Project-Based Learning: Engineering Pizza with Biotechnology

NSA’s academic classes use a project-based model to engage students in true, deeper learning. Project-based learning sets a collaborative goal for the quarter or semester, and uses learning objectives as steps to reach that goal.

In this model, teachers serve as guides and facilitators, and students take ownership of their learning because they believe in the goal they helped to create, and see relevance in daily steps in the context of the final product.

In Juan Diego’s Biotechnology class this quarter, students are studying how Science and cooking combine by using microorganisms to our benefit. As part of their overall project, students captured live yeast from the air (experimenting with various mixtures of flour, sugar and acids) until they produced the best results. After a week, students had an active sourdough starter, which they used to make pizza crust, enjoying their creations at lunch to the envy of their peers.
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Proof that Science can be delicious!