DISKIN CDP REFLECTION 1

Cultural Design Product Reflection

Sabel Diskin

SPF 301 – Arizona State University

March 20, 2018

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Introduction

If there is one thing that we can all agree on, it is food. I haven’t met anyone that hasn’t

got a favorite food. But how do we know where our food comes from? In historical terms, every

kind of food came from somewhere, just like their ingredients. It was in the “Fertile Crescent”

thousands of years ago, that humans discovered a type of grass that could be cultivated into a

high-yield grain. From that grain, nutrient-rich bread would be made. Civilizations were built on

the cultivation of grain and agriculture was born. It wasn’t until about three hundred years ago

that the people of Europe were introduced to the tomato and the potato, as these were native to

the Americas. The variety of foods now available led to a population boom. The population

bloomed, as did the spread of ideas, and the development of cultures strengthened by food. What

we see in our grocery stores today is an amalgamation of thousands of years of agricultural

development and exchange. What we eat and how we eat it helps us understand, in a way, the

cultures we identify with.

The Project

This cultural product is designed for a middle school world history class. The duration of

the project will be during the unit on the Age of Discovery and the Global Exchange at the end

of the year for sixth grade. First, students will think of their favorite food or dish. They will

research the history of their favorite food or dish and find its origins. Then they will find a recipe

and pick four main ingredients, like wheat flour or tomatoes, to research. They will also research

another similar recipe from another culture. The culmination of this project will be a physical

display of the students’ research and a potluck, where students will exchange copies of the

recipes they found to be collected for their own “cookbook.” Students will also write a two page

paper detailing their research and a reflection of the project and what they discovered.
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Relation to Culturally Responsive Teaching

Students have a wealth of knowledge from which to draw within their own homes.

“Funds of knowledge,” as Moll concludes, emphasize “strategic knowledge and related activities

essential in households' functioning, development, and well-being” (Moll, et. al., 1992). This

project takes something they love, a family recipe or some other food that they enjoy with their

family, and uses it as a way to learn about history. They will also learn about other cultures by

researching a similar recipe and put themselves in the shoes of a person from another culture by

cooking that recipe with their family. When the students host their potluck, they will share the

foods they made, and learn about what everyone else made. More than that, students will also

learn about where their food comes from, historically.

Conclusion

From Gay’s article on culturally responsive teaching, this project falls under the realm of

“symbolic curriculum” (2002). It is a physical representation of the students’ personal and

familial culture, as well as a display of the skills they’ve learned by methods of historical

research. This project covers several concepts including multicultural teaching, culturally

responsive teaching, and “teaching history so children will care” (Cowhey, 2006). If I teach

middle school, I would love to have the chance to use this project because I believe it’s important

for kids to gain a historical perspective on things they enjoy, like food. It’s also important for

them to realize that different cultures all have similarities because we’re not all so different as we

think. Furthermore, this project will introduce them to foods they may not have the chance to try

on their own, and the cookbook is something they can take with them and use their whole life.
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References

Cowhey, M. (2006). Black Ants and Buddhists. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers. 122.

Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol

53 (No. 2), 108.

Moll, L. et. al. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect

homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, Vol. 31 (No. 2) 132-141.