Applying learning to real world experiences
What are some ways in which real life experiences can be incorporated into the classroom environment?
I've used reflection exercises that require the student to connect theory and concepts to their real world experiences or observations.
Sean
My past experiences have come to be part of my teaching by providing students with all the life lessons and pitfalls that I have come across and wanted to share.
somyot,
It is certainly important to share your path with your students. It can give them additional insight and add to the learning process.
Jae Gruber
Sean,
Can you give an example of these reflection exercises?
Jae Gruber
I have found a good technique for using real life experiences in class is to create a case study out of the experience so that the student is more engaged than if he or she perceives the story as,"Here goes Chef again with a story that has nothing to do with the class." The problem is that the story always related to the point of discussion, but the students perception was so because of the proverbial "WAH WAH WAH" voice of the Charlie Brown comic. The student tuned out on the story. This could be due to the delivery method, my personality as it related to the student or simply a generation gap or my inability to connect and engage that generation X or Y student.
Hence the Case Study angle- Take a real life experience and frame it as a case study from the industry unrelated to my own experience. This can allow for questions to insert to the students bringing about discussion and debate. If properly planned or used as a role play senario, it could even be carried out entirely by students as an in class exercise.
Usuall in the class to keep it intresting i ask the class to share thier experiances and i also add my own as weel to make it relivant to the career path of culinary.
making the information relevant to real life experiences can be done by sharing moments in which the chef instrcutor or GenEd instructor have encounter situations where the information learn in class became handy. Talking about actual health inspections on a restaurant make the Serve Safe material more important for students. Explaining food cost can be way easier if a real example (an item from a restaurants) is priced. students react very well to relevant, realistic situations.
I still own my own wedding cake business and continually share stories or situations when applicable to something I'm teaching in the classroom
Daniel,
Any time an instrutor can take industry experience and tie it to course content through the sharing of stories, it underscores the importance of what is being taught in the course.
Jae Gruber
Sharing is caring! Relevancy is what adult learners need as they are validating the decision that they made. In return for their investment, our students need to know the learning they have been training for will be applicable to the real world.
I use a few examples of things that have happened in my career:
1) A woman showed up to interview in flip-flops, for a kitchen stage. She was 100% unprepared, due to her lack of kitchen shoes. Disqualified.
2) Sift flour to aerate it, as well as to remove physical contamination. A customer in FL brought a cake back to us that had, what seemed to have, chunks of rocks inside the cake itself. Upon further investigation, we find the flour bin had water spilled in it at some point. The hard mass of flour was way at the bottom. Each time someone scooped the flour, the process broke up the mass into chunks.
3). Behave appropriately with co-workers, especially those who you do not know well, personally. Here in Chicago, a person who worked for me had been a little bit to familiar and friendly with a new-hire. One day while they were working alone in the kitchen together, the new-hire took the opportunity to make an advance at the other employee, and it turned out to be a very threatening situation. People were fired, embarassed, etc. All because of inappropriate behavior.
I find that examples like these drive home some extremely important kitchen do's and dont's. Thankfully I have many many stories to tell.
Jean,
These are all excellent examples of professionalism, attention to detail and ethical behavior. There never seems to be a shortage of these stories!
Jae Gruber
