The culinary Learner
It is no secret that many of our culinary learners are either visual or kinesthetic learners. Our stuednts must see items being produced and then must produce those items with thier own hands in order to grasp the information and learn the technique. However, in the theory classes, these techniques might not alays work. I have found that if yo can turn theory courses into hands on activities and bring that information into the visual realm rather than the auditory area, culinary students learn at a faster pace and they tend to retain more.
That is a great idea... I've encontered that after DEMOS and presentations, students are difficult to evaluate using the written or audio techniques. It has become somewhat of a challenge in many of my classes...
I agree that it is a challenge in theory classes to keep the students motivated or just simply awake. I recently had the experience of watching a coleuge struggle with teaching a class in a room full of computers. The computers blocked communication between instructor/student and student/student. We switched to a room with more open space and the whole atmosphere changed for the better. Students were more involved with the topic and eachother.
Hi Bill - Sometimes students who have trouble with reading and writing may have underlying learning disabilites that will be a problem no matter what delivery techniques we use. Best wishes - Susan
I agree with this. I'm a culinary instructor, as well, and my students are exposed to reading assignments from the culinary text book, watching and hearing me perform the demonstration, then recreating a particular plate of food based on my demo.
This does cover all four learning styles, however still, some students who are week readers or note takers still fall behind.
I think that there is more to than we see. someties the students work all night or before and after class and that is the time "out of kitchen" that they can relax.
Hi Stacey - I agree, your curriculum is set up to address all the learning styles.You have lucky students! Best wishes - Susan
It would be hard to disagree that most culinary professionals are visual and kinesthetic learners. I found myself identifying with the descriptions given for these two types of learners immediately. I do agree that a variety of teaching methods need to be used to mix things up a bit to keep students engaged in the learning process. Fortunately at my school the way the our curriculum is set up we teach through a series lecture, demos, and hands on projects daily. It is difficult for the student to become bored in this type of environment.
Hi Al- Welcome to Ed 103! The Notebook that your students probably now see as a "chore" will eventually become something they will treasure throughout their careers - excellent! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
I agree that most students that choose the culiary arts as their profession are a strong combination of visual & kinesthetic because in class each new process is demo'd first & then they are expected to be able to re-create. That being said, audio & written is just as important as all topics in my class are lectured first to give them a quick background or history lesson of what they will be learning/cooking. On top of that they are required to put together a "notebook" thru-out my class that they will be able to take with them for their future, into the real world.
HI Yingwei_ Welcome to ED 103! I agree that your students will prefer and most likely learn better if taught using visual/kenesthetic delivery. Still, I think all students in career fields also need to be able to write well and speak well which of course requires the "dreaded" writing and speaking classes!
Bestwishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I kind of disagree. Most of the students are in culinary classes because they are good with hands on and visual learning. If they weren't they would have picked a different field of study. Giving them the opportunity to learn using visuals and a lot of hands on training not only will make it easier for them to learn, but will prepare them for working in the kitchen. A chef or cook who knows the theory because they have been taught lecture style, but doesn't have the hands on knowledge is not very useful in the kitchen. That is more important, I think, than making students learn in different learning styles that may not be as useful in their careers.
Hi Lloyd - Welcome to ED 103! I agree -I think that often the challenge for career college instructors is how to motivate their students to learn the business or interpersonal skill sides of their future careers.Best wishes - Susan
I AGREE AND FEEL like a lot of students who fall asleep during theory classes arent just tired but bored cause the metod of teaching doesn't match their learning style.
It is true that many culinary students learn either by visual and or kinesthetic, because cooking is all about techniques. It is good to find ways to include activites in theory courses, but there is alot of the business that is to be learned the hard way .... Studying. That is the business side of the fun and the information about running a business must be a combination of many styles.
One of the classes I currently teach is solely a lecture class. Over the years I have added many activities to include other styles of learning, (sometimes without even realizing it) and I must say it does work. I have seen it through test scores and also student enthusiasm.
This is a good point. In a real world kitchen people will need to adjust to different supervisors, not the other way around. A savvy chef will note differences in his or her staff, but bottom line is they will need to adapt to the situation in which they find themselves. This is why students must grow and learn outside their preferred learning style.
overall, I think culinary students should learn with a combination of methods, with a major emphasis on visual and kinesthetic, but still including auditory and written word methods as a complementary form of learning
I agree with the both of you and have found that by exposing students to multiple deliveries I can ensure a broader base of understanding and better retention because they have seen it many times.
Hi Bryant - Welcome to ED 103! You have done a great job of giving your students the theory work that they need while still doing your best to teach to their kinesthetic preference - Great job! Best wishes - Susan
