Planning
Accreditation period Units 1-4: 2023-2027
Planning advice
The VCE Food Studies 2023–2027 Support materials (incorporating the previously known Advice for teachers) provides teaching and learning advice for Units 1 to 4 and assessment advice for school-based assessment in Units 3 and 4.
The program developed and delivered to students must be in accordance with the VCE Food Studies Study Design 2023–2027.
Developing a program
The program outlines the nature and sequence of teaching and learning necessary for students to demonstrate achievement of the set of outcomes for a unit. The areas of study describe the learning context, knowledge and skills required for the demonstration of each outcome.
Teachers should use the study design and the support materials to develop a teaching and learning program that includes appropriate learning activities to enable students to develop the knowledge and skills identified in the outcomes in each unit.
This study examines food from a breadth of perspectives, with a focus on where food comes from, how it is produced, the complex range of influences on food selection, and the effects of food on the health of individuals and the environment. Teachers should aim to facilitate learning and inquiry by developing programs that enable students to apply and demonstrate key knowledge and key skills in practical ways. Practical activities should be planned according to key knowledge and key skills specific to an area of study.
Each outcome draws on the set of contextualised key skills in the study design, at least one of which has a practical application where students carry out the key skill in a practical activity.
Attention should be given to developing a course that is relevant to students, is contextually based, employs a variety of manageable number of tasks and uses a variety of source material from a diverse number of providers.
Practical activities and records of practical activities
Practical application of key knowledge is an important feature of the study. Learning activities must include practical activities that involve comparative food testing, cooking, creating and responding to design briefs, demonstrations, dietary or nutritional analysis, product analysis, scientific experiments, and sensory analysis including taste-testing and use of focus groups. Practical activities should be carried out in kitchen / school-based settings. When students are carrying out practical activities, consideration should be given to safety and hygiene practices, and use of technical skills.
Online student folios are a convenient way for students to keep their records of practical activities together. There are many different platforms that students can use for developing online folios. Popular platforms include:
- blogs
- digital notebook – Evernote and OneNote (part of Microsoft Office) are software tools that can only be shared with others in the school and are not publicly viewable.
Clarification of terminology
Design brief
A concise statement clarifying the project task and defining the need or opportunity to be resolved. It usually identifies the end users, specifications, evaluation criteria, available resources, timeframe for the project.
Design processes
Processes that involve investigating, generating, planning and managing, producing and evaluating to create a designed solution that considers social, economic and environmental factors.
Food systems
Food systems are a complex web of interrelating components that indicate what happens to our food in its journey from ‘paddock to plate’. The components are:
- Primary production
- Processing and packaging
- Distribution and access
- Media and marketing
- Consumption
- Waste management.
The following table lists these components and provides examples of activities that occur within each. The activities listed in the table should not be viewed as a complete list but as examples of diversity within each component.
These components are not linear or discrete but form complex interactions. For example,
- waste management can occur at the Primary production, Processing and packaging and in the Consumption components of food systems
- a farmer might sell their produce to a wholesaler or large supermarket but could also engage in selling at the farm gate or at a farmers’ market, therefore being considered as part of Primary production as well as Distribution and access.
Food systems also operate within the rules and regulations of governments that relate to the safety and ethics of our food system as well as the accuracy of information about food provided to consumers.
Components | Activities |
---|---|
Primary production | Agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Processing and packaging | Raw foodstuffs are modified / prepared and packaged to increase shelf life, to value-add, or to create new food products. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Distribution and access (wholesale and retail) | Transportation, storage and sale of foods both wholesale and retail. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Consumption | Consumption of food in various locations. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Waste management | Disposal and/or recycling of food waste and packaging. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Media and marketing | The act of communicating about and / or promoting foods. Examples include but are not limited to:
|
Practical food solution
Food product that has been created for a specific purpose or intention as a result of design thinking and design processes.
