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Eating Healthy: Understanding Added Sugar through Proportional Reasoning
Debasmita Basu1, Hong B Nguyen2
1Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School, New York, NY 10011, USA.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|December 10, 2021
Summary
This study integrated proportional reasoning and added sugar in food to enhance middle school students' STEM understanding. The lesson fostered mutual learning in mathematics and science through real-world contexts.
Area of Science:
- Integrated STEM Education
- Mathematics Education
- Science Education
Background:
- Integrated STEM activities enhance student understanding in mathematics and science.
- Science offers real-world problems for mathematical investigation, while mathematics provides tools for scientific exploration.
- Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) provides a framework for contextualized learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design an integrated lesson connecting proportional reasoning and added sugar in food.
- To explore how added sugar serves as a meaningful context for proportional reasoning.
- To investigate how proportional reasoning aids in identifying added sugar quantities and discussing food quality.
Main Methods:
- Developed an integrated lesson based on Realistic Mathematics Education (RME).
- Remotely implemented the lesson with three middle school students.
- Focused on the cross-section of proportional reasoning and added sugar in food products.
Main Results:
- The lesson design facilitated mutual understanding between mathematics and science disciplines.
- Students engaged in proportional reasoning within the context of added sugar.
- The integrated approach provided a platform for discussing food quality.
Conclusions:
- Integrated STEM lessons can effectively support student learning in both mathematics and science.
- Contextualizing mathematical concepts like proportional reasoning with real-world issues (added sugar) enhances engagement and understanding.
- The RME framework is suitable for designing effective integrated STEM learning experiences.
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