Foodservice Educators Learning Community Blog

Student Designed Instruction update

2012-02-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

The decision to let the students decide how they wanted me to teach the HR course is going absolutely fantastic. Every day I walk into class I know I am doing something that has 100% buy in from the students because they chose what I am doing on any given day.

This includes the online quizzes I create after the days that I have lectured over the past two weeks, which they have 36 hours to take.

Today we reviewed the essays they wrote based on SmartBriefs Workforce, that is free and e-mailed daily to HR professionals and others. The students were to write a short summary on the article they selected and why the information will help them be a better manager someday. At the start of class, I had them share one or two of the articles they wrote with their neighbor. I then went around the room and called upon a dozen or so of them to share what they had told their neighbor with the class. I was able to tie what they read in the SmartBriefs to the information they were given in the lectures (that they had requested to get a basic appreciation of HR) to demonstrate that what I taught them indeed has real world applications. We had a great time!

You gotta let go of your teaching and give some control to the students! Let them tell you how they want to be taught and you will actually have a more productive learning environment. That has been my experience so far. I just wish I had thought of this 15 years ago so take advantage of it now. If you have any more questions on what I did to create this class based on student input contact me at any time via e-mail (mlalopa@fooded.org) or phone 765-494-6218.

Bon Teaching!

5 Reasons to Attend the FELC Summit

2012-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here are five great reasons for registering for the Summit today.

1. The regular and member registration rate includes all conference materials and meals for the two days of the Summit keeping your food and beverage expenses to a minimum while attending the Summit (unless of course you walk a few short blocks to dine and shop in downtown Charlotte).

2. We have a great hotel rate of $107 per night, including a great breakfast buffet, in the upscale Doubletree Hotel that is literally next door to the Johnson & Wales Charlotte campus.

3. You get to be the judge and help pick the 2012 Ultimate Teacher on Friday afternoon of the Summit and pick up some great teaching tips along the way.

4. Our keynote speaker, Ed Nuhfer, will provide you with fresh new insights on teaching and learning that will help you on your quest to be a high quality culinary arts instructor or administrator.

5. Howl at the Moon on Saturday night with your colleagues and conference sponsors!

So register now by visiting www.fooded.org and clicking on the registration link listed under the 2012 FELC Annual Summit found on our homepage.

For more information about registration, please contact Kim Stockment or Lisa Peters at 1-800-359-2968. Or contact Mick La Lopa at 765-421-4256 or Jami Yanoski at 303-517-3225.

Looking to Direct a Culinary Program?

2012-02-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Leader in CULINARY ARTS EDUCATION seeks a passionate Academic Department Director for their Texas Campus. Two positions are currently available within the state of Texas.

Campus #1 is well established, with the Department Director having direct responsibility for a large culinary program, as well as full P & L responsibility for its restaurant and deli operations. This well regarded institution is looking for an individual with previous culinary academic management experience, a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of its students, and who possesses a Master’s Degree.

Campus #2 is a newer campus with approximately 300 culinary students. This individual will have a strong influence on the future direction of the program, will assist in creation of the school restaurant, and will be highly involved in promoting their program within the community. The ideal candidate will have experience as an Executive Chef, or as General Manager of a notable hotel chain, or prior culinary academic teaching or management experience. A Master’s Degree is required.

For a confidential conversation that includes more specific detail about these opportunities, please contact Kristin McMahan at 206-466-1041 or Kristin@collegeperformancepartners.com

Kristin McMahan
College Performance Partners
206-466-1041 OFFICE
kristin@collegeperformancepartners.com
http://www.collegeperformancepartners.com/

Teaching Theory

2012-02-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Having taught for some time now and work as faculty consultant for the faculty development center here on campus I have a theory that might predict what students will get out of a class based on the teachers subject matter expertise (SME) and teaching quality. Knowing this going in, administrators should already know what the students will experience and take great pains to hire faculty (adjunct, permanent, part-time) who will give students a great return on their tuition dollar.

Condition 1: High SME + High Teaching Quality
This is the best case scenario. This is when someone who has a great deal of knowledge, skills, and abilities on a given topic is selected to teach a suitable course. Better still, because the individual is a great teacher there is a higher probability that the students will get a healthy return on their tuition dollar because they will learn what they should about a given subject because it is taught by a skilled teacher.

Condition 2: High SME + Low Teaching Quality
This may be the second best scenario. The teacher is no doubt high on knowledge, skills and abilities on the subject being taught in a given course but unable to communicate that effectively to students due to limited teaching skill set. So the students will have access to an expert but not learn as much as they could had they been taught by a more skilled teacher.

Condition 3: Low SME + High Quality Teaching
This may be the third best scenario. Unfortunately the individual does not know much about the subject being asked to teach but the course has to be taught and nobody else qualified to do it. The students will experience high quality instruction but what they learn will be deficient or suspect because the person teaching the class does not know much about the subject. The proverbial "one chapter ahead of the students!" Sadly, been there, done that!

Condition 4: Low SME + Low Quality Teaching
This is the worst case scenario. This is when someone is selected to teach a class with little or no knowledge, skills, or abilites to teach the class. Worse still, the individual is not a very good teacher. In effect, this is the nightmare scenario for students. The teacher does not know the subject and a terrible teacher making for a very long term/semester. Sadly, this condition exists far too often on too many college campuses especially when graduate students are called upon to teach a class for the home department as part of their assistantship, for example.

What do you think of this theory? I think it is one that administrators should consider when selecting people to serve as teachers. It predicts what students will be subjected to when taking a class given the four conditions. I am also sure that many of you would be able to think back on your education, or knowledge of other teachers, to put names and faces to each condition.

Group Work Video

2012-01-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was clued into a great video on group work. It talks about forming and managing student groups to mazimize their experience of working with others on group-assignments. It is worth 15 minutes of your time to watch if you have not seen one before or a refresher. You can enjoy this yourself or show to faculty at:

http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/SEI_video.html

Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

In honor of Dr. King, I will get preachy.

So what do we do with the federal holiday to commemorate the life and times of one great American who changed the American society to live up the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all who call this land their home? No matter how that came to pass, enslaved or otherwise. Piss it away?

I am home spending part of the day doing this blog post to commemorate the event. I am spending part of the day reading the book Appetite for Profits: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and how to Fight Back by Michele Simon (2006) to learn how the large food companies work to maximize their profits at the expense of public health and all the tools and techniques used to pull the wool over the eyes of naive consumers to make me a more informed educator. I taught my son how to make tuna taste like the sandwich he loves from Jimmy John's by breaking down the recipe and recreating here at home; he loved it. I may teach my son to replace the faucet in the downstairs bathroom so he can do it himself one day if he is up to it. I will jump on my new spin cycle later and workout for an hour to maintain my health. I am learning how to properly use my wooden stove to heat my home without suffering a large utility bill this winter. In short, I am not spending my day in front of the television or messing about on Facebook, etc. to honor Dr. King.

I feel obligated to do more than sit around on the day that commemorates the life and times of the man who endured constant death threats, public criticism, and countless other personal sacrifices to make this country truly the land of the free and home of the brave. For you see, in 2000 I drove from Indiana to Alabama on business and listened to King's autobiography on tape on the drive. As I listened I passed by the cities and towns spoken about in the tape that were touched by the civil rights movement, such as Selma. I visited the King museum in Birmingham. I went inside the 16th street Baptist church that was bombed; the same place where a group of parishioners were attacked by police with dogs and fire hoses because they dared to be free Americans. I was fortunate to have attended a speech delivered by recently deceased Rev Shuttlesworth, who spoke about his life and its meaning to a peaceful gathering of 300 white students at Samford University who could have just as easily watched his lynching only a few decades earlier. The experience touched me deeply and will forever change my attitude toward Dr King and what he meant to this great nation. I strive to touch my students the same way in my teaching today.

So what about you? If you care to share what you are doing as a teacher to commemorate this day please post your commentary. We are a faculty learning community after all and the more we share with each other the things we do to improve the quality of our teaching the better of we all are in culinary arts and hospitality.

Freedom to Teach

2012-01-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

Involving the students in designing the way the HR class is to be taught has been liberating to say the least. Having 20 years of teaching under my belt and tried almost every teaching technique known to human kind has also made this possible. I am free to teach!

Opening up the class to the possibilities proffered by students got an unexpected boost. Yesterday I was checking voice mail and ran across a message from Hilton Hotels. The person calling was from HR and wanted to see if she and Hilton HR could become involved with the class. I almost jumped out of my chair given what is happening right now to design the HR class. I was incredulous as she indicated Hilton would help the students with resume writing, job interviewing, getting a job with Hilton and more. We also talked about doing skype presentations from HR folks to the class. We talked about them coming to campus or us going to Chicago. The bottom line being that the phone call could not have come at a more perfect time. I could not wait to share with the students today. Which I did at the start of the class. They were jacked up, too, with the possibilities.

We also nailed down the structure of the quizzes that they gave a unanimous vote to having during the semester. I am going to essentially put together a quiz after class and give them 24 hours to take it over materials we talked about in class using their notes. We also agreed on how many case studies they would do involving real problems being experienced right now by those working in HR. They also agreed on the format for addressing the cases which will involve research. Hospitality students doing research, never! Well as it turns out, they are happy to research something that they are interested in researching. We also discussed what we want guest speakers to do when they come into our class.

The takeaway. Same as it was the last blog post. Go for it. Stop doing the same old mind numbing shit when you teach. Take all that experience, take a deep breath, and work with your students to teach them what they need to know as a result of taking the class but with their input. I must tell you that there was no end of class shuffle of jackets and notes today. We lost track of time. And so far there are 70 pairs of eyes glued to me as we facilitate what we are going to do to learn HR and satisfy standardized course objectives this semester. Viva liberacion!

Go Ahead, Take a Risk in Your Teaching

2012-01-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

As I indicated on last blog post, I was going to not start my HR class with a well defined syllabus beyond course description and course objectives. I did indeed do just that in class on Monday and found myself with a very engaged group of 70 junior level students in our program.

I started class by saying that I am constantly being told by students that they are here at Purdue to learn. The problem is that teachers get in the way of their learning. I then shared with them the description and objectives we had to meet for the semester. Then came their first assignment. They were to complete the following sentence with sufficient detail, "The best class I ever took at Purdue was taught in the following manner:" I told them they had 10 minutes and we would review what they wrote. I then left the room putting the class in their hands.

When I returned to class I simply started to go from one student to the next to learn their concept of best practices in teaching. The discussion was eye opening and the best part of all was that every last student was focused on the discussion! There was not the usual deadpan look one gets from students on the first day that have learned that their teachers go blah, blah, blah through the syllabus. This was not the case -- they were starting to design their class.

As I went from student to student we started to get a sense of those things that we will do and those things that we will not do to learn the course objectives. They do not want exams. Interestingly enough they want some sort of quiz at the end of the classes. That was a complete surprise. They told me it helps them stay focused. There will be no textbook. We will generate the content. We will "go someplace to see HR in action." We will do case studies. We will look at current issues facing HR in Hospitality Industry. They want guest speakers. They also decided that there will be no need for an attendance policy because we will design a class that students want to go to. Indeed the students put a lot on the table and we will finalize in the next two classes. Oh by the way, unbeknownst to me a student had volunteered to become our scribe and handed me notes at the end of class!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The takeaway? Take some risks in your teaching. Get your students on board regardless of what you teach or where you teach it. Build on the message from Daniel Pink's book Drive on the power of intrinsic motivation and apply it to your teaching. Give your students ownership of their learning and get them to hold themselves accountable to their studies. You have everything to gain so take a risk, so far I have learned the rewards are great!

Student Designed Instruction

2012-01-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

I am going to do something this semester I have been wanting to try for years. I am going to go out on a limb and walk into my HR class tomorrow with a syllabus that has the description and objectives and assigned text and that is it. I have no agenda. I have no lesson plan. I have no exams scheduled. Indeed, I have no planned assignments whatsoever for the class ready to go. I am going to leave it up to the students to tell me what they want to do to learn the course objectives!

I am a firm believer in everything that Daniel Pink said in his latest book Drive, that the best motivation is intrinsic. So I am going to have the students spend the first week working with me on how they want me to teach the class. I am going to have them decide what it will take to captivate their interest in the subject of HR. If that means no attendance policy and they can convince me how that will lead to them learning the course objectives, so be it! If they say no quizzes, so be it! Of course, if they say no assignments whatsoever then that will be unacceptable, to say the least. Indeed there has to be a way for them to demonstrate they learned HR because it is a vital management tool.

