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USC brings new flavour to science teaching
Rennet, brine and mould spore. They may sound unappetising but Sunshine Coast secondary students will be learning how these ingredients can become tasty cheese – and how organic chemistry makes it happen.
Science education officers from the University of the Sunshine Coast have taken their cue from Kenilworth Country Foods to devise a hands-on cheese-making assessment activity in a new online and CD teaching resource.
USC staff worked on the fermentation section of The Organic Chemistry Teaching Resource, produced by the national Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE).
In a “reaction” category, for example, the lesson outlines the structure of butyric acid, which presents the pungent odour and strong taste of parmesan cheese.
The resource uses new 3D rotational technology in a ‘Molecule Visualiser’ to allow high school biology and chemistry students to see the physical properties of chemicals in everything from almonds to beer to pesticides.
Previously the technology was only used by working research scientists and PhD students.
PICSE USC Science Education Officer Sue Lanham said Heads of Science from numerous Sunshine Coast schools had already requested the new resource, which was launched on Friday.
“It gives teachers directions on how to make cheese in class labs, educate students on the chemistry and biology of the process, and assess their learning,” she said.
PICSE, a national collaboration between universities, their regional communities and primary industries, aims to attract students into tertiary science and increase the number of skilled workers in agribusiness and research. USC is a financial partner.
Mrs Lanham said other facets of the program on the Coast included Industry Placement Scholarships for Year 11 and 12 students.
Fourteen scholarship students participated in week-long placements with primary industries last year. Two did cheese-making at Kenilworth Country Foods.
PICSE USC also ran professional development courses for teachers, with recent science workshops also focusing on cheese production.
– Julie Gatehouse