Aim 1 - Science Teacher Workshops

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Summer Conference for Family and Consumer Sciences Education will be conducted on July 24, 2013 at Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC. This workshop will be focused on helping teachers understand basic knowledge in the area of food science including food safety/ practices, basic issues related to food microbiology and basic understanding of food protection and defense. North Carolina A &T State University food microbiology and safety laboratory will deliver a lecture on various topics. The graduate students in the food and nutritional science will present this lecture; the audiences for this workshop will be high school teachers of family and consumer sciences.

Presenters:

1. Drs.Valerie L. Giddings and Rosa Purcell-Introduction
2. Saeed Hayek- Food microbiology
3. Bernice Karlton-Senaye-Food Safety
4. Tarik Bor- Food Preservatives
5. Amira Ayad-Nutrition
6. Rabin Gyawali -Probiotics
7. Temitayo Obanla-Food Biotechnology
8. Marcella Cheek-Crook-Food defense

During the NCA&TSU Food and Nutritional Sciences summer conference (described below under "Aim 1 Completed Efforts"), Salam Ibrahim will identify one school per district to host the one day Food Technology/Food Safety training to raise the awareness of the need for better staff development in these areas based on feedback from teachers.  Salam will schedule these trainings with these sites/teachers.  Takeda LeGrand from North Carolina Department of Education will help to market and advertise the trainings.  This would be related to the new Food Technology course and the FACS e-group.  There will be two trainings every Fall and every Spring semester (2012-2016).

Salam Ibrahim, with the feedback from teachers, will plan and deliver a five day workshop (DATE TBD) on food science/food technology/food safety which will substitute for the three hour licensure requirement. This activity will be conducted during 2012-2013 academic year.

Salam A. Ibrahim at North Carolina A&T Sate University was part of a collaborative effort to develop a food technology class that is currently being taught by high school teachers. Materials from this course are used to train high school teachers who will be implementing the course. Additionally, members of the NCA&T food microbiology and safety laboratory utilize materials from this course for student workshops.

Alabama A&M University will be hosting 2 workshops for K-12 science teachers during the late spring and summer of 2013.  The day long (spring) and weeklong (summer) workshop will focus on using food science/food safety experiments in the classroom in addition to exposing teachers to various careers in food safety.  Please contact Martha Verghese martha.verghese@aamu.edu for more information.

Texas Wesleyan University will hold its third annual Teaching Food Safety Workshop for High School Science Teachers on July 29th, 2013, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. Angela Roberts at anroberts@txwes.edu.

Graduate students and professors from Cornell's Food Safety Laboratory facilitated a food safety workshop through the Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers (CIBT) summer program for middle school teachers July 10th and 11th, 2013. Twenty middle school teachers throughout New York participated in the workshop which sought to inform teachers about how to implement scientific exercises in their classrooms. Teachers were given a brief introduction to food safety by Dr. Martin Wiedmann before being presented with a mock outbreak scenario. After analyzing data obtained from patient interviews and calculating risk ratios, a differential diagnosis was used to guide environmental and food sampling to further investigate the food item responsible for the outbreak. A DNA extraction activity illustrated how molecular techniques are used in outbreak investigation to confirm the causative agent. At the conclusion of the workshop, teachers were provided resources and guidance for incorporating the various activities in their curricula.

Dr. Martha Verghese, Dr. Jennifer Patterson, and graduate students from Alabama A&M University presented food science/food safety interactive workshops to high school students at four different area high schools during spring 2013.

Cornell University hosted a food safety workshop for thirteen high school science teachers from across New York State on July 24-25, 2012.  Teachers spent four hours per day with Dr. Teresa Bergholz and Jihun Kang at the food safety workshop and participated in a mock foodborne disease outbreak investigation, collected and analyzed microbiological samples, extracted DNA, and were introduced to DNA fingerprinting techniques through an interactive DNA model.

Rachel Pfuntner, a graduate student at Cornell University held a food safety workshop during the 2012 Conference of the New York Association of Agricultural Educators on June 24, 2012 in Croghan, NY.  A total of forty high school teachers spent two hours investigating an outbreak of foodborne illness using a combination of microbiological and eipdemiological techniques.

Cornell University held an interactive workshop through the Cornell Institute of Biology Teachers on Food Safety Investigation in the Science Classroom on January 14, 2012.  Twenty teachers attended this one-hour session, which involved an interactive demonstration of investigating a foodborne illness outbreak.

Dr. Alicia Orta-Ramirez and Travis Chapin from the Department of Food Science at Cornell University traveled to White Marsh, Maryland to present an interactive workshop on Food Science and Food Safety Investigations in the Classroom for middle and high school chemistry, life science, and nutrition and consumer science teachers from Harford County Public Schools.  The event was hosted by Steve Andon of TIC Gums at the company's headquarters and production facility on April 28, 2012.

North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, presented a learning module titled, "Outbreak! Attack of the Norovirus!", at NC A&T University's Golden Leaf Summer Academy Teacher Workshop in Greensboro, NC on June 19, 2012. There were 52 middle school and high school teachers participating in the workshop, representing over 8 counties within the state.

A second workshop was held on August 8, 2012 at North Carolina Central University's Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) facility in Durham, NC. A total of 25 participants, representing nine counties from across the state, attended the workshop. Evaluations of the module were extremely positive, resulting in the motivation of teachers to include food safety within their curriculum.