I intend to keep a journal this semester as to how the course progresses. But I do believe the students when they say they want to learn the materials, based on my most recent approaches to getting students to evaluate my teaching. They claim that the problem is that they do not like the way most of their classes are taught. So now is the time for the students to put their money where their mouth is and prove that they are in college to learn dammit!

I am equally nervous and optimistic and will keep you posted.

Until then, continue to preach the gospel of culinary arts and sciences, my brothers and sisters! I cannot wait to see you all in Charlotte at the FELC Summit!

ACF Educator Development Series 2012

2012-01-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

The American Culinary Federation has chosen FELC to conduct the Educator Development series for the four regional and national conferences in 2012. We are very pleased to have been selected and will deliver high quality seminars for all of those who choose to attend one or all of the modules. The program that Chef Michael Carmel and Dr Mick La Lopa developed is as follows:

Improving Student Retention by Applying Teaching That Sticks

Overview – Do you often wonder why it is students do not grasp and retain the content delivered in the classroom and have difficulty applying what was to be learned in the lab? This series of classes will enable you to deliver content in a way that will be understood and retained by students making you a more effective teacher based on the work of Chip & Dan Heath’s great book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” which spurned a version tailored to educators named, “Teaching that Sticks.” As a result of attending the four classes, you will learn to be a more effective teacher because your students will retain more of what they are taught ultimately benefitting your program as a whole.

Seminar #1 – Teaching that Sticks – Developing the Core Principles: This seminar will set the tone and overview for the series. Using the principles illuminated in “Teaching that Sticks”, the presenter will unveil the six traits that make an idea or concept a sticky idea. As a result, students will be able to process and remember the ideas behind what they have learned, and ultimately achieve better results in the classroom and lab. Educators will also learn about The Curse of Knowledge and how it gets in the way of student learning by doing a hands-on activity. This will in return bring better retention and student success to your class and the entire program.

Seminar #2 – Better Retention through Simple & Unexpected Lessons: This class will focus on the first two principles of sticky ideas – Simplicity and Unexpectedness. The use of core ideas to make a point or soliciting a sense of mystery to every lesson will be this seminar’s concepts. Educators will engage in hands-on activities to demonstrate these two principles and then be given time to apply them to their own teaching.

Seminar #3 – Developing Lessons that are Concrete & Credible: Continuing on with the six principles of sticky ideas, attendees will work with the sticky ideas of Concreteness and Credibility. Taking an abstract idea and tuning into a concrete one or making an idea something that is genuine and credible can be illuminating for a student. And sometimes students have to experience something for themselves before it can be seen as credible. Educators will engage in hands-on activities and be given time to apply them to their own teaching.

Seminar #4 – Tying Student Retention to Emotion & Stories: This session will close with the last two principles behind sticky ideas – Emotions and Stories. The entire premise of ideas transferred on an emotional level, and that are tied together by a personal story, will add relevance and personal meaning to your students because they will feel something during the learning process. And some of the stickiest ideas in the world are stories. Once again, attendees will engage in hands-on activities to demonstrate these two principles and then given time to apply them to their own teaching.

Happy Holidays from FELC

2011-12-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to our faculty learning community. There certainly are plenty of holidays at this time of the year to gather and celebrate with family and friends and count our blessings!

We hope to see many of you at the upcoming 2012 Summit in Charlotte, NC at Johnson & Wales.

FELC has some exciting news to share with members and others in the coming year as we strive to deliver on our mission statement! So keep an eye out for our post card mailing and e-mail blasts!

Cheers,

Jami, Mick, Michael

Tis' the Season -- To Be Cheating

2011-12-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

In my intro class I have a module on ethics. Part of that module has to do with cheating customers and why that is bad for business and society. I then share national statistics on student cheating. The high percentage of students, including those who are honors students, that cheat on exams and projects is alarming. My point is simple -- students cheat if give the chance for many reasons: hard to catch, no big deal if caught, no code of conduct, norm is to cheat, etc.
So it is test time for most of us. Here are a few videos on what students do to cheat in the hopes you might be the wiser and able to deter the cheaters. The craziest part of some of these videos on cheating have a commercial for bona fide companies advertising their products. Say, what?!

Reconfiguring a soft drink bottle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91lQK5SCzlQ&ob=av3e

Using a bandaid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2DNACy4_5I&feature=relmfu

Using a pencil eraser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyY-EqYW6Fs&feature=related

How to reconfigure a store bought pen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W9NA876fu8&feature=related

Teacher shares what he has learned from student cheating:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2DNACy4_5I&feature=relmfu

Using a rubber band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGhOYbPgETQ

Low tech popular ways:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EExPFAFeTX4&feature=related

Using calculator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KodpkQWHTyY&feature=related

How Not to Handle Student Cell Phone Use in Class

2011-12-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

Cell phone use by students is a problem. I know there are those who have no policy on it or do not care about students using during class. I am not one of them.

So for today here is a video clip of how not to handle student cell phone laugh as well as provide a little chuckle for you as the semester/term winds down at the peek of teacher stress. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLjgDYyR0m4&feature=related

Shoulder to Shoulder, Eye to Eye

2011-12-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

I am now wrapping up my first full semester teaching the restaurant management lab that runs from 8:30 to 2:20, five days a week. I am blessed with a chef instructor and TA's to get the fine dining restaurant and Cafe up and running each day. I have mainly been expediter at lunch in our fine dining restaurant as well as check in now and then during the morning to see that we are getting ready to open the doors to the public.

I got off to a shaky start since it has been 20 years since I worked full time in the back-of-the house but once I got my legs under me I was able to run the position and teach at the same time. I LOVE teaching the lab everyday because the application of what the student knows and has learned happens in real time. I am in there shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye, with the kids as we call in the orders and sell them each day from 11:30 to 1:00 PM. I really think they love working alongside the teacher, too. It is beholden to me to keep my cool no matter how crazy it gets with kids who have never cooked or served a day in their life as the customers come in the door expecting quality food and service. It is the ultimate teaching challenge.

I will make a confession to you. I was bored out of my mind with lecture classes so glad I took on the ultimate teaching challenge of running the restaurant lab with novice students. I have done all the teaching and learning techniques out there in my lecture classes and they were awesome at the time but soon -- based on the kind of person I am -- became old. But when it comes to the restaurant lab, EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT AND SOME DAYS ARE HORRIBLE! But so much learning is taking place on good days and bad to discuss as a teachable moment(s) while the lab is in full swing or at the end of the day when we do our debrief. I look forward to implementing our revised teaching techniques and sharing them in the spring semester.

So those of you who are out there teaching similar classes you are so LUCKY! I wish I had realized it sooner and taken on the ultimate challenge of teaching the restaurant labs. Cannot wait so see what we continue to do make improvements and share with you in the future. Oh and thanks to Colin Roche I will be using some of his ideas to use my newly acquired Flip digital recorder to film demonstrations students will need to watch before coming to lab so they have a clue about what we are talking about when giving instruction.

Math for the Professional Kitchen

2011-11-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

There is a new book hitting the bookshelves written by Laura Dreesen, Michael Nothnagle and Susan Wysocki from the Culinary Institute of America. Many of you may have seen Laura at the FELC Summits. I have had the chance to review it and find it to be a very good, straightforward workbook for teachers to use to teach culinary math in an easy to follow and grasp format. The chapters are:

1. Units of Measure and Conversions

2. Recipe Scaling

3. Yield Percent

4. Purchasing and Portioning

5. Recipe Costing

6. Kitchen Ratios

In effect, the book covers the essential math that is required to run a profitable foodservice operation. As the authors state in the introduction:

Our goal is to show you mathematical procedures that are frequently used in professional kitchens and bakeshops. We have strived to explain these procedures in a succinct, understandable way without oversimplifying them. As with many topics in mathematics, the proof of the pudding is in the eating: it is your job to take these concepts amd successfully apply them. As you progress through your culinary or baking career, you wil build upon the ideas discussed in this book. You may even encounter procedures that work better for you and those we describe.

Give the book a try, your students may thank you, given the content and the reasonable price!

Check it out at Wiley: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470508965.html

I Am Very Ready for Break!

2011-11-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, I am now teaching our sophomore level restaurant management class where we rotate students through our Cafe and the Front- and Back-of-the-House of our fine dining restaurant. The students also rotate through six positions on each rotation so there is a new face in a place each lab. Since teaching the class I now respect the challenge that those teaching the class have faced over they years as well as all of you out there doing the same. And since we are not a culinary arts program and most students want to be event planners or hoteliers the class is a challenge to teach to say the least.

Although the class is beating me down, I LOVE it! It is the ultimate challenge to both teach students foundations of restaurant management operations while catering to the "Buger King Have it My Way" clientele that we serve every day. I will be sharing more of this experience with you in the future on what the problems and challenges have been and the teaching theories, principles and techniques that I will start to incorporate to better manage the madness that is the restaurant lab. That is why I highly recommend downloading and reading the Teaching that Sticks article I posted on last blog post.

In the meantime, I am very ready to enjoy Thanksgiving break and get the sense that many of you are in the same boat and ready to do the same. So Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at FELC to all of our members and others.

Teaching That Sticks!

2011-11-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago I made a blog post about a book I was reading by Heath and Heath entitled, "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard." I am now reading another of their books called, "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die." Both books are excellent reads on human nature when it comes to making things change or making things stick which apply to administrators and faculty alike to find ways to evolve a program's curriculum and teach courses in ways that students will remember the content.

Low and behold, the authors have now come out with a paper entitled "Teaching that Sticks" which is based on the six traits they identified and defined in their Stick book, namely: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Story. I am confident that if you read the article you will give some thought to the way you are teaching your classes and find new ways to deliver instruction that STICKS. Afterall, it is NOT the students fault that they do not retain or remember what it is you taught them to demonstrate on a quiz, exam or lab -- IT IS YOUR FAULT, like it or not. So read the article and see if it does not change your thinking on your teaching so that what you teach STICKS.

You may download the article at:
http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/CTE/documents/Teaching%20That%20Sticks.pdf

Food Day!

2011-11-10T06:09:00.000-08:00

Darn it! Food Day came and went on October 24 this year and I missed the chance to do a blog post about it so I will do one now thinking ahead to next year. Food Day was launched by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. They are to the processed food industry and the restaurant industy what daylight is to vampires. They tell the truth about the bad food that is being sold to the American public by food conglomerates and restaurant chains which has led to changes that are good for the health of our nation. I am for one am a huge advocate for the Center because it educates Americans on making better food choices for the sake of their health.
As I indicated, Food Day was October 24 and should remain that date for years to come so we can plan events in our community to promote healthy eating. As the website says:
Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. We will work with people around the country to create thousands of events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and state capitals...Transforming the American diet means changing policies as well as changing individual behavior. Agricultural policies should support small and mid-size sustainable and organic farms—and not pour billions of dollars each year onto huge farms that produce monoculture commodity crops. The Americans—and the immigrants to America—who harvest our food deserve protection from harmful pesticides and poor working conditions. And the "factory farms" that hold millions of chickens, pigs, and cows should be replaced by farms that minimize suffering and avoid the pollution of our water, soil, and air.

It's all connected. The diets we select, the foods we grow, the policies we form, and the impact we have. Find—or create—a Food Day event today. It's time to get real about food and in the following ways:
1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods.
2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

What am I doing in response? I writing this blog post! I promote local farmers in our community. I have a full share and am able to get produce from the farmer year round due to his safe innovative farming methods, like growing greens during our Indiana winters in a retrofitted hog barn. I have put him in touch with local restaurants that now feature his produce. We are working now on developing healthy food products that can be processed on his farm and sold in the community. Once he is certified I will be using his produce in our student run restaurant which I now teach.

The menu we have put together for the John Purdue Room is healthy with lots of healthy (vegetarian) dishes. Since making the menu change and promoting it as a project for the students in my sales class the numbers keep growing week in and week out. If you want to check out our menu and the job the sales class is doing to promote the operation through Facebook type John Purdue Room into the search window at the top of your Facebook page.

If you like the idea of Food Day and doing something in response please share with me by sending an e-mail to mlalopa@fooded.org. I am happy to post it to the blog to share with others. If you are vehemently opposed to it and have your reasons we do counterpoints, too! It is all in the spirit of education!

Review Process in Full Swing!

2011-11-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

Yikes, it has been a long time since my last blog post. I love leaving town to attend conferences but find that I am back up to my elbows in alligators! Oh well, such is the life of the hospitality educator. Especially this year with 25 contact hours and all the rest that goes with it to keep the place running to the benefit of students and industry partners.

