When teaching culinary- it's hard to say "well that's only a B"- because it's very hard to define right and wrong sometimes. We have developed a system at our school that uses a 5 point grading system for EACH ITEM (some classes- each student may be required to produce upto 9 items a day, on their own- all which require individual grades) It's also hard because what may be too salty to me, may be perfect to someone else. I may prefer simple plate presentations, whereas other instructors prefer more elaborate plate presentations. Something such as the latter is up to the instructor to determine what the standard for the class to be. As for individual "cooking" evaluation- we have develped and are continually developing a "cleary exceeds expectations" grading system (the 1-5, 5 being the best) for example: Beef Stew: • Stew meat is cut (1” cubes) uniformly and trimmed of most visible fat • Meat is evenly caramelized and well seasoned • Meat is absolutely tender, but has maintained its shape • Sauce is deep brown, rich and flavorful • Stew has been seasoned properly • Stew has been thoroughly degreased • Potatoes, carrots and celery are cut precisely into ½” dice (cubes), are cooked tender and have maintained their shape • Good ratio of sauce (2 parts) and meat and garnish (1 part) • Peas are green and not brown • Sachet has been removed • Piping hot each 1-2 items wrong is up to 1 point off- Recieving a 1 on a dish requires that the dish should be made up at a "skills lab". Students are given the requirements of each dish and then repeated during demo. We have determined this to be a fair and practical way to grade students. (and successful)

"Students who really need extra credit rarely seek it and students who do extra credit work rarely need it." It always seems that "A" students are far more willing to do extra credit work than a borderline student whose grade might actually go up if they completed some extra credit. Why? Motivation. "A" students are motivated to do the work and other types of students often are not willing to do more than they have to, even if it means getting a lower grade. As a result, I no longer offer extra credit.

Students from developing nations may have considerably different expectations about their professors than American students. For example, they may not think that you were hired as the result of a competitive process or that you are particularly qualified to teach. If they come from countries where nepotism or bribery is the norm, they might think that you are their professor because your uncle got you this job or that you are paying a kickback to the Dean that hired you. For this type of student, convincing them that you are in fact qualified to teach might be your first task. Something to keep in mind.

Trust me when I tell you that there is probably a Youtube video over virtually every conceivable subject. Using a video to highlight your teaching is a technique that fits well with traditional students. Even bad videos can be educational--you can have your students research how they are wrong or use them as examples of bias, pseudo-science or slanting.

Using name cards and assigned seating for the first class is helpful for learning students' names. Just be sure to tell them that they will be able to pick their own seats after the first session!

I find it difficult to grade students in lab/shop; they may have a lab sheet to complete, but I observe those who hang back and let others do all the work and they simply fill in the blanks. I feel that they should not receive the same grade as those who get their hands dirty!

Being prepared and organized is an inherent part of teaching in order to be a role model to students. Other than having lessons plans prepared, handouts for the students, teaching according to the curriculum, and preparing the students to be successful for their chosen careers, how else can I be prepared?

Students are distracted when in class. Cell phones, Internet access and short attention span contribute to the hurdle an instructor must clear in an attempt disseminate the course material. PowerPoint slides can be a good solution to this problem if the presentation is colorful, contains relevant information, and incorporates short video clips (if available). Caution, all information, video, and audio used must be directly related to the current subject. Never forget that students are easily distracted, and you do not want your presentation to be a distraction.

The "Thinking Break" segments have been interesting.

extra curricular activities can be a useful avenue.

Use different approaches to engage students.

This should be an ongoing thing in the classroom. The student should get an update at least every two weeks to monitor their grades. This assists them in feeling that they are in the loop of everything. This not only assists them with having a little control over there grades it also allows them to see what they need to study and work on more.

Prestests are incredibly valuable when it comes to evaluating the level of knowledge in your classroom. With pretests you are able to use compare and contrast to see which type of lecture would benefit them as a whole. This in itself creates a big difference in the students learning environment.

Preparation of your instructional content should be done at least a week in advance. This will give you time to make corrections if needed and also evaluate your students to ensure the content is adequate for them to learn from.

God stuff here...........I am going to revaluate my syllabus when it comes to assesments.....

I like the plan B ideas.......and just good ole Be Prepared and into your students,,,,they are the customer.....

I love my power point......could be however that the ole school items can also project here.....simple and clear what ever the media.....less is more now and then....cheers...Chef Dan

I did not actually find this section very helpful.....however it is a good review.

I feel that Powerpoint has been misused since it was introduced into the teaching/instrucing media aides. Some instructors will use it as their main teaching aide where I think it should be used for making a bigger point to your sudents when instructing on certain subjects. Powerpoint is not a class baby-sitter but rather an attention getter. Instructors will a lot of time make this much longer than it should be so that students start to fall asleep in class and then it becomes a disruption to the class instead of an aide. Powerpoint should be a brief, colorful, illustrated, depiction of what the students should be learning. Making them take notes or fill out a questionaire during the presentation is also very benefitial to the students. It makes then pay more attention and stay awake even if it is sort of boring to them.