“New Food Science Lab, food management sequence making future sweeter,” an article by Rachel Hatch, published on September 29, 2015 gives ways that family and consumer sciences labs are evolving. Having just renovated the food science classroom at Illinois State University, Rachel Vollmer is glad for the change in the room. Originally the room was set up to, “prepare women to be homemakers…”(para. 3). The room mimicked that of what you would find in a home. However, the family consumer science industry is heading in a different way. It is heading toward commercial use. This means that the labs have to be geared more toward restaurant and hospitality. The labs at Illinois State University are now equipped with commercial appliances.
With all of these new changes to the labs, it allows for more flexibility in the room arrangement. The tables are on wheels so that the room can be fixed to fit every class. The new equipment also gives students the opportunity to get a little experience with the equipment that they will be using in a restaurant. They are also taking in to consideration that there are a lot more dietary concerns now then their use to be. Students now have the task of trying to create foods that fit different dietary limits as well as learning the proper techniques for cooking. Even though this article did not give any tips for running a lab, I thought that it was very applicable to what we are as FCS teachers are going into. When I was in high school, we had the traditional labs that looked like our kitchens at home. When I stopped by the school just three years later, there was more commercial appliances. There was a commercial three compartment sink, and a commercial fridge and freezer. The school also had started the “Pro Start” program. This program helps prepare students to work in a restaurant. I think that it is important to know the way that our classes are headed because we will have to adapt what we teach to what is expected of us to teach. It also changes how we run our labs. A lab set up like residential kitchens are run slightly different than a lab set up like a restaurant. Hatch, R. (2015, October 13). New Food Science Lab, food management sequence making future sweeter. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2015/09/new-food-science-lab-food-management-sequence-making-future-sweeter/
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