The Food and Nutritional Science Program at NCA&TSU participated in a workshop for family and consumer science teachers on Monday 23^rd January 2012.  This was a mandatory workshop and approximately 65 FACS teachers attended this activity.  The location was Atkins Academic/Technology High School, Old Greensboro Road, Winston Salem NC 27101.

 Title of our presentation:  Food Science, Safety, and Technology

 Presentations:

1. Food Components - Rabin Gyawali

2. Food Safety – Introduction -  Madhavi Hathurusinghe

3. Food Safety Applications -  Bernice Karlton- Senaye

4. Food Protection and Defense - Larriale Spruill

5. Field experiences in food science - Marcella Crook 

The North Carolina A & T State University food microbiology and safety laboratory delivered a lecture on "Food Science Careers: Challenges and Opportunities in the 21^st Century" at the annual conference of North Carolina Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NCAFCS) on Saturday, February 25th 2012 at 2.00-3.00 PM, in Mellenium Hotel, Durham, North Carolina. This lecture was presented by the graduate students in the food and nutritional science; the audience for this workshop were members of NC-AFCS.

Presenters:

Introduction - Dr. Salam Ibrahim

Food Safety – Saeed Hayek

Product development; Food Chemistry – Rabin Gyawali

Job opportunities in food service – Bernice Karlton-Senaye

Food Protection and defense – Madhavi Hathurusinghe & Marcella Cheek-Crook

Update: (June 27, 2012)

Our food microbiology group at North Carolina A&T State University held their first Food Safety Workshop for High School student's workshop on July, 2012.  This is part of the summer Research Apprenticeship program.   The workshop was titled Food science and safety: Introduction and applications.

The Food and Nutritional Sciences Program at NCA&TSU held a one day three hour introductory food science/food safety hands-on preconference on Monday, July 24, 2012 from 1:00am-4:00pm as part of the regional North Carolina Family and Consumer Sciences Education Summer Conference.  Seventeen local high school teachers attended this conference and had the opportunity to learn about recent issues with food safety/sciences.   The following presentations were given: 

1. Introduction to food safety/technology,
2. Introduction to food microbiology
3. Food fermentation
4. Food contamination and chemical contaminants in food products
5. Food quality control-HACCP
6. Food defense and protection

Several demonstrations were also included.  The workshop was led by Dr. Salam A. Ibrahim from the Food and Nutritional Sciences Program at NCA&TSU.
 

North Carolina State University, along with North Carolina Central University, have developed a learning module which focuses on a general understanding of viruses, as well as the implications of norovirus in food safety. North Carolina State University and NCCU presented the module at NC A&T University's Golden Leaf Summer Academy Teacher Workshop in Greensboro, NC on June 19, 2012. There were 52 middle school and high school teachers participating in the workshop, representing over 8 counties within the state. A second workshop was held on August 8, 2012 at North Carolina Central University's Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) facility in Durham, NC. A total of 25 participants, representing nine counties from across the state, attended the workshop.  Additional details on the module and can be found here.  To request more information, please contact Lynette Johnston lmkleman@ncsu.edu.

Texas Wesleyan University held its second annual Teaching Food Safety Workshop for High School Science Teachers on August 6th, 2012, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm.  The workshop was led by Dr. Angela J. Roberts from the Department of Biology. Thirteen teachers, representing ten different high schools and five different school districts, attended the workshop.  The teachers participated in hands-on activities and discussions focusing on i) the GAPS Food Safety Investigation Curriculum, ii) the Pathogen Tracker Game, and iii) careers in food safety.  A schedule and learning objectives for the workshop can be found here.

Alabama A&M University hosted a one day science workshop for high school science teachers during spring 2012. The science teachers were invited with their students to the department to participate in hands-on activities associated with food science/food safety.

Cornell University held their first Food Safety Workshop for Middle and High School Science Teachers workshop on October 22, 2011. Nine teachers from NY state attended the 6-hour course which included lectures, demos, and hands-on sessions. For an agenda and learning outcomes, click here.  

Cornell University submitted an abstract, entitled "Introducing Food Safety Investigation in the Science Classroom" and presented two back-to-back sessions at the 2011 Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) conference on November 7, 2011 in Rochester, NY.

The Food and Nutritional Sciences Program at NCA&TSU held a one day six hour introductory food science/food safety hands-on preconference on Monday, July 25, 2011 from 9:00am-3:00 pm as part of the North Carolina Family and Consumer Sciences Education Summer Conference.  11 local high school teachers attended this conference in which the following presentations were given:  Introduction to Food Science and Technology, Introduction to Food Microbiology and Food Safety, Food Contamination, Chemical Contaminants in Food, Food Quality Control-HACCP, Food Labeling:  An Important Challenge in Food Safety.  The presentations can be viewed here.  For more information, contact Judith C. Simon, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, Department of Public Instruction. 919.414.1949 (cell)

Texas Wesleyan University hosted a one-day "Teaching Food Safety Workshop" for High School Science Teachers on August 3rd, 2011 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.  The workshop was led by Dr. Angela J. Roberts from the Department of Biology.  Nine teachers attended the workshop and participated in hands-on activities and discussions focusing on i) the GAPS Food Safety Investigation Curriculum, ii) the Pathogen Tracker Game, and iii) careers in food safety.  More information can be found at http://www.txwes.edu/biology/TeachingFoodSafetyWorkshop.htm or by calling Dr. Roberts at (817) 531-6559.

Alabama A&M University participated in multiple food science sessions with high school teachers and students during the Fall 2011 semester.  Please contact Martha Verghese martha.verghese@aamu.edu for more information.