A Sushi Science Module in Food Production Systems and Aquatic Resource Education

Abstract

No other food industry depends so heavily on a wild caught resource than those associated with aquatic food products. Domestication of fish, shellfish, and other aquatic resources production has lagged behind other terrestrial livestock products; however, demand for these aquatic natural resources has continued to increase dramatically. Teaching students about aquatic natural resources and the human impact on those resources in terms of use was the major goal of this study, through analysis of a food production system teaching module on Sushi (a traditional Japanese dish of cooked rice formed into a roll and dressed with raw or cooked fish). Our objective was to develop a "Sushi Science" learning education module and test its effectiveness for student knowledge gain in the areas of aquatic life species diversity, their life cycle, consumption rates of fisheries products, nutritional importance of seafood, and the history behind sushi as part of an ancient food preservation method. The sushi module was implemented in three combined 9th and 10the grade courses: environmental science, biology, and aquaculture. Data from student pre- and post-tests were analyzed to determine student knowledge gain and the effectiveness of the sushi module approach at delivering conceptual content specific knowledge on the subject area of aquatic natural resources use. Overall, the module was successful in raising the content knowledge of the students in aquatic natural resource use.