Sustainable and nutritious meal patterns
Ability to eat nutritious foods in proportions according to the healthy eating recommendations of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and maintain a healthy diet now and in the future without jeopardising the potential for future populations to meet their food needs.
Examples of records of practical activities
* no cost
** cost involved
# available on eduSTAR (government digital devices)
Components | Activities |
---|---|
Comparative food testing |
|
Cooking |
|
Creating and responding to design briefs |
|
Demonstrations |
|
Dietary or nutritional analysis |
|
Product analysis |
|
Scientific experiment |
|
Sensory analysis including taste-testing and use of focus groups |
|
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE
On-demand video recordings, presented with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI) and the Department of Education (DE) Koorie Outcomes Division, for VCE teachers and leaders as part of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the VCE webinar program held in 2023.
Resources
At the time of publication the URLs (website addresses) cited were checked for accuracy and appropriateness of content. However, due to the transient nature of material placed on the web, their continuing accuracy cannot be verified. Teachers are strongly advised to prepare their own indexes of sites that are suitable and applicable to the courses they teach, and to check these addresses prior to allowing student access.
AIHW report Nutrition across the life stages
AIHW report Physical activity across the life stages
AIHW biennial report Australia’s Health
Australian Beverages Council Limited
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
Australian Bureau of Statistics
ABC Education video Fruit as a meat substitute (11:39mins)
ABC Education video Food wastage (03:06mins)
ABC Education video: Why you should grow tomatoes in a greenhouse (08:09mins)
Australian Food and Grocery Council
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
CSIRO's food innovation centre for industry
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website, namely Farming, food and drought
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
Food Innovation Australia Limited
National Health and Medical Research Council
Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia on Food and fibre education (series of videos)
Public Health Association of Australia
The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre
YouTube video The impact of innovation on the Australian dairy industry (03:29mins)
YouTube video Does Australia have food security? (02:15 mins)
YouTube video Growing food in the Australian desert with sunlight and seawater - the Sundrop Farms project (03:05mins)
Employability skills
The VCE Food Studies study provides students with the opportunity to engage in a range of learning activities. In addition to demonstrating their understanding and mastery of the content and skills specific to the study, students may also develop employability skills through their learning activities.
The nationally agreed employability skills* are: Communication; Planning and organising; Teamwork; Problem solving; Self-management; Initiative and enterprise; Technology; and Learning.
Assessment task | Employability skills selected facets |
---|---|
Annotated visual report |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently; writing to the needs of the audience; persuading effectively) |
Design and produce a practical food solution |
Communication (using numeracy; listening and understanding) |
Practical activities with records that reflect on practical activities |
Communication (using numeracy; listening and understanding) |
Short written report: Case study |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently; writing to the needs of the audience; persuading effectively) |
Short written report: Comparative food testing analysis |
Communication (sharing information; persuading effectively; writing to the needs of the audience) |
Short written report: Media analysis |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently; writing to the needs of the audience; persuading effectively) |
Short written report: Historical timeline |
Communication (reading independently; writing to the needs of the audience; using numeracy) |
Short written report: Product evaluation |
Communication (reading independently; writing to the needs of the audience; using numeracy) |
Short written report: Research inquiry |
Communication (sharing information; speaking clearly and directly; writing to the needs of the audience; using numeracy; persuading effectively) |
Short written report: Structured questions |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently) |
Oral presentation: face-to-face, recorded as a video or podcast |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently) |
Practical demonstration: face-to-face or recorded
as a video or podcast |
Communication (listening and understanding; reading independently) |
Research inquiry report |
Communication (using numeracy; listening and understanding) |
*The employability skills are derived from the Employability Skills Framework (Employability Skills for the Future, 2002), developed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia, and published by the (former) Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.
Implementation videos
VCE Food Studies (2023–2027) implementation videos
Online video presentations which provide teachers with information about the new VCE Food Studies study design.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions (updated September 2023)
A set of frequently asked questions for the VCE Food Studies Study Design Units 1–4: 2023–2027.