is that we got to experience growing some vegetables ourselves.
~ Asyiqin
Dunearnites Emerged First Runner-Up in the Nutri-Booster Health and Food Science Competition 2021!
Two teams of nine Dunearnites participated in the interschool Nutri-Booster Health and Food Science Competition organised by Science Centre and Republic Polytechnic on 20 Aug 2021.
During this competition, the teams attended seven modules of online course on healthy food and making of dietary supplements using capsule machine. The teams used the knowledge gained from the online modules and Lower Secondary ALP Food Science modules to plan and create a main dish to satisfy the nutritional needs of busy young adults aged 18 – 35 years old. Over a period of two months, the teams developed and finalised their ideas, and also created a dietary supplement to complement the main dish.
We are proud that the DSS Team 2 emerged as First Runner-Up for the competition! Congratulations and well done team!
Reflections from participants:
“We learned time management skills and the benefits of different food ingredients. Thank you to all the teachers for giving us this opportunity and thank you to all team members who gave their full effort throughout this competition! “ -- Kerlin
“Through this competition, I have learnt how to plan meals based on individual preferences and needs. I throughly enjoyed the competition as I was accompanied by students and teachers who are very welcoming and knowledgeable!” -- Cheryl
“The overall experience was interesting and I had a lot of fun learning through the process.” – Chloe
Youth Science Ambassador Programme (YSAP) Graduation Ceremony 2021
On 5 February 2021, students from the Youth Science Ambassador Programme (YSAP) celebrated their graduation from the programme with Singapore Science Centre and received their certificates. These students had contributed 50 hours to the programme in the form of community events and Science skills workshops.
One of the YSAP students, Ashlynn from Sec 3, also received the Amazon Future Engineer Bursary Award which is presented only to the top 10% of the cohort to show recognition to their outstanding performance during the programme.
We congratulate the students on their achievements!
Dunearnites won 2nd Runner Up in Interschool Food Science Competition
Three teams of fifteen students from Dunearn Science Ambassador Programme (SAP) and Health Ambassador Programme (HAP) participated in the Interschool Food Science Competition held at Republic Polytechnic on 28 Aug 2019.
During this competition, the teams are required to create a healthy nutritious food product and packaging for picky eaters from age 4 to 7. More than 20 teams from several STEM ALP schools took part in this competition. The teams spent a period of two months to develop and finalised their ideas and products.
We are proud to announce that the SAP team 1emerged as Second Runner Up for the competition. Congratulations and well done team!
SAP Team 1 and their products
SAP Team 2 and their products
Health Ambassadors Team and their products
Presentation to the Judges
Congratulations to SAP team 1!
Dunearn Emerged Champion for the Shell STEM Young Innovation Challenge 2016
Two teams of ten students from Dunearn Science Ambassador Programme (SAP) participated in the Shell STEM Young Innovation Challenge at Republic Polytechnic on 21st Jul 2016. The teams took part in the Health & Food Analytics Category and the challenge was to create a healthy convenience food product and packaging for the elderly. More than 20 teams from several STEM ALP schools took part in the Challenge.
The teams spent a period of two months to develop their product and we are proud that the team comprising Siew Mun, Jia Hui, Wei Wen, Jolie and Stephen emerged Champion for the category. The team will showcase their product and receive the award during the Awards Ceremony at the HDB Hub on 24 Aug 2016.
Reflections from students:
The challenge was stimulating as we had to take into account the many health risks and special diets of the elderly to come up with a new and creative convenience food and drink. It gave us a great opportunity to learn more about nutrition and the food industry and made me more aware of the importance of nutrition and health. I also learnt that developing and marketing a food product is a long process and many evaluations have to be carried before the product is eventually released to the market.
~ Jolie
The STEM SHELL challenge taught me a lot about how the food industry works. It gave me an opportunity to dive into business and experience the processes involved in marketing a food product. We were very proud to be able to express our creativity and execute our ideas into a real prototype, and to eventually showcase our final product to the judges. Overall, it was a very enriching experience.
~ Siew Mun
Following the achievement of the Champion award at the Shell STEM Youth Innovation Challenge 2016, the team of five students from the Science Ambassadors Programme presented at the MOE ExCEL Fest 2017, where they shared with the MOE community how the concepts learnt in ALP led to the creation of an innovative product - healthy barley fried rice.
Feedback from Our Students
Participating in the MOE ExCEL Fest 2017 was a true privilege for me as I had never thought that I'll be given such an opportunity. The experience really opened my eyes to the interesting world of food science and technology.
~ Siew Mun
It was a great learning experience to be at MOE ExCEL Fest 2017. We had to share information and knowledge that we've learnt to the visitors and this experience really helped to improve my presentation skills. I also had fun with my fellow teammates who managed the booth with me. It was truly a memorable experience.
