Synchronising club activities with teaching learning process to foster skills acquisition among foods and nutrition students at Hilton high school

Abstract

Foods and Nutrition is a practical subject that can equip learners with sustainable skills of self. dependency. However owing to the nature of the subject, being expensive in its requirements, the Foods and Nutrition department at Hilton High School is characterized by inadequate practical training of students due to insufficient funding. There is limited initiative to explore alternative methods of generating income to facilitate the foods and Nutrition department. This study therefore aimed at synchronizing Foods and Nutrition club activities with teaching! learning process to foster skills acquisition among Foods and Nutrition students in Hilton High Schools. It was guided by specific objectives, which included: 1) identification of topics in Foods and Nutrition for practice during club activities. 2) Establishment of a Foods and Nutrition club in school. 3) Implement identified club activities related to topics identified 4) To evaluate the effectiveness of the foods and Nutrition club on learning and skills acquisition. I employed the action research strategy and a participatory action research design. Participants involved were; deputy in charge of welfare, director of studies, Head of department, Senior six and five students of Hilton High school. Identified topics included pastry cookery, yeast cookery, cakes, biscuits, salads and chicken cookery. Club activities included the confectionery project of making bread and cakes for the school and conducting an exhibition. Participation in club activities increased the practical engagement of the students through making products for sale. In addition, the evaluation of the club activities showed that students bad more time for practical training than during normal routine lessons. It was also observed that the students mastered the practical content (recipes). This was enhanced by repeated practice when making products in project work and when preparing for the exhibition. Therefore the study enhanced skills acquisition among food and nutrition students