What is the best practice in home economics, whether through hands-on activities, discussions, lectures, or other experiences, for teaching critical thinking skills to help students gain valid and reliable knowledge?
My inquiry question, adapted from the previous question posed in the beginning of this program, is rooted in two reasons. The first stems from personal motive and values. I strongly believe that a greater understanding and capability of sifting through news and information is crucial for students’ futures. Before my decision to become a teacher of home economics, of healthy living and crucial (modern day survival) life skills, I studied to pursue a career in dietetics. Throughout high school and leading into post-secondary undergraduate studies, I have always had a passion for food and health, and an interest in nutrition studies, so integrating food with health care, a coveted career path at that time, seemed like the best choice. However, what I did not realize then was that out of all the tasks for which dietitians are responsible, I was most keen on the education aspect, and less on patient or health care. Dietitians are a source of correct and reliable food information, and it is up to them to educate others on healthy eating. When I was denied admission into the dietetics program, I immediately turned to teaching, and have not looked back since. I came to realize that my true passions lie in teaching and inspiring others, especially students, and passing on valuable life skills such as making healthy and nutritious meal choices by equipping them with the most accurate and reliable knowledge and skills to do so independently.
Secondly, the significance and importance of this question comes from societal needs. I recognize that the need for life skills education in schools is becoming less critical and sought after. Governments are still prioritizing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses whereas applied skills and arts are increasingly less funded. Public school curriculums are largely a reflection of society’s values, and since we realize that families may also hold these same ideals, it relies on the home economics educators to strongly rally behind and advocate for our subject area. Home economics teach practical and transferrable skills, such as critical thinking skills as per this instance, and provides students with an opportunity to apply and practice those skills.
For an example of why teachers need to teach higher-order thinking abilities, consider students, with the advancement technology and widespread use of personal devices, who are connected in the global cloud network and accessing information like never before. Unfortunately, with this great power for knowledge comes responsibility; that is, to filter out the truth from false information. Even back in 2001, Cline and Haynes recognized the widespread problem of unverified and false health information on the Internet. Nearly 15 years later, education on critical thinking has not improved exponentially unlike the technology market. For young adults who spend the majority of their waking hours with technology and on social media, they are exposed to a wide range of food and health related information (Vaterlaus et al., 2014). Therefore, while they may be inspired by the plethora of recipes and healthy-eating tips, not everything is safe for the body (think juice cleanses and fad diets—they are a hoax!) Through focused education on developing critical thinking skills, students will hopefully be able to sift through information more confidently.
Cline, R. J., & Haynes, K. M. (2001). Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: The state of the art. Health Education Research,16(6), 671-692.
Vaterlaus, J. M., Patten, E. V., Roche, C., & Young, J. A. (2015). Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 151-157.