We are now reviewing the refereed and non-refereed proposals that were submitted to the Summit and looking to make our final determination on those that have been accepted as promised by the 15th. We had a record number of proposals this year to do standup presentations, workshops, panels, and posters. Once we have finalized those who were accepted we will be posting the abstracts to the http://www.fooded.org/ website.

In the meantime, the blog has a VAST array of prior postings so spend some time going back and time and catching some you may have missed over the years.

Happy Teaching!

Course Design and Curriculum Reform

2011-10-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

The weather in Atlanta has been gorgeous and the sessions inside the Hilton have been sizzling, too, at the POD Conference. It is always so invigorating to be amongst those who spend every day at their respective campus working with faculty to be better teachers.

As always there is a session that really has a wow factor and presents a new idea on something I thought I knew very well, which in this case is curriculum. I attended a session entitled, "Course Design and Curriculum Reform" presented by Edmund Hansen from Northeastern Illinois University. For once, the session was better than the description as I gained new insights into designing a curriculum that enhances and ensures student learning. As the presenter said, the session was about how to teach the curriculum and know whether your students have learned it -- based on factual evidence. He walked us through a matrix that had the following column headings from left to right: Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings (on the part of the student), Learning Outcomes, Common Misconceptions & Barriers (to student learning), Essential Questions, Guiding Concepts, Authentic Performance Tasks, Performance Criteria, and Required Competencies.

It would be next to impossible to explain the content of the workshop so going to recommend the book that I bought from the author at his book signing today for just under $18, entitled, Idea-Based Learning: A Course Design Process to Promote Conceptual Understanding. It has just hit the market and not even on Amazon yet. You can get it in paperback and published by Styllus, ISBN 978-1-57922-614-5. Get yourself a copy, you will not regret it and it will give fresh insights on how to formulate an effective curriculum or revise your current one. If interested in speaking to author, his e-mail is E-Hansen@neiu.edu

Heading to POD!

2011-10-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. I leave on Wednesday for the POD Network Conference in Atlanta. I am also staying at the same hotel that hosted the eastern ACF regional conference which was near the restaurant that sold me the best seared Ahi Tuna ever, Ray's. POD supports a network of nearly 1,800 members, who are faculty and teaching assistant developers, faculty, administrators, consultants, and others who perform roles that value teaching and learning in higher education. I have been a member for over 8 years and have learned so much about teaching and learning by hanging out on the listserv and attending / presenting at the annual conference.

The majority of those who are members of POD know the teaching and learning literature inside and out and have been an invaluable resource to me as I find ways to be a better teacher. They know best practices on teaching and learning. They know the movers and shakers in the field of education and many will be in attendance or invited to speak as keynotes.

I learn so much from those I have come to know over the years at social functions, keynote addresses, publications, and conference sessions. I will blog the highlights of the conference while in Atlanta.

In the meantime, check out what POD is all about at: http://www.podnetwork.org/index.htm You can even check out some of my publications in the publications link under Essays on Teaching Excellence.

Take 20 Minutes!

2011-10-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Business Week is still one of my favorite periodicals to read each time it hits my mailbox. There is always cutting edge information on our industry and our profession of “learning.” There was a section in a recent issue on “most viewed talks.” One of the most viewed talks was by Ken Robinson on how schools kill creativity. As stated in the promo for the talk “Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.”

After viewing the video he indeed gives one pause for thought as to whether at the OK Plateau (I talked about in a previous post) or doing things in class or lab that let enable student’s to apply their creativity in an educational setting.

Here is an application of the talk. In last Wednesday’s lab I returned to see how clean up was going. The students informed me that they had been working with the TA to experiment with espresso machine and created a coffee drink they called “The Turtle.” I asked what “The Turtle” was and they told me the recipe and believed it to be one great tasting coffee drink. I said “I believe you” so let us put it on the menu. There was jubilation all around while I reminded them that in the orientation for the class they were to think of the restaurant lab class as their own business and glad to hear they are taking ownership six weeks into the semester. I then told them I expect Turtle sales be stellar during their next lab because they believed in it.

That is teaching to me! I hope it is the same to you. So stop in our lab on Wednesday and grab a Turtle, or favorite beverage, then kick back and enjoy it while watching a thought-provoking heavily viewed video by Ken Robinson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Rate Your Syllabus!

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

The syllabus may be one of the most important documents we can prepare as educators. It is the primary method that students know what the course is about, how it will be taught, how they will be assessed, important policies, and so forth. I must confess that I have seen plenty of syllabi from other faculty and amazed at how poorly they are written and no wonder the students struggle in the class -- they have no clue as to the instructor's expecations, what they are to learn, and so forth. Indeed, many syllabi I have reviewed spend the vast majority on how students are to behave in the class when it comes to dress, attitude, attendance, punctuality, cell phone or laptop use in class, cheating, and precisous little on LEARNING. It is more like Hammurabi's Code of Laws than a syllabus.

So for those who want to see how their syllabus stacks up to a rubric designed to assess one, first visit the following URL. Then go through your syllabus and score it. Naturally, where a criterion has a ranking of 1, or perhaps 2, then make necessary corrections. The rubric has such criteria as syllabus heading, learning outcomes, instructional strategies, and more. As my friends in the UK would say, "give it a go!" Your students will appreciate it for sure and be far less confused as to what it is they are to learn from your teaching.
The URL with the rubric is found at:
http://www.fsc.edu/extended/documents/Rubric-evaluatingsyllabi1-5-06final.doc

Call for Proposals, FELC Summit 2012

2011-10-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

The deadline for the call for proposals was midnight October 1. Thanks to all of you who submitted proposals over the weekend.

For those who thought it might be the 15th please feel free to keep working on your proposal and get it to me asap. If this is your situation please e-mail me at mlalopa@fooded.org and let me know you are going to submit a refereed or non-refereed proposal for review soon.

The link for the call for proposals and submission requirements can be found on our website at:
http://www.fooded.org/Resources/Documents/Call%20for%20Proposals%202012.pdf

Cheers,
Mick La Lopa

Franke Leake Speaks on Teaching Culinary Arts

2011-09-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

FELC member, Franke Leake, who teaches in Hawaii, gave a great interview about teaching culinary arts and the industry in general. Here is the information that awaits those who click on the URL below to hear the short interview:

In the past decade, there’s been a huge change in people’s attitudes about what they eat and drink. America's chefs are changing to keep pace. This year the American Chef’s Federation and the American Academy of Chefs honored Kapiolani Community College’s Frank Leake, with the Culinary Traditions award for excellence in developing the next generation of culinary leaders. HPR’s Noe Tanigawa spoke with him about eating and cooking. The Hawai’i Food and Wine Festival starts this Thursday. Find out more at http://www.hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com/ . Hawai’i-born KCC graduate Lance Nitahara is currently competing in "Chopped", the Food Network program Frank Leake calls the most true to life. Be prepared for a dramatic finish.

You can hear the interview by visiting:
http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/content/frank-leake-chef-professor-part-community-shapes-what-we-eat

Great job, Franke!

Call for Proposals Deadline Draws Near

2011-09-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is a reminder of the call for proposals to be showcased at the FELC Fourth Annual Summit that is being held at Johnson & Wales – Charlotte Campus, North Carolina, March 30 & 31, 2012 (with a evening welcome reception on Thursday, March 29th). The deadline to submit your proposal is October 1, 2011. This call for proposals provides FELC members and others the chance to enrich the learning community and add to their vitae by proposing stand-up presentations, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, and poster sessions in either a refereed or non-refereed track that constitute best practices in culinary arts and foodservice education. All are welcome to submit proposals even if not currently teaching in a culinary arts or hospitality program since a key goal of the Summit is to enhance the quality of teaching for learning among FELC members and others.

There is no theme, per se, for this year’s conference because we want members and others to share their approach to teaching and learning with members and others at the Summit. We are happy to accept proposals concerning all aspects of teaching practices, principles, issues, concerns, and philosophies at the secondary and post-secondary levels in areas such as: assessment, accreditation, curriculum, effective use of teaching techniques, putting Green into the curriculum, diversity awareness, handling difficult students, study abroad programs, and more.

Again, the deadline for submitting a proposal is midnight, October 1, 2011. For complete information on proposal submission guidelines and requirements please visit http://www.fooded.org/

Those submitting a proposal will be notified by November 11, 2010 as to whether or not accepted for the Summit.

What I Teach in Restaurant Lab Class

2011-09-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

In the fundamental restaurant management lab that I teach we have academic objectives to teach for sure. We teach the kids the equipment. We teach the kids different service styles. We teach the kids basic cooking. We teach them sanitation. We teach them management basics. They take quizzes and exams to motivate them to do the readings as well as retain what was learned from hands-on experience they get on a daily basis in the lab.

But the we teach them much more than that; we teach them about a professional kitchen. For example, when I am expediting during lunch service, or my TA's stand in for me, there is no YELLING at servers or cooks or anyone else for that matter. No matter how deep in the weeds we get from time to time. We run a cool, calm, level-headed kitchen where orders come in, they are made, and served to guests as a team effort. There is no yelling like on Hell's Kitchen or some of the kitchens I worked in when I had the energy for this business.

There is no crazy, arrogant, egocentric, rude, bullying, loud, demeaning, self-indulging, hungover -- pick your adjective -- "chef" running around making everyone crazy, scared, crying or whatever. Our chef works alongside the kids because she has a skill set that the kids need to tap into to work the line, make salads, plate desserts, etc., so we can serve our guests. She is patient, she is caring, she is cool and does not roll her eyes when showing a kid to make a basil chiffonade to garnish our whole wheat pasta dish for the 10th time! She is an educational professional.

There is NO sexual harassment of any kind albeit hostile work environment or quid pro quo that we all know is too common in the industry we know and love. There are only "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen" in my lab. Nobody at any time for any reason makes any off color or sexual comment, nobody exhibits a behavior that is inappropriate either. We show up, do service, have a robust debrief when the lab has been cleaned, and the students go their separate ways knowing a bit more about resturant management than the lab before. That is what I was hired to do!

And this is what I want our kids to expect when they work as an intern or start their MIT program at an independent or chain restaurant. That is what I teach. I teach the professional kitchen. Indeed, Bourdain would be hard-pressed to write anything sensational about the goings on in my lab!

It's a Beautiful Thing to Behold!

2011-09-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

We are into our fourth week of rotation in the restaurant class. The students in the BOH and FOH in our fine dining restaurant, as well as those on the Cafe side of the operation have hit their stride with confidence and competence at an all time high. The kids have become a well oiled machine on the fine dining side for sure. On the days that I expedite you can see the kids moving in unison as I call in orders and sell them one after the other. Indeed today we taught them the old classic tableside dessert, bananas foster. All it took was one server selling one and the rest of the orders poured in to the delight of servers and guests.

These are the days when the fruits of the labor of teaching the lab are paying off. The kids really have got it together and it is a joy cranking up the lab everyday. Watching the restaurant fill up with guests and watch the orders go out to our standards. I will truly enjoy it as much as I can....

...because we will be rotating the kids next week into their new positions for another four week stint. I am sure it will not be the same as going back to square 1 because we have a great debrief for all stations now so the kids at least know what to expect when they do rotate. The downside is that they will not yet have stepped on the line to cook the orders I will most certainly call in an try to sell, parties big and small. They will get the hang of it like the current crew, no doubt.

I am loving teaching this class. I now know the joy that many of you must feel when the lab is humming like mine is today and hopefully in the days ahead. So here is a shout out to all of you teaching labs that have a public face!

The Value of a $3 Cupcake

2011-09-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today in the lab the students learned the value of a complimentary cupcake. Let me explain.

We had an elderly couple make reservations for lunch today. The Mrs. wanted to treat her man to lunch in our student-run restaurant. She told us ahead of time that it was her husbands 80-something birthday. We asked the kids what we should do, if anything, now that we know there is a special occasion in the house. The students gravitated quickly to the idea of serving up one of our Guiness Cupcakes as a special birthday treat, compliments of the house, with students singing Happy Birthday. Something I do not think we ever did in the restaurant but hey, I'm in charge now!

The kids were excited with their plan.

Finally the moment arrived. The party's plates were cleared and three student servers accompanied the TA to the table of the birthday boy. As the cupcake was placed before our guest, the kids sang a genuine Happy Birthday to the delight of the gentleman. His wife looked on lovingly.

In the debrief we had a chance to discuss how comping a $3 cupcake was worth its weight in gold and how we made that guest's day very special indeed with the unexpected treat. The kids basked in the glow of their decision which pleased me to no end.

Bottom line. Although running this lab is really physically and mentally challenging for me these days, the days like today make it all worth it. The kids learned how to create a memorable experience with a $3 cupcake and a song.