~ Jia Hui
Food for Thought
01 NOV 2016. Featured in https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg/story/food-for-thought
Student Kristy Lee (second from right) finds out the strength of tea by measuring the amount of light it absorbs. Stronger tea tends to be darker and absorbs more light. (Photo credit: Dunearn Secondary School)
Students at Dunearn Secondary School are putting what they’ve learned in their FSciTech classes into practice, including cutting down on eating fast food.
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Ever since 14-year-old Secondary 2 student Kristy Lee learned about the calorie count of fast food, she has cut down on her intake and is now more careful about what she eats. “I am more aware of what I am eating, how often am I eating it and how many calories the food contains. Do I really need that energy or will it store as fats?” she says.
Lee is a student at Dunearn Secondary School and caloric content is just one of the lessons she’s learned during the school’s Applied Learning Programme (ALP) in FSciTech, or Food Science Technology.
The school started their ALP in 2015 with two objectives, according to Mr Nick Lee, the former Science HOD who is now the Upper Secondary Year Head. “Our first objective is to allow students to appreciate the relevance of their core subjects and experience real world applications. The other objective is to encourage students to look into STEM-related careers and learning opportunities in their tertiary education,” he says.
STEM is the acronym for the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The school decided to focus on a STEM-related ALP after looking at their students’ profiles and teachers’ strengths. As to why they decided to specialise in FSciTech, Mr Lee explains: “Food is something everyone needs and the nation needs good scientists to provide healthy food and also to raise awareness on what we can eat and what we should cut down on. FSciTech also wasn’t as popular with the other schools so we thought we could raise the profile of the subject.”
Lessons to be learned
Ever since 14-year-old Secondary 2 student Kristy Lee learned about the calorie count of fast food, she has cut down on her intake and is now more careful about what she eats. “I am more aware of what I am eating, how often am I eating it and how many calories the food contains. Do I really need that energy or will it store as fats?” she says.
Lee is a student at Dunearn Secondary School and caloric content is just one of the lessons she’s learned during the school’s Applied Learning Programme (ALP) in FSciTech, or Food Science Technology.
The school started their ALP in 2015 with two objectives, according to Mr Nick Lee, the former Science HOD who is now the Upper Secondary Year Head. “Our first objective is to allow students to appreciate the relevance of their core subjects and experience real world applications. The other objective is to encourage students to look into STEM-related careers and learning opportunities in their tertiary education,” he says.
STEM is the acronym for the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The school decided to focus on a STEM-related ALP after looking at their students’ profiles and teachers’ strengths. As to why they decided to specialise in FSciTech, Mr Lee explains: “Food is something everyone needs and the nation needs good scientists to provide healthy food and also to raise awareness on what we can eat and what we should cut down on. FSciTech also wasn’t as popular with the other schools so we thought we could raise the profile of the subject.”
Real world results
It’s clear the programme’s first objective of helping students experience real world applications is showing signs of success. While Lee has cut down on eating fast food, her classmate, Cheah Siew Mun, also 14, now takes special care not to keep food in the freezer for too long after a lesson on freezer burn.
“I learned that freezer burn reduces the nutrients in food,” says Cheah. “Before learning about it in class, I wouldn’t know about it and I wouldn’t care, but now I know we’re not supposed to keep things for too long in the freezer because it will reduce the amount of nutrients.”
The second objective of the programme, which is to get students to consider FSciTech as a future option, is also bearing fruit. “I used to think I want to be a doctor. Now that I know about food science, I started looking into it as an option,” says Lee.
Cheah agrees: “I’m very interested in science and I’m also interested in food. I think working in the industry can be very fun.”
Enjoying hands-on learning
The concept of ALP has caught on very well with the students. “I thought it would be just another theory-based subject but it was different and more hands-on so it was more exciting,” says Cheah. “And I began to look forward to it.”
“I used to think food is just food,” says Lee. “Going through ALP has made me change my thinking. You have to think about where the food comes from, and some use technology and chemicals, which is related to science, which is a subject I really like.”
Both students agree that their favourite part of ALP is the hands-on activities. “The class is another break time for me because it’s very relaxing. You get to learn about something new and different. My favourite part is the experiments – watching the teacher demonstrate how to do it and showing us different stuff,” says Cheah.
Their least favourite part? The theory portions.
Plans for the future
The programme is still relatively new and the teachers are planning more and better things for the future. For example, they are looking at opportunities for Secondary 3 students to get out of school and visit industry partners to expose them to possible careers.
Another potential idea being bandied about is a school café venture where students can work on improving the quality of fruit juice. “Perhaps our students can look into how to make the product better. Maybe brand it and market it in Dunearn café and be an entrepreneur. We want them to think about how they can further apply their knowledge. We also want them to explore like young scientists in a safe environment with the guidance of teachers,” says Mr Lee.