{"id":143499,"date":"2021-12-15T14:53:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T19:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=143499"},"modified":"2022-05-17T17:19:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T21:19:24","slug":"bates-students-help-middle-schoolers-learn-about-nutrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2021\/12\/15\/bates-students-help-middle-schoolers-learn-about-nutrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Omelet anyone? Bates biochemistry students teach middle-schoolers about nutrition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What do you get when you mix together one Bates biochemistry class, two teachers passionate about community education, and 120 middle schoolers? In the case of Assistant Professor of Biology Lori Banks\u2019 latest project, a recipe for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Banks had just received a prestigious national grant to support her community outreach. Students in her cellular biochemistry course would be taking a deep dive into vitamins and human health. What if she paired her class with a local middle school, turning her Bates students into teachers? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the school year opened last fall, one teacher at Lewiston Middle School, Nicole Goyette, was already planning to teach nutrition science in class, so she and Banks came up with a plan: Banks\u2019 students would create video presentations for LMS students about the important role a nutritional, balanced diet plays in a healthy life, and then deliver ingredients for them to take home and make a meal that connected to the lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Phyllis
Lori Banks shares the winning recipe with her class, as they near the end of their project. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They say too many cooks spoil the broth, but the most important ingredient in making this academic recipe collaborative and engaging for the middle schoolers was involving them directly in the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six groups of LMS students \u2014 around 120 in all \u2014 collected and submitted recipes to Goyette. Then, throwing civics into the mix, they held a vote to decide what meal they would all be learning how to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the middle-school students, each recipe needed to fit a few criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey first started learning about the different human body systems,\u201d Goyette said. \u201cThen we went into the different vitamins and what can happen if they have a lack of a certain vitamin, and what system that would affect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen they researched where we find these vitamins, and in what foods, and that’s what led to this. They had to find a recipe that would give them at least three of the essential vitamins that they need in their daily diet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students collected over 100 recipes for breakfast and dinner dishes, and narrowed them down to 12 for a final vote, held in the school cafeteria the day before Thanksgiving break. Before the vote, the students talked excitedly with each other and compared the recipes that had been chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey really wanted to win,\u201d Goyette said. \u201cThat did help them really pay attention to what they were doing and to make it a recipe people would want to eat. That was the big thing here: which class is going to win?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Phyllis
Nicole Goyette gives students final instructions for making the omelets, and asks them to take pictures of their finished recipes. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was also a strong sense of ownership over the recipes, especially among students who had submitted similar recipes. When the winning recipe was announced, a huge cheer went up as they celebrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recipe that won? A vitamin-rich veggie omelet, with cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. Other recipes included everything from smoothie bowls and stir fry to West African dishes, including fufu, a dough-like food made from cassava.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe middle school students have such agency in this process, because they are coming up with the recipe. What’s better than that?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Banks wanted her students to not only learn about the science behind nutrition, but also the social effects of it, including access to and education about nutritional food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot only are my students learning biochemical pathways but also some of the civic or real-world implications of what happens when somebody decides to build a liquor store instead of a Whole Foods, depending on what the neighborhood is,\u201d Banks said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe middle school students have such agency in this process, because they are coming up with the recipe. They have to know what foods have lots of vitamin D, and what’s going to be delicious to them, and they can think, \u2018I can do this in a way that fits my palate, and that is going to help me make good decisions so that I can treat my body well.\u2019 What’s better than that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+<\/span>Recipe: Veggie Omelet<\/a><\/h5>
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Total time: 15-20 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veggie topping<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00bd tablespoon butter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 tablespoons onion, chopped<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00bc cup mushrooms, chopped<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00bd cup fresh spinach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 cherry tomatoes, halved<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shredded cheese to taste<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omelet<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 eggs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 tablespoons water or milk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salt and pepper to taste<\/p>\n\n\n\n