Greetings from the Restaurant Lab

2011-09-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is a small cubicle with a half wall in the corner of our student run restaurant that allows us to store supplies needed for service and the pc I am now writing this blog post. This is truly a great venue from which to observe students doing what they have been educated and trained to do from checking reservations to presenting the check. I am almost invisible sitting here although I can see the entire lab.

Like just now...back in a moment.

We have a student in the management position today who is behaving more as a hostess than manager. While typing this post I noticed our server place an entree before a guest af the improper position -- which would not make our chef happy. I motioned her quietly over to the cubicle and asked her what she thought of the way in which the entree was presented at table 33. She had no clue what I was asking. That was when I was able to have Just-In-Time Teaching to discuss plate placement, which she said we had not taught her and a bad answer because we did teach her table service techniques. Then again, it was a good answer because it means we may not have taught her this properly.

Once she realized the conversation was aimed at improving her management skills she thought it would be a good idea to go to the back-of-the house to see the photos we have of our menu items for cooks and servers to know how to prepare and present menu items to our guests. She also thought it would be good to call servers together to make sure they are placing the plates down in their proper position. I thought that was a good idea, too. Now she is managing instead of guarding the reception desk!

The bottom line for me is that I am LOVING teaching the lab this semester. It allows me to see whether or not the way we have taught students to manage the restaurant has been effective or not. And that is something we know in real time because the students are acting on what we have taught them and some things have stuck and others have not -- which allows for instant coaching. I do not get the opportunity to see what is going on in the heads of my students in traditional classrooms like this lab and will miss seeing how thinking is being translated into learned service behavior. Long live the lab!

Groundhog Day

2011-09-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

Have any of you ever seen the movie Goundhog Day with Bill Murray? If not, here is a trailer for the movie to refresh memory or give you an idea of the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_yDWQsrajA

In essence, the character played by Murray is reliving the same day over and over and the movie captures how he handles that situation and is quite hilarious. Over time, he continually improves upon each day until he ends up with the perfect day!

Well that is how I feel teaching five sections of the foodservice lab this semester so far. The alarm goes off every day at 7:30. I go through the same routine to ready for work and drive to campus. I walk into the back of the house of our restaurant and there stand 16 to 20 fresh faces, depending on the day, ready to open up a restaurant for the first time. Many have never even made Mac-n-Cheese from a box and in an hour or two they will be wielding a French Knife to prep for service, setting tables, etc., so that we can open our doors to the public at 11:30 AM for service. Like the Bill Murray character we do our best to make each day in the lab progressively better and so far so good; by the time we get to the Friday lab we know the best things to say and do to have a successful lab for that day in the front- and back-of-the-house. And then we arrive back to Monday with a new rotation of fresh faces to repeat the day's lessons for the remainder of the week to reach perfrection on Friday. So it goes.

Alas, the life of the lab instructor! I am sooooooooooooooo glad I took on this assignment to teach the foodservice lab for the fall semester. I can now feel the pleasure and pain that many members have been experiencing at culinary arts programs and walking in their shoes will help me be more responsive to their needs through FELC! Can I have an Amen!

We Teach the Finer Points of Service

2011-08-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

I am so jealous of all of you that have taught or are teaching student run restaurants. We opened today for service after having one week of orientation for the students last week. Today was the Monday section and we learned how well we did on orientation with a crew of students in the front of the house and back of the house. I was pleased that we only had 14 reservations (6 parties) to get the kids some practice before we start to fill up on a regular basis. All in all it went well.

HOWEVER, it was the finer points that we could not have possibly covered due to time constraints and other hiccups that reared their ugly head today such as no carbonation in the soft drinks. The kids could not make up their minds as to which hand to use to set down plates or beverages and then take them away. Where to stand when not engaged in service. Which way do we want the plates to be set before the customer? Where are the cut flowers for the tables? When to return to the table to inquire as to the quality of the meal. So it goes (stolen from Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five).

What I learned today is that what I need to teach is the FINER POINTS of service. Sure, we reviewed with servers how to approach the table and what to say throughout service through to clearing the table. Yes, we worked with students on cooking the menu items in the back of the house. But where we fell down today was all the little things that add up to the big thing we call Stellar Customer Service. And that is what we will spend the next 15 weeks doing -- the FINER points so that when students leave here we hopefully have corrected the bad behaviors they learned someplace else or taught them to do service correctly from that point forward.

I LOVE IT!

Research Study in Culinary Arts

2011-08-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter from Glenn Mack, Doctoral Student at Nova Southeastern University and President, Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta. He is doing research on culinary arts education and you can be a part. I am sure he will be happy to share his findings when he gets his dissertation signed, sealed and delivered. Please participate in the survey as the findings will benefit our profession.

Dear Culinary Educator,

When we speak of professionalism in culinary arts, what do we really mean? This research attempts to narrow our industry definition and ultimately find effective ways to teach, measure, and instill professional values and behaviors in the workplace and the culinary classroom. Your responses are a valuable contribution to our field. Thank you for your dedication to our craft.

This survey should take no more than 5 minutes, with only 4 questions and a handful of demographic options.
Phase 1 questionnaire: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CTYEWY37S

All survey responses are voluntary and confidential. Answers are anonymous unless you wish to identify yourself through your email address. I maintain no database of those who have completed the survey.

Thank you so much,

Glenn R. Mack, Doctoral Student
Nova Southeastern University
President, Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta
404-353-8405 grmack@nova.edu

IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY before agreeing to participate contact Glenn or review an explanation of the research, preliminary results, and contact information may be found at http://mackpar-culinaryprofessionalism.wikispaces.com/

Why Am I So Anxious?

2011-08-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

I have taught for 20 years now or more. I have won teaching awards. I give presentations on teaching on and off campus. I write this blog, for goodness sake. And with all that I am still anxious about the first day of class tomorrow morning. I will hardly sleep a wink tonight as anxious as the night before I taught my very first class at the Rochester Institute of Technology back in 1989! It is even worse since I am teaching the restaurant management class which has five sections and meets Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 2:30! I have NEVER ever had to be in the office for five straight days; I have enjoyed my MWF or TR class rotations. What makes matters worse it that I have NEVER taught this class and only doing it for the fall semester and then go back to my normal class schedule teaching HR and Sales. I am going to attempt to follow the playbook of the chef who taught it quite well in the spring with his system. So the anxiety is even WORSE! On the bright side, I may now better relate to culinary instructors who are in the class or lab all week, too.

How can this be? I love being a teacher! I love the students! I love my campus, even more so since we just moved into out new building, Marriott Hal! And regardless of all that I WILL BE ANXIOUS!

Am I nuts? Wait, don't answer that. Am I alone in my feelings of anxiety? Who out there feels the same way?

It's That Time Again!

2011-08-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Now that the Corona Light fueled vacations have come to an end it is time to get back to the business of teaching! I could not be happier to be back now that I have rested body, mind and spirit. I enjoy my time away from campus with the family but find it hard to keep the thoughts of the upcoming school year out of my head. I love teaching, what can I say. I cannot wait to step back into the class or lab and look into the faces of the industry's future and do my level best to prepare them as best I can to meet the challenges that await them upon graduation.

For those of you dreading the return of the students to campus to start the school year, however, I gotta ask, "What's up with that!?" If teaching does not define who you are and what you do for a living perhaps it is time to go back to industry or go be a "fire watcher" (for those familiar with Caddy Shack). And this is not something that can be hidden from the students, they will know if you are not dedicated to your craft because you will be easily compared to those who are jazzed up about teaching like so many in our learning community. So if dreading the return of students perhaps it is time to do some soul searching. Find that spark that used to be there when first teaching and fire it up for the sake of our profession and our industry. The kids depend on it!

FELC Turns 3!

2011-08-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, can you believe it?! FELC turns 3 years-old on August 8 while I am away on vacation so wanted to announce it today. We have come a long way since Michael Carmel, Jami Yanoski and I convened in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Charleston, SC, to launch this membership based organization to benefit culinary arts educators and administrators back in 2008.

The Summit continues to get stronger every year and we are looking forward to hosting our fourth at the Charlotte Johnson and Wales campus on March 30 & 31, 2012. Look for the call for proposals to arrive via e-mail in the coming week. The call for competitors for the Ultimate Teacher Competition will be sent out later in the fall so start planning ahead to competing for the 2012 crown!

The online certification produces more and more graduates each month and we are very pleased to announce that the program will be available in Spanish to serve educators from Puerto Rico who are to do the program this year.

We are also ecstatic that we successfully delivered the educational series for the ACF at all four regional conferences and the national conference, that was just held in Dallas. All of the feedback from those who attended the workshops gave excellent reviews on the quality of the workshops primarily delivered by Chef Carmel and myself (Dr. Mick La Lopa). Thanks also goes to David Yanoski who helped us deliver a workshop on rubrics at the national conference.

FELC still has a few more tricks up its sleeve and planning to roll out more faculty development programs for culinary arts educators and administrators. The details of these faculty development programs will be announced this coming fall so that you and/or your entire school may have a chance to participate in 2012.

So Happy 3rd Birthday, FELC! It would not have been possible without the enthusisastic support from our members, sponsors, and ACF. Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Preparation for Fall Classes

2011-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I am an avid reader and consumer of print and digital information pertaining to teaching and learning and this beloved industry of ours. I am always trying to keep up with news and information that effects the industry and discover new ways of teaching or simply improve those methods I am using now or have in the past. But this blog post has to do with one of the greatest preparation methods I use over the summer to prepare for fall classes and that is do to NOTHING WHATSOEVER related to teaching and learning. I even left behind a fascinating book on college teaching I shared at the ACF National Convention during my workshop on fun, engaging and innovative assessment methods. I will resume reading the book and share in an upcoming blog post.

I just returned from a week of vacation to western NY to visit family and friends and eat those foods that I loved growing up as a child and young adult. If you are from that area you can relate to a "white hot", Grandma Brown's beans, and sweet corn which I enjoyed on several occasions. You can also relate to the Friday night Haddock fish fry complete with crinkle cut fries, cole slaw, and a dinner roll. All of which are found among the beautiful lakes, rivers and streams that are nestled among rolling hills that can be found in the Finger Lakes Region where I was born, just outside of Rochester, NY. As I consumed such delicacies I did not give a single thought to what I do for a living. I even did that which is the hardest to do when dining out -- NOT critique the quality of the food and service I was subjected to along the way unless it was horrid, which it never was. I just simply enjoyed the blessing of being alive and healthy to go and do as I pleased with my family.

I find that these breaks rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit and allow me to take a fresh look at my teaching when I sit down before the computer, as I am doing now to lazily prepare for the fall. I feel alive again and ready to get down to business in a few weeks. I hope you have been able to do the same.

So the message for today's blog post is that sometimes the greatest thing one can do to prepare for fall classes and be a better teacher is to do absolutely nothing at various points during the summer if one has the luxury to do so as I just did with my family. Give yourself permission to do nothing, too. You will find great rewards in the pursuit of not doing and simply being!

Culinary Education Loses Chef Antun

2011-07-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

John Antun, associate professor in the Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences and director of UT’s Culinary Institute, died last Monday after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. I am sorry for not posting this sooner to the blog. Chef Antun was a GREAT teacher and human being. He was there from the start to help launch FELC and was present at the last Summit although he was suffering greatly from his cancer. He hung in there up to the end doing what he loved best -- teaching.

Chef Antun was also responsible for starting the Journal of Culinary Science and Technology which is widely read by teachers and researchers in academia and industry alike. The ecclectic journal always has something of interest for everyone to read and the brainchild of Chef Antun. We will great miss him in the future but his spirit will live on in the years ahead as we keep his memory alive by being the best teachers and researchers we can be in culinary arts and science education.

To read more about Chef Antun visit:
http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2011/07/14/memoriam-john-antun/
http://hosting-24617.tributes.com/show/John-Antun-91905077

For those who may have known Chef Antun, part of his obituary states:
“The family is requesting donations be made to the John Antun Scholarship Fund, c/o RHT Dept., 110 Jessie Harris Bld., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1911”

Rest easy, big John. We will truly miss you as you have been an inspiration to so many. We just hope will be able to return the favor.

