Understanding of the Heating Process Description of Rice-Cooking in a Pot on a Stovetop, Appearing on Elementary Home Economics Textbooks: A Survey among Prospective School Teachers in the University

Abstract

We conducted a questionnaire survey among university students aspiring to become school teachers to assess their degree of comprehension and the perceived difficulties of the description of the rice-cooking process found in elementary home economics textbooks. We focused on the description of the rice heating process, when cooked on a stovetop with a pot, either common metal or clear glass. According to the results of our survey, most students believed that the state of cooking rice would be the best indicator of the control of the heat level during the cooking process, but that it would be difficult to determine. Moreover, the students reported difficulties in evaluating unfamiliar expressions appearing in the text and on understanding these events without prior relevant experience. It is important to distinguish the purpose, characteristics, and methods of judging the state of rice being cooked in a clear glass pot and a common pot. Furthermore, the survey results showed that most students found it might be difficult to instruct children in the practical rice-cooking lessons because of the following three most common negative factors: the students' own lack of experience, difficulties in judging by children, and difficulties in class management.