Power Point in the Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom

The purpose of Family and Consumer Sciences is to teach practical life skills and in doing so, make relevant the core curriculum. For this reason, enhancing one’s instruction with computer technology is essential in communicating the relevancy of this content area. There are a variety of tools available to supplement instruction and when used well they will help the instructor reach more of their students more of the time. Power Point Presentations in the classroom is one such powerful tool. Its purpose is to aid teaching, not teach for the instructor. The teacher must still select the objectives, orchestrate the instructional plan, assess the results, and follow up the lessons.

Following are a number of suggestions for applying this in Family and Consumer Sciences.

• Explain careers in each of the disciplines within the department such as food sciences, culinary arts, nutrition, child development, fabric arts, interior design, and fashion merchandising.
• Clarify a unit plan – For example, each grade level in middle school foods and sewing has a major project. A Power Point Presentation available from the school’s website would readily make the objectives, requirements, rubric and due dates available to students and parents.
• Illustrate the department electives available to students and provide an instructor’s ‘face with a name’, again accessible from the school’s website.
• Reinforce a unit by requiring students to present their learning to their peers in a Power Point Presentation.

Power Point is a great visual aid for explaining, illustrating, clarifying, and reinforcing classroom material. Clarity, simplicity, and attractiveness are essential considerations for delivering this effectively. New instructional delivery systems will constantly be made available and will alter the role of the classroom teacher. It is essential that today’s instructors remain skilled at utilizing technology in the classroom. Power Point is presently one of the most relevant teaching tools available.

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