See You in Big D at the ACF National Convention

2011-07-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Michael Carmel and I have made our final plans for the education development series on Friday at the ACF National Convention in Dallas. We will be joined by Jami Yanoski's brother David. We are all focusing on assessment for our three, two-hour worshops, so hope to see you there. The three sessions including lunch are $125 and each attendee also gets a certificate of completion:
The schedule is as follows:

08:10 AM - 10:10 AM

EDS: Practical Program Assessment – Chef Michael Carmel

Sponsored by: Canada Cutlery Inc.
This class will examine "Practical On-Going Assessment" tools that culinary administrators use when addressing yearly curriculum review or assessment from national and regional accreditation organizations

10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

EDS: Developing and Using Rubrics in the Classroom – David Yanoski

Sponsored by: Canada Cutlery Inc.
The use of rubrics to assess student progress and provide feedback is one of the most powerful research backed tools available to the educator

01:30 PM - 03:30 PM

EDS: Fun, Engaging and Innovative Assessment Techniques – Dr. Mick La Lopa

Sponsored by: Canada Cutlery Inc.
In this workshop attendees will learn several assessment techniques that are used to teach a sales and human resource management course in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University.

See you in Dallas!

Well Bust My Buttons

2011-07-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

I awoke today to some great news making me even more impressed lately with the National Restaurant Association. Today they launched a new initiative called Kids LiveWell. The lead paragraph on the website say's it all: When parents dine out, they are looking for healthier options for their kids. Many restaurants already have them. The National Restaurant Association has teamed up with Healthy Dining on Kids LiveWell. The new initiative showcases the restaurant industry’s commitment to offer healthful options for children. To that end the NRA has launched this new program with the industry.

If you go to the website http://www.restaurant.org/foodhealthyliving/kidslivewell/index.cfm you will find detailed information about the program, participating restaurants and companies, and media resources. This program is destined for success since more than 15,000 restaurant locations became part of the launch of the program that belong to the following 19 brands: Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Chevys Fresh Mex, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Friendly’s, IHOP, Joe’s Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza.

This is great news indeed as long as the brands start to promote the healthy eating options over those laden with fat, sugar, salt, and artificial colors & flavors. Indeed this has to be done if we are going to reverse the obesity epidemic in this country which is costing the economy billions of dollars each year due to fast and junk food addictions. And if you do not think fast food can be addicting, yes just like heroine and nicotine, then you should have watched this past week's episode of the Extreme Makeover weightloss tv show which showcased the power that food had over this gentleman who had to be checked into a rehab clinic to stop his addiction and lose weight for the sake of his health. He actually lost 110 pounds in three months under the watchful eye of the trainer then gained 70 of it back when on his own to lose more weight due to sneaking fast food meals everyday.

I do hope that culinary arts and education can join with the NRA to reformulate menu offerings that are tasty and healthy. It is very possible to provide food that is good for customers without sacrificing the profits of a foodservice operation. My hat is off to the 19 brands that signed on to the program. Now what about us? You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be pushing harder than ever to offer healthier options on the menus we offer the public through our foodservice operations because we are in the EDUCATION BUSINESS and have to do all we can to educate the next generation of students and consumers to make better food choices. I hope more of you will join me.

Fixed versus Growth Mindset?

2011-07-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

This week’s read is another book that I highly recommend reading if you are attempting to effectuate change upon yourself or others, such as faculty or students. The book is entitled “Switch” and written by Heath and Heath and published in 2010 by Broadway Books. In the author’s words, This book is to help you change things. We consider change at every level – individual, organizational, and societal. Maybe you want to help your brother beat his gambling addiction. Maybe you need your team at work to act more frugally because of marketing conditions…For individuals’ behavior to change; you’ve got to influence their hearts and minds. The problem is this: Often the heart and mind disagree. Fervently.

The authors then boil change down to a matter of directing the rider, motivating the elephant, and shaping the path and provide plenty of examples of how this formula has effectuated both small and large scale change.

One particular section of the book caught my attention as it relates to teaching with people having either a “fixed mindset” or a “growth” mindset. People who have a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are basically static. People with a growth mindset believe that abilities are like muscles – they can be built up with practice. Guess which of the two is harder to teach?! The answer of course is the fixed mindset and you will have to teach them differently than the growth mindset to get them on track to do well in your classes -- because they do not think they can "do it" or "get it." These students may very well be in need of “brain is like muscle” training before they can get down to the business of tackling the coursework. For a great explanation of this very important concept be sure to read pages 161-168 when reading the book.

By the way, are you reading a great book you would like to recommend to FELC members and others? Just write a short synopsis as I have done in this blog post and send it to mlalopa@fooded.org with your name, title, and school and I will be happy to post it for all to see.

High on the Hog

2011-07-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have just finished yet another interesting book as part of the usual happily self-imposed summer reading program while on break from Purdue. The book is entitled, "High on the Hog, A Culinary Journey from America to America" by Jessica Harris. The book is a fascinating account of the slavery period in the United States intertwined with the culinary heritage of slaves that influenced the American diet. I learned a great deal about the slave trade that I either did not remember from K-12 or was never taught in class. One of the most interesting facts was that only a small percentage of slaves garnered from Africa came to America, the vast majority went to Central and South America. I thought all slaves traded from Africa by traders were brought to America. I also learned that it was possible for slaves to become free and live a somewhat normal life -- mostly in the northern states -- and become quite successful business people in the hospitality and services business during and after slavery was abolished. One example is the Harlem street vendors who sold pigs' feet, fried chicken, hot corn and other vegetables out of horse drawn carts using syncopated rythms and humorous rhymes (eary form of rap?). In many ways, these entrepreneurs were direct descendents of the vegetable hawkers of Charleston and New Orleans and even the black street-food sellers who had dotted the downtown New York streets in the colonial period and early years of the nineteenth century.

I also learned that ochra, watermelon and black-eyed peas are native to Africa and brought here on slave ships and the reason that those plants figure into the culinary heritage and diet of Black Americans. There is also a nice selection of recipes in the back including those to prepare pigs feet, watermelon-rind pickles, possum with sweet potatoes, and bean pie. There are also many references to those who became successful restaurateurs over the years and cookbooks that would be a nice addition to one's culinary school library.

All in all it was a very good book and I learned alot and confident you will enjoy it, too. The author did extensive research to put this book together to tell an accurate and interesting story of the role that Black Americans played to integrate their cultural traditions into the one we take for granted today.

Happy 4th of July from FELC

2011-07-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

We wish you all a great 4th of July. Time to demonstrate outdoor barbecue prowess with family and friends. Be careful with those fireworks -- you need all your fingers to teach culinary arts and sciences.
Regards,
Michael, Jami, Mick

FELC Member to Make Food Network Debut on New Show "Extreme Chef"

2011-06-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Chef Klink’s episode will premier Thursday, July 21st at 10pmET/PT. The name of the episode will be “Ice House.” In the episode three chefs get iced out at the Arctic Glacier Ice Factory in Los Angeles after arriving blindfolded and being greeted by host Marsh Mokhtari and a torrential hailstorm. In the first challenge, the competitors must prepare a cooked but cold appetizer in 25 minutes amidst the hailstorm with only a glass frying pan lid to protect their food. The winner of the challenge gets to wear a warm vest in the next challenge where the chefs must climb up ice slides to a storage warehouse to cook cold weather meats in a “pocket rocket” stove. With a few twists including making a drinking glass with a power drill and preparing a garnish completely frozen using liquid nitrogen, the chefs must complete and plate their meal after searching for their plates in an intense snowdrift. After one elimination the two remaining chefs must break a 300-pound block of ice using only hand tools to procure ingredients to make the perfect bite in 20 minutes. Only one chef can survive the bone-chilling conditions and earn the title Extreme Chef.

Chefs: LJ Klink, Co-Owner, Klink's On The Lake (Cheney, Wa.) and Director of Culinary Arts Institute (Decatur, Ill.)

Edie Robertson, Private Chef (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Luca Rutigliano, Executive Chef, Cordevalle Resort (San Martin, Calif.)

Judges: Simon Madjumdar, Judge on Next Iron Chef; Marcela Valladolid, Food Network host, Mexican Made Easy

This new show sounds crazy and if you know LJ you know he is up to the challenge. From all of us at FELC, we say go for it!

Exciting News -- FELC Fourth Annual Summit!

2011-06-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Michael Carmel, Jami Yanoski and Mick La Lopa are very pleased to announce that the fourth annual FELC Summit will be held at the Charlotte Johnson and Wales campus on March 30 and 31, 2012. The format that proved to be very popular at the 2011 Summit will be followed once again in Charlotte. We are very pleased to forge this partnership with Johnson and Wales at Charlotte because it is a great campus that has a Doubletree hotel literally next door and the downtown area with shops and restaurants is a short walking distance away saving attendees the cost of a rental car while at the Summit. Look for an e-mail to members, sponsors and others giving more details on the registration and hotel rate, call for papers, and more!

2011 Issue of IJ-SoTL now Available Online for Free!

2011-06-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Alan Altany has announced that the July 2011 issue of International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (IJ-SoTL) is available free and online at http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n2.html

This online publication is always worth a peek because it may include tested teaching methods that you can apply in your culinary kitchen or classroom. Perhaps you could even do a teaching experiment of your own someday and get it published in this fine online journal. I would even offer you my assistance to get the article ready for review.

If wanting to know more about Dr Altany and his work on SoTL, here is his contact information:
Alan Altany, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Teaching, Learning & Scholarship
http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/cet/
Editor, International Journal for SoTL
http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/
Chair, SoTL Commons Conference
http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/conference/
Coordinator, SoTL at Georgia Southern
http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlgsu/

Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Georgia, USA 30460-8143
Email: aaltany@georgiasouthern.edu

Fair Food

2011-06-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

I may have indicated in previous blog posts that I read at least two books a week. I am an educator and I hold my feet to the fire to stay educated. I tend to read nonfiction that somehow relates to the world of food production and consumption because it is vital to our very existence as a species on Earth and an industry that we love -- especially now by teaching it to others to prepare them for the rough and tumble career that awaits replete with many joys and sorrows.

The book I just finished is called Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable, Food System For All by Oran B. Hesterman, Ph.D. It is a WONDERFUL book indeed and cannot recommend it highly enough. Why? Because I have read a littany of books that speak to what is wrong with the way we grow, process, serve food, and consume food at home and food service outlets which are DAMN DEPRESSING! This book tells many, many stories about what people, communities, schools and businesses are doing to turn the tide and make things right in the world of food production and consumption.

The author was a former professor of agronomy at Michigan State and co-led the Integrated Farming Systems and Food and Society Programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, during which time the Foundations seeded the local food systems movement with over $200 million. He pours out his vast knowledge into the pages of this book. For example, he started Fair Food Network in Detroit to encourage people to spend their food assistance dollars in the local farmers' market, which was later implemented in other American cities for good reason. He also speaks to programs like School Food Focus that was started in St. Paul. MN, to encourage school districts to increase the percentage of locally grown produce it purchased to serve in the school and reduce the sugar content in milk. There is also Farm to School which connects educational institutions with local farms that has captured the imagination of tens of thousands of educators, parents, students, volunteers, community leaders, and farmers across the country. And there are countless other stories about those leading the effort to produce and consume foods that are locally produced and healthy to eat.

Best of all there is a final chaper devoted to resources one can get in touch with to learn learn more and get actively involved. I will share many of them in blog posts down the road but for now the chapter is broken into resources for: Consumers (such as CSA Farming, Eat Well Guide); Urban Agriculture Food Systems (such as Fair Food Philly, People's Grocery); Business Incubators and Related Resources (such as Kitchen Chicago); Hunger Food Security; and Food Access, Youth Development and Food Systems (such as The Edible School Yard); Education / Research Centers and Programs; Farmer Training, Networks, and Resources; Institutional Purchasing; Environment and Conservation; Activist Networks (such as Farm Aid); and Policy Advocacy Networks.

So pick it up at a local bookseller and support your local economy while enriching your mind with what is capable when people work together to do right by others around food. Your students depend on it.

Most Children Left Behind

2011-06-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Many believe, as do I, that the trouble with the public education system is that it has not evolved from what it was originally intended to do, prep kids to work in manufacturing based jobs or educate those who were living on the farms when not planting and harvesting crops to educate a nation. It was also developed during a time when there were not as many distractions for children as there are these days from the advance of technology. No wonder it is difficult for kids to sit in a classroom all day long when their world is abuzz with distractions. Case in point, my son was playing a hand held game device a few years ago (10 years old) when we were taking a extended ride in the car. He asked me if I had a similar device when I was a kid. I told him "no, we did not." He gave me an incredulous look and asked what we used to play with when we were kids. I told him we used our imagination! Heck, when I was a kid we used to play army and use our finger for a pistol and a long stick for a rifle -- when kids play army today they have air soft guns that look like the real thing, dress in camouflage gear, and go out on patrol.

That is why you may very well enjoy this 11 minute presentation by Aaron Lewis on public education. He speaks to the heart of the matter and lays out the key problems in public education. If you listen carefully enough he is suggesting that we stop doing the same shit they do in K-12 when kids come to our campuses and get them engaged in the learning especially with each other for maximum learning. Check it out and see what you think at the following URL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aaronlewis321?email=share_video_user

Perhaps the entire public school system has gotten to the "OK Plateau" I mentioned in last blog post.

Are You at the OK Plateau?!

2011-06-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Since I have been teaching for 20 years, I do not hold much stock in standardized course evaluations. Indeed I have been reading the littany of research that has to do with student evaluations of teaching (SET) and convinced now more than ever that they are but one limited method by which to assess the quality of one's teaching from the students perspective. I will be sharing this research in future posts.
As a result, I piloted an in depth SET with help from the students who took my spring human resource management course under the auspices of employee performance evaluation. The purpose of the activity was to allow students to apply what they were learning about employee performance evaluation to the context of teaching and get a richer more meaningful understanding of what it is like to be a student at Purdue.

The students answered five essay questions which essentially asked them to describe their dream teacher, describe the typical professor they have had at Purdue across all classes, the one course evaluation item they would pick to assess the quality of a professor’s teaching, how they would evaluate teaching if President of Purdue, and how I compared to their dream teacher and what could be done to do a better job.

The studentst took to this essay assignment like never before on written assignments. There were no questions on "how many words" or "how many pages?" They poured their hearts into the assignment because they need to be heard and they knew I would listen because I give a damn.

I will tell you that I learned a great deal about what students want from teachers and it is pretty simple; someone who likes what they do, engages students in the learning, dresses professionally, enthusiastic, prepares them for the career that awaits them upon graduation, and can speak English. I sadly learned that students do not experience their dream teacher very often at Purdue. What about your school, college or university?

The response to the last question pertaining to my teaching made my heart sink. The students basically told me that I have reached the “OK Plateau” in teaching the human resource management class, which was described in Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein with respect to learning a new skill (a book I constantly recommended during all the ACF regional workshops I did this past spring). To get to the OK Plateau people go through three stages:

o Cognitive stage – intellectualizing the task and discovering new strategies to accomplish it more proficiently.

o Associative stage – concentrating less, making fewer major errors, and generally becoming more efficient.

o Autonomous stage – when you figure that you’ve gotten as good as you need to get at the task you’re running on autopilot.

Based on the feedback from students they told me I appeared to be on autopilot (Ok Plateau). Yes, I was dressing professional and enthusiastic as always but I was not digging down deep and giving student’s current information on HR in the hospitality industry and I was teaching them in an old and tired manner. I took each and every comment to heart because teaching defines me like nothing else in my life so I pledged to those students that I would reinvent myself and the class to be more current and engaging when I teach it in spring 2012. In fact, I am going to do more cooperative learning as I had used successfully early in my career at Purdue. I will also look at ways to improve the HTM 331 class for fall 2011 and the HTM class for HTM 100. I got low scores on the exam course evaluation items for HTM 100 so will look for ways to make that more fair when teaching it in 2012.

So I am putting the question to those who follow the blog. Are you at the OK Plateau? Are you showing up for class, going through the motions, putting in your time, and moving mindlessly through your day? If you are, guess what, the students know it! You are not fooling them one bit and they are paying you for your services. That was how they were feeling about my teaching this past spring and had I not taken the time to ask them for deep meaningful feedback I would still be under the illusion that I was doing quality instruction -- when indeed I was not! Perhaps you might conduct a similar feedback session with your students, which I highly recommend because the results can be sobering. Of course, that depends on whether you can handle the truth!

My Marriott Hotel

2011-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Marriott has developed an online game that could be fun to play and recruit new employees, too. Those who play "My Marriott Hotel" will find themselves in the restaurant business and have to make decisions to keep the kitchen moving. The game is as realistic an experience as possible to see what it takes to manage all aspects of the restaurant business from purchasing to service and more.

I went to Facebook where the game is to be found and it is not ready to load yet but here is the URL that you can access if you have an account to download the App.
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=My%20Marriott%20hotel&init=quick&tas=0.739057746431893&ref=ts#!/apps/application.php?id=145796492133388

According to an article in the Wall Street, Marriott chose to create this game due to the success the U.S. military had with its online game to recruit soldiers. Also cited in the article was the success of Siemens AG which brought "Plantville," which simulates being a manager for bottling facility, a vitamin factory or a plant that builds trains.

In any event, this would be an EXCELLENT free tool to use in your restaurant management class for budding chefs to see if they can run a restaurant for Marriott. The game is intended to be as realistic as possible. According to a Marriott spokesman, those who who play the restaurant game will have to buy ingredients, such as cheese for spaghetti, after given an array of options in quality and price. Players will also hire staff, purchase equipment and small wares. During rounds in the kitchen, players have to direct tickets to cooks and inspect food orders for quality before sending them out to customers and more.

If you do choose to use this game in your class please let me know so we can share with others on the blog. I am teaching the restaurant class this fall at Purdue and once I navigate it I will look into using it to establish extra credit points or something. Time will tell.

The Pyramid is Dead!

2011-06-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

If you are up on food politics in this country you know that the food pyramid has been under attack by those whose financial futures are tied to their influence over what American's eat, whether it is good for them to do so or not. For example, the first pyramid design was unpopular to some because those food groups at the top were not happy that it indicated to Americans to eat less meat, for example. Then the pyramid was revised to have slivers, more or less, running from the base to the tip to indicate what percentage of daily foods should be eaten from the basic food groups and there were still those who did not care for that design either especially if your food group was the smallest sliver. For more information on this subject read Marion Nestles Food Politics or follow her work on her website at: http://www.foodpolitics.com/

Anyhow, the food pyramid is no more, it has been replaced by a plate, which is what most Americans eat from anyway so it makes sense compared to the pyramid. Regardless of what one thinks about the food items that were included or excluded from the food groups on the new plate concept I think it is a more common sense approach to educating Americans on what should appear on their plates or in their drinking glass at each meal. You can check it out for yourself and draw your own conclusions at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html

I especially like the link to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 and Michelle Obama's efforts to end childhood obesity through Let's Move, which I reported on in an earlier blog post. What I do not like is an aspect that is found on the food pyramids used by other countries which has exercise at the base or people running up the side -- how sad!

I guess when all is said and done it is still up to us in culinary and hospitality programs to educate ourselves and our students on serving more healthy foods based on dietary guidelines to the dining public without compromising profitability. Afterall, when McDonalds's, the King of QSR, is revising its menu to add more healthy items it is time for academics to get ahead of the curve and do what we can to support our industry finds its way down the path of healthy eating. Besides, it is truly sad when one realizes that there are hundreds and thousands of people in the country who have contracted diseases they would not have were it not for their inability to stop shoving garbage in their mouths and engage in regular physical activity. if you stop to think about it, we could do our part to help reduce the cost of health care in this country by doing our best to help Americans make better food choices on a regular basis and indulge on occasion and myplate might help us in that regard.

The Future of Higher Ed?

2011-05-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

I was alerted to two articles that speak to the future of higher education and they are both sobering. Perhaps you are an administrator or a faculty member who is experiencing some of what is being talked about in the articles. Either way, there is a concerted effort to cheapen what educators do in this country and if we do not take a stand we will find ourselves to be falling further and further behind Inda, China, and the rest of the world that is taking a bolder brighter path to educate its people and compete and win for the future.

Read the first article at appeared in the Nation by William Deresiewicz--"Faulty Towers: The Crisis in Higher Education" http://www.thenation.com/article/160410/faulty-towers-crisis-higher-education

The second appeared in the Chronicle and penned by Margaret Miller:
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Profession-More-Pressure/123918/

Lecture heureuse!

Taking Students Seriously in the College Classroom

2011-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

This e-mail came from Helen M Bergland, PhD, Faculty Support, Student Learning Assessment Academic Integrity, Office of Undergraduate Studies, Eastern Washington University, hbergland@ewu.edu. It is definitely worth the time to read the article she mentioned in her e-mail because it applies to culinary arts education.

If you haven’t read Vincent Tinto’s article “Taking Student Success Seriously in the College Classroom” yet, I strongly suggest that you take a few minutes to read it. You can read the article at the following address: http://coredogs.com/blog/coredogs-way.

This article provides information that could be used to significantly support the value of faculty development programs (e.g., Teaching & Learning Centers, etc.) – something this listserv has discussed in the past as we have watched one Center after another closed due to budget cuts. Some of the recommendations/studies are based on community colleges and technical/vocational programs’ efforts; nevertheless, there is much outstanding food for thought for four-year institutions.

What do you think of this article?

NRA Show in Chicago

2011-05-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

I have been going to the NRA show in Chicago since the late 80's and have to admit that this has been one of the best. The show is buzzing with the prospects of growth in the industry this year. Of course there are the products and services that have been at the show for years to promote plates, cooking equipment, clothing, knives and such. But there is no mistake that healthy eating has gone mainstream big time. It was also hard to go an aisle without finding someone who was marketing gluten free baked goods and other food products. The weather has also been excellent!

I really enjoyed a presentation on NRA's Conserve: Walking the Pathway to a Greener Restaurant. This program can be a great teaching tool and great industry tool for those who really want to know what it takes to go green in restaurant businesses and just how much energy is being wasted right under the noses of operators. There is a membership fee of $125 per year but worth every penny to have a one stop shop for educators and industry people going Green. The program is chock full of video vignettes on ways to save money on energy and more.

You can check out a couple of links to get familiar with this program through NRA who is working with the Foodservice Technology Center to role out and manage the program:
http://www.fishnick.com/greenrestaurant/
http://conserve.restaurant.org/
Here is also a food business green checklist available in San Diego and quite comprehensive:
http://www.foodnbeverage.org/images/pdfs/green_business_app.pdf

International Lilly Conference on Teaching Call for Proposals

2011-05-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

There is a call for proposal submissions for the 31st International Lilly Conference on College Teaching, in Oxford, Ohio, on November 17-20, 2011. The conference theme this year is "Teaching for Brain-Based Learning," but contributed paper topics do not have to be connected to this theme.

You can view the conference website for a listing of the plenary sessions confirmed thus far at:
http://www.muohio.edu/lillycon/

If you have not been to a Lilly Conference you are missing out on one of the most straight up gatherings on teaching and learning in higher education attended by those on top of their game who study teaching and learning for a living. To submit a contributed paper proposal for the Conference, go to the website and click on "Proposal Submission" at http://www.muohio.edu/lillycon/ . The due date is July 11, 2011.

Also, visit the Conference website to register for the Conference (register by October 1 and receive the $50 early registration discount): http://www.muohio.edu/lillycon/reg_info.php

If you cannot attend the Lilly Conference this year, please pass this message along to a colleague. We hope to see you in November!

Regards,
Milt Cox and Gregg Wentzell

Pearson Higher Education Requesting Feedback

2011-05-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Pearson sponsored the Ultimate Teaching Competition. They are seeking feedback from educators. If you are currently teaching with MyManagementLab, MyMarketingLab, MyIBLab, MyBIZLab, MyBCommLab or MyMISLab, please take a few minutes to complete the following survey to share your experience with Pearson so they can continue to improve their products, service, and support. To access the instructor survey, please copy and paste this URL into a new browser window: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3LQVZZT

Please also pass along the following message to the students you taught this semester with MyManagementLab, MyMarketingLab, MyIBLab, MyBIZLab, MyBCommLab or MyMISLab so they can help Pearson improve the student experience. To access the student survey, please copy and paste this URL into a new browser window: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3LCD29H

Summit Reflections, VI

2011-05-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

James Lamoureux, B.S., Culinary Faculty, School of Business and Information Technology, New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM said:
As a first timer at the FELC Summit I found the camaraderie and genuine caring for one and another two outstanding elements our learning community get together. It was great that the conference had a direct focus on learning. Speaking of learning and information sharing, the biggest highlight was the openness of "best practices" and tips & tricks shared between colleagues and that we were there to help each other grow as educators. I appreciated that the conference was highly organized and people made a conscientious effort to stay on schedule, keep everyone engaged, and how stress free the environment was. I appreciated that Jami made every effort to ensure that I was taken care of every day. It made me feel special and part of the community. The staff and students at Trident were very friendly and generous with their time and information sharing. I really appreciated YOU Mick. Your enthusiasm, organization, and levity were fantastic to witness. I still chuckle when I think of your MC-ing shenanigans. Ata-a-boy!!!

Chef Randy Cheramie, FELC Advisory Board Member, CFSE, Executive Director, John Folse Culinary Instititute said:
I've had some time to reflect on the 2011 FELC Summit. What a terrific event it was. Hiring experienced, impassioned culinary instructors is always a challenge. Industry experienced chefs are welcomed here at JFCI for their practical knowledge, but we all know that content knowledge doesn't always equate with being a good teacher. FELC offers great opportunities for industry based chefs to become more effective teachers and facilitators. My group commented that the the quantity and quality of info received surpasses any conference previously attended (FENI, ACF, CHRIE, etc.) Kudos and accolades to you, Mike and Jami for a great job on a first class summit! I'm looking forward to next year's event!

Gary J. Prell, President, American Customized Training Solutions, At The International Culinary Center of New York & California, New York, NY and FELC Advisory Board Member said:
The 3rd Annual Summit of the Food Service Educators Learning Community was a truly remarkable experience. The general and breakout sessions covered diverse topics yet all were extremely relevant to the attendees. This very smoothly-run conference provided ample opportunities to network with industry professional and colleagues, to improve your skills as an instructor, or to make sure your subject matter and lessons were meaningful to your students. The hospitality was warm and genuine, the food was good, and the activities fun. Where do I sign up for next year’s Summit!

I Always Get Nervous

2011-05-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just put in the last of my grades. They were for the sales course which is a totally hands-on class where the students go through a process to ultimately sell a product for real dollars that earns them a seat in a limo and dinner in Indianapolis if their team hits its profit target. They did $15,000 in glassware sales and generated $6,000 for our student run restaurant -- not bad for 10 sales teams, each with 5-6 members on each team. I had already entered grades for the HR class, the independent study classes that students take to be an undergraduate TA for me in HR and sales class (that I explained at the last Summit), and my University Honors Program course (which is only open to the best and the brightest at Purdue and a realy joy to teach).

I do not know why, but I always get butterflies when posting grades. I know that grades are the currency of higher education for students. And all grades do not mean the same to all students. Some students will literally come unglued if they do not get an A; you know those kids because they tell you so at the beginning of the semester. Some kids will take a D, no problem, because they are just filling in their bingo sheet to get the sheepskin (showing my age) and pursue the career that awaits them upon graduation. There are a million other reasons to be sure and somehow I am sensitive to each one.

Perhaps it is because I was high strung myself and achievement oriented and typically the top student in my class for all the degrees I took as an undergraduate and graduate student. Of course, those were the days that grades were not posted online like today on Blackboard so students know their grades all along the way. I used to be on pins and needles for over a week waiting for my grades to arrive in in the mail to see if my final grades matched those I had calculated on my own. Speaking of seeing grades online, even my son can get daily feedback on his grades in middle school by going online which is insane because there were no computers other than calculators when I was in middle school.

Maybe I am nervouse because I care. Maybe I want the students to be like me when I was a student and dedicated to earning an A and disappointed when many fall short of the mark. Who knows, all I can says is that I am always nervous when posting grades because of what they mean now and will mean later in the life of each and every student. Anyone else feel the same?

Summit Reflections, V

2011-05-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Patricia M. Bowman, MS, CHE, FMP, Asociate Professor, The Center for Food and Beverage Management, Johnson & Wales University, said:
I was a first time attendee to the 2011 summit and I was very pleased with the variety of presentations offered. The summit was relaxed and very educational. I have been teaching for 22 years and very excited to have come away with so many useful ideas and techniques. It was a pleasure meeting new collegues and getting reacquainted with others. I look forward to next years summit!

Ms.Romelle Norrington, Instructor, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Chicago, Illinois, said:
FELC is a great networking vehicle for innovations ideas in the field of foodservice education and hospitality. The instructors, speakers and the teaching competitions were the highlights of the summit. Charleston has a big appreciation and interest in culinary cuisine.

Don Wharton, Forestville Military Academy, said:
Wow!! What another great year at the FELC Summit! The Ultimate Teaching Competition get better each year! The weather was perfect, the cuisine was exceptional and the camaraderie with our peers was phenomenal! Looking forward to next's year Summit!

Leigh Belanger, Program Director, Chefs Collaborative, said:
It was an honor to be invited to speak at the FELC Summit and hear how culinary and hospitality educators are engaging their students. I especially enjoyed hearing Chef Rob Mullolly's presentation about Teaching Sustainability at the Culinary Institute of America. It sounded like a great combination of hands-on learning and content that leaves the students with the tools they need to effectively practice sustainable cooking in their careers.

Summit Reflections IV

2011-05-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ezra Eichelberger, Professor, Hospitality Management, Culinary Institute of America
The FELC summit improves each year like fine wine. David Yanoski's detailed lesson on creating effective grading scales/rubrics was most enlightening, I was working on mine on the way home from Charleston. I have also begun incorporating Mick's system of confirming the teaching method every learning objective is covered and then assessed.

Alisa Neuneker, Associate Professor in Business Management, Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY Campus, said:
"This was my first FELC Summit, but not my last! Although I have been teaching for almost 15 years, I still got some great ideas from the sessions. A couple of those include ideas from the sessions on making student groups work more effectively and making student evaluations meaningful. I have already implemented some of the ideas in my classes. It was great to meet faculty from other culinary schools across the country too! Thank you...."

Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D., Director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University, said:
I gave the opening presentation at the 3rd FELC Summit as an "outsider," one totally unconnected to the culinary enterprise. But the people were so warm and welcoming that I didn't feel like an outsider. An added joy was the high quality of the food and drink that the sponsors generously furnished and the Culinary Institute students expertly prepared for the first-day reception.

Thomas Hayward, Senior Marketing Manager, Pearson Education (one of our sponsors) said:
What I liked the most about the FELC summit was the focus on instruction, community, and humility. I found the sessions and overall atmosphere to be extremely collaborative, diverse, and relevant to what I do on a day to day basis. Many conferences run on autopilot and allow little interaction between different stakeholders, I was particularly impressed by the combination of culinary and hospitality educators and the ideas/flavor that brought to the conference. For example, during the sustainable fishing lecture, I found it fascinating to hear from a hospitality educator that his program introduces farmers markets as a form of destination geography. Finally, I thought that the focus on students demonstrated the passion and desire amongst all attendees have to making a difference in the lives of others.

As it Turns Out, I Feel Sad...

2011-05-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

There are many at my campus who are clicking their heels in delight that the semester has ended because it means the students are going away. I am not one of them, I will miss the students. Why? I am a teacher. And to do the job of teaching one must have students. Without students, there is nobody to teach. Thus, my raison d'etre is no more.

I am serious. When I walked to my last day of class for the semester for each of my three classes I felt a genuine sadness. I have spent 15 weeks with these kids. I took the time to learn their names. I took the time to put together a class that they would both enjoy and learn material that is relevant to them at their age to prepare them for the rough and tumble world of hospitality management that awaits them upon graduation. I battled with them, laughed with them, got serious with them, listened to their concerns, and experienced countless other emotions which made the bond between them and me grow stronger. And now they are leaving for the summer to chill out at home, begin an intership, work a summer job, backpack through Europe, study abroad, and heaven knows all else.

As for me, I will review the course evaluations, especially the special one I did with my HR class this semester and reflect on what the students liked and take their suggestions for feedback seriously and redesign aspects of those courses in the fall. I want them to learn. I will also take some time to recharge my batteries because they have been run down over the course of the academic year.

But I know what's coming in early August. Invariably there will be the dry, somewhat sarcastic, question from someone who does not understand teaching or lost their passion for it and say, "Soooooooooooooooooooo, are you ready for the students to come back to campus?" I will turn to them and look straight in their face and say in an excited manner, "Hell, yes!" "I am a teacher and without them I cannot practice my love of teaching!" I hope you feel the same, but if you don't, perhaps it is time to step out of the way and make room for someone who does!

Summit Reflections, III

2011-04-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

David Hendricksen, CCC, CCE, Academic Director, Art Institutes International, Denver, CO said:
This is my second year attending the FELC Summit. I found the sessions on Student Groups, Course Evaluations, and the one hour workshops very beneficial. When I evaluate conferences and seminars I look at what I can bring back to improve my school. Participation in the FELC Summit is rewarding in both educational experiences and networking. Thank you for a great summit.

Jennifer Jolis, CHE, Assistant Professor, Culinary Arts Program, Alaska said:
My overwhelming response to the FELC Summit, now that I'm back in the world of day-to-day teaching, grading, assessing, planning and then doing it again, is just gratitude. As a relative new-comer to the academic aspect of food service, to have been able to spend time and learn so much from intelligent, well thought out presentations and conversations with people who were so good at what I am struggling to get really good at, was just wonderful. And people were so generous and enthusiastic about the information they shared.

Of special interest to me were the demonstrations during the Competition, Mick's presentation on assessment, Rex's on offering students differing ways to learn and be assessed, and the student panel. Each of these stretched my mind, widened my perspectives. I think if I sit a few minutes longer I'd come up with another four or five sessions that really had value for me.

Meeting people with whom I developed a collegial and friendly relationship totally opens the support group I can contact for feedback, I hope I can provide the same for others. I was told by my Dept. Chair that FELC was where the people who are really in the forefront of foodservice education were located. I think he was right on! Thanks so much to you and Jami and Michael and to all the fine folks at CIC.

Summit Reflections, II

2011-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the second installment of Summit Reflecions! More to come in the days ahead.

Terra Ciotta, Culinary Instructor at the Art Institute of Charlotte wrote:
I've only been teaching for about a year and I don't have any formal training or much experience. The FELC summit was great for me because I was surrounded by people who have been where I am and who had a lot of tips about getting students more engaged. I also have a hard time judging whether my students are really learning. Mick's presentation about doing a good course evalutation and the JW presentation about student engagement and games were all very helpful. I could see a difference in my presentation and was getting better responses from my students within a few days. Thanks.

Bob Weir, Chef Instructor/Coordinator Culinary Arts Program, Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, CA said:
First and foremost the weather was great. I really took some ideas away from the Sustainability Stand up presentation in the Cafe. The teaching competition is always great and the third greatest is a tie between the Student Q&A session and the Beer & Cheese pairing.

Summit Reflections

2011-04-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Those attending the Third Annual Summit were asked to share their thoughts on the event so that they may be posted to the blog and share with those who attended or could not attend the event. I will devote a series of blog posts to share those reflections with blog followers starting today. Enjoy!

Chef Ana Machado, MBA, CEC, CDM, Assistant Professor, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University, North Miami Campus, wrote:
"For me, the highlight of the summit was the student panel: "Learn what students really think of their teachers". The panel consisted of 4 female students, from 3 different colleges. They ranged from Culinary, Baking & Pastry, Nutrition, and Hospitality. It was an eye opener to hear those students speak their minds about what their expectations are from their instructors. There are simple things that we already know, but with the day-to-day of the mill of classes, we "might forget easily", and how those things make a world of difference to the student's experience."

"The summit started with a great presentation from Linda Nilson, Ph.D., Director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University, titled "Getting Student Groups to Work Really Well". Dr. Nilson did a great presentation where she clearly explained that instructors must not assume that students will have the minimum social skills in order to perform well in a group, and how structure can minimize their most common problems - socio-pathological behaviors, personality clashes, and lack of collaboration. She shared several free on-line resources which we can use to create successful strategies for team work."

Cheryl Gibson, Flint Hills Technical College, Emporia, Kansas 66801, wrote:
I found the culinary tour to be an amazing experience. It was so good to see what is happening in the fine dining restaurants and be able to meet with the chefs. Mick La Lopa's presentation concerning course evaluations was very thought provoking….and helped me with my own “soul-searching” on the issue. As I mentioned to Mick, I would have loved to have a video of this.

I am introducing sustainability in my program and would like to see more of this next year. Perhaps a tour to local producers? Thanks to all FELC staff!

What's the Point?

2011-04-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

We are winding down the academic year here at Purdue. Students are busy trying to do their semester long projects in the three days they have before it is due but somehow always get done to the satisfaction of the professor. By the way, if it is possible for students to complete your semester long project by starting on it three days before it is due your project needs an overhaul and the subjet of a future blog post.

Students are also preparing for finals. Don't get me wrong, final exams are fine to give to students as long as they are not comprehensive. What is the point, really? Every single student who takes a comprehensive final dreads it and those who give it do it so mindlessly because they had to do it when they were a student so we should perpetuate our ignorance of how the brain works when it comes to teaching and learning and give one, too. Not me, of course.

To be clear, I am talking about the kind of comprehensive exam where the instructor spent 10 to 15 weeks giving presentations to students, having them do independent projects, read dozens of chapters from the required text, and other assigned readings, videos, and forth and then assigned readings from book, and then testing them over the whole thing. And then giving the kids no clue as to what will be on the test, those smug bastards.

Based on what is known about the brain and the research that has been done on learning there is no good case for a final exam that is comprehensive due to the simple fact that the students cram all the materials into their short term memory to be remembered long enough to take the exam and then dump it the minute they walk out the door. Largely because the professor has not taught the students on how to remember the wheat from the chaff using techniques found in the recent book Moonwalking with Einstein or Why Student's Don't Like School. So I ask again, "what is the point?"

Faculty should do their best to chunk their course materials and test regularly throughout the term or semester to increase the probability of students retaining the information so that there is actually no need for a comprehensive final. There should also be reflections performed by students during the term or semester on what they have learned to increase the probability of them retaining it in long term memory. The bottom line in my book of teaching based on books on teaching and research is that if you have to give a comprehensive final you are not the high quality teacher that you would like to think yourself to be and should seek higher ground.

I have not given a final comprehensive exam ever here at Purdue. I have no plans to do so in the future. I have no intention of repeating the mistakes of stupid professors past.

FELC Third Summit Best Yet

2011-04-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have returned from Charleston, SC from the third annual Summit. I made a stop on the way home to visit the Johnson & Wales campus at Charlotte where I saw many who had attended the Summit from their fine facility.

The presentations made by educators during the Saturday sessions were terrific. I wish that I could have sat through all of them and only had the chance to pop in now and then to get a glimpse. We will be posting all materials made available by presenters in their stand up presentations and workshops at the Summit in the Members Area in the weeks ahead. We taped several of the sessions and those will be made available, too. Once they are added to http://www.fooded.org/ we will be notifying the members and those who attended the event.

The harbor cruise was a bit windy and chilly but a great time was had by all touring the harbor for two hours where the first shots of the American Civil War were first fired over a century ago. There was plenty to eat and drink thanks to our sponsors from Avocado, Watermelon, Wisconsin Cheese Board, and Mercer tool.

I will resume posting educational commentary to the blog now that I am back to Purdue and have emptied my in basket! I especially will focus on winding down the academic year which I am sure many of you are now in the process of doing as we move quickly to summer.

First Day of Summit Big Success

2011-04-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

The first day of the Summit according to sponsors, presenters, and attendees was a huge success. The first speaker Linda Nilson from Clemson gave a 90 minute workshop on student teams. Linda is an expert on the literature of teaching with student teams and she provided great insights on why some techniques do and do not work with student groups. She also provide lots of resources that those in attendance could use to improve the courses they teach using student groups/teams.

The teaching competition was fantastic. Five faculty from around the country gave it their all to win the gold. winners will be formally announced on the blog tomorrow.

Colin Roche won the best call for proposals for a peer reviewed session. He was given a certificate and a $200 gift certicate from Mercer tool!

The day also included a student panel with four students from area hospitality and culinary schools. At one time one of the panelists got very emotional on how important it is for educators to encourage them to be their best and support them every step of the way as they work hard to be chefs. You could have heard a pin drop at that point in the panel discussion.

The day wound up with a great reception with complimentary food and adult beverages that were part of the registration! We at FELC do not believe in cash bars for those who attend our Summit and a good time was had by all.

We are looking forward to a great Saturday with educators from as far away as Alaska attending or giving presentations on teaching. And of course the day will end with a sunset cruise in Charleston Bay with complimentary food and adult beverages!

I will keep you posted on Saturday's key events. We will also be collecting commentary from attendees and sponsors to post on the blog in the very near future.

Happy Teaching to all in our community! And remember that the videos from teaching competition and all teaching materials that were presented at Summit will be posted to the members area of the http://www.fooded.org/ for those who could not attend.

Summit is Here!

2011-04-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am doing this blog post from the host hotel in Charleston. We are one day away from kicking of our third annual Summit and happy to report record breaking attendance for this year's event. The format for this year looks to be one of the best ever with general session on Friday morning and teaching competition in the afternoon. The presentations by educators in our learning community on Saturday will be awesome, too. We will be posting the materials presented at the Summit in the members area for those who could not attend this year. And the best news yet is that our sunset cruise in the Charleston harbor to close the Summit is expected to be an excellent 80 degrees F. I can see the dolphins jumping by the boat now as I sip on my ice cold adult beverage of choice and network with members and sponsors as the sun sets over the bay!

I will keep you posted during the Summit as to key events that transpire each day. I am also going to collect blog posts from attendees and sponsors to share with those who were unable to attend things that were learned, enjoyed, etc., at this year's Summit.

Onward and upward!

Blame the Students?!

2011-04-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

We have a retired VP who wanted to try her hand at teaching so now an adjunct until the end of this academic year. She made a comment the other day about the students in her capstone management class based in our student run restaurant. She said, "the students just don't want to analyze the results of their marketing efforts." Let me say straight away that she is a horrible teacher. And like many VP's has no clue how to run a business at the unit level. I just love it when industry people find out that what they did to plan, direct, organize and control employees in the "real world" does not translate at all in an academic setting. So, naturally it is the students who are to blame for not responding to them when they are the one's who are clueless on what it takes to be a great teacher. Afterall, anyone can teach, right?!

Of course, the comment made by our adjunct is made by others who are experienced teachers, too! They blame their students for just not "getting it." Like the old adage that a "bad golfer blames the clubs" and a "poor workman blames the tools" we have educators who just love to blame students for their shortcomings.

Here is a straight up simple fact. The reason that students do not "get it" is that the teacher has a limited tool kit. Or put another way, the person sucks as a teacher. Amazingly there are teachers out there who attend teaching workshops, talk to colleagues about how they have solved problems, read books on teaching, attended teaching conferences and more to learn how to be better teachers. They then experiment with new techniques to see which ones work and which ones don't and become better teachers. Indeed they expanded their teaching toolkit and low and behold the students started to "get it" because the teacher was a more enlightened educator.

So do me a favor please. The next time a colleague says "these kids just don't want to....." suggest to them that perhaps they suck as a teacher. That will be a great conversation after that indeed!

FELC Summit Draws Near!

2011-03-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

Holy mis en place, Batman! The FELC Summit is now one week away in Charleston, SC. That's right, beautiful, warm, historical, Charleston, SC loaded with many, many fine eateries and shops.

We have put together an agenda for attendees that will be the best one yet. We start with an opening reception in the market area. Friday is an action packed day with general sessions in the morning, the Ultimate Teaching Competition, and a sponsor's reception at the end of the day. Saturday is packed with workshops and presentations on quality teaching by educators from around the United States to make the summit a true faculty learning community experience. The Summit ends on Saturday with a sunset boat cruise with free food and open bar. All of which is included in your registration. We guarantee that you will not find a better deal at any education conference dedicated to enhancing the quality of culinary arts education.

There is still time to register for our action packed Summit in Charleston, SC, next week. Just visit the following link and you will be well on your way to joining us one week from tonight at our opening reception:
http://www.cvent.com/events/felc-summit-2011/event-summary-e42ba80cdee844a6944a6f4321196137.aspx?i=412b4113-73fb-4659-884d-e2c1dd663d71

See you soon. Prepare to have an excellent time!

Meet Your Meat

2011-03-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Are you wondering why food trend after food trend after food trend indicates that more Americans are becoming vegetarian? The reason is simple, more and more people are becoming aware of how meat is produced in this country and losing their appetite for beef, pork, and chicken. Not to mention a disdain for factory farmed eggs. People also want to eat healthier diets and meat consumption is being restricted if not eliminated altogether.

Americans are getting hip to the way meat is produced in this country from lots of books such as Eating Animals and Animal Factory not to mention videos such as Meet Your Meat, narrated by Alec Baldwin and produced by PETA. The video is graphic and does not glamorize meat production and although every single meat producer in the United States do not treat their animals this way the fact is that the vast majority are guilty of inhumane treament on their farms. You can show your students the video and let them draw their own conclusions at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-513747926833909134#

And as food prices rise and more people go to bed hungry think how Meatless Monday, which should now be standard practice in every culinary program in the US that has a commercial student run operation, would go along way toward solving world hunger with these facts from Veganist: Even if Americans at just one fewer meat dish a week, that would free up 7.5 millon tons of grain, enough to feed the 25 million Americans who go hungry each day. If 10 percent of the world population gave up meat, it would be enough to feed the estimated billion people who go hungry annually. Hell, if Mario Batali can institue Meatless Monday in ALL of his restaurants we do our part in our operations big and small.

It is also the reason that I have been a vegetarian now for 6 months and never felt better about the food I eat and the good it is doing for my body and the planet.

Teacher Man

2011-03-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard of the international bestseller, Angela's Ashes, written by Frank McCourt. Does anyone know what Mr. McCourt did before he wrote his bestseller at 66 years-old? He taught english/grammar in a New York City public high school for 33 years.

What followed that book was Teacher Man. It is called that because the kids pose their questions in that thick New York accent of, "Hey, teacher man!" It tells about how he became to be a teacher in New York public schools and how he almost got fired on the first two days of his career; the first day he ate the sandwich a kid threw in class the next day he made a casual comment about having a relationship with a sheep, which was more innocent than it sounds.

He then goes on to talk about what is was like teaching in public school. The challenges he faced to teach grammar to kids that did not see any need for it. He talked about eventually linking what the kids did like to do with what he was trying to teach them so that they ended up learning grammar.

I bring up this book as a must read because I am tired of hearing culinary educators say, "well the stuff you do works because you teach at Purdue and I teach at blah, blah, blah." Horse shit, I say. If you want to learn some tricks on reaching kids that are unreachable drop McCourt's audio book in your car's CD player and listen and learn. Really, stop blaming students for their "not wanting to learn" and find out what they like doing and reach them that way. If McCourt can teach grammar to lower socioeconomic kids in NYC public high school you can teach your kids how to bake a cake. Go for it!

ACF NE Regional a Big Success

2011-03-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Chef Michael Carmel and myself, Mick, did another education symposiusm series for ACF yesterday in Columbus, Ohio. When we first arrived at the hotel on Saturday to check out the room at the Renassiance where we were to be presenting we found the downtown area thriving with Lil' Wayne fans to see his concert that night. What a crazy scene indeed.

It appears that the new format of having two, two-hour modules in the morning and one two-hour module after lunch is very popular with educators instead of having an all day event. Chef Carmel's workshop on teaching to different learners and Mick's module on making effective presentations were a real hit with a packed house. Better still, those in attendance become a member of FELC and by virtue of completing the three modules are well on their way to earning our online certification.

We are looking forward to being in the Big Easy to do the workshops again and looking forward to seeing ACF educators in attendance!

2011 Hospitality & Tourism Case Study Competition!

2011-03-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

This competition may be available only to CHRIE members but wanted to share it with our learning community if interested in case studies. Here is the information that was sent out today:

Case studies provide innovative ideas, business (best) practices, professional dilemmas, and lessons learned from the tourism and hospitality reality. In this vein, case studies are an invaluable source of knowledge for educators, professionals and researchers alike. Simultaneously, case studies can nurture and strengthen knowledge exchanges between research, education and industry.

The three most highly evaluated and commented case studies will receive prestigious (financial and material) prizes as well as recognition and promotion in the annual ICHRIE conference and publication in the ICHRIE Hospitality & Tourism Case Study e-book.

The deadline for authors who want to enter and participate in the ICHRIE Hospitality & Tourism Case Study competition to submit their case studies is 15th May 2011.

This is your opportunity to contribute to hospitality & tourism education, in addition to being rewarded and recognized for your efforts. Contact Dr. Marianna Sigala, Chair of the ICHRIE Case Study, University of the Aegean, m.sigala@aegean.gr if interested.

What Does Research Say on PowerPoint as Teaching Tool?

2011-03-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

This post comes to you courtesy of a blog I follow authored by Ron Berk (http://ronberk.blogspot.com/):

Here are the top 10 conclusions on research on PowerPoint for you to use next time you are putting together one for your teaching:

1. Most students prefer PowerPoint® to traditional lecture (Amare, 2006; Hastings & Attila, 2000; Savoy, Proctor, & Salvendy, 2009), despite how boring it might be (Mann & Robinson, 2009)

2. Traditional PowerPoint® doesn’t produce significant differences in learning (review by Levasseur & Sawyer, 2006) compared to several alternatives

3. Reading text verbatim on a slide off of the screen decreases learning and retention (“redundancy principle”) (Mayer & Johnson, 2008)

4. Gill Sans, Souvenir, and similar fonts are more comfortable to read, interesting, attractive, and professional compared to other fonts (Mackiewicz, 2007a)

5. High-contrast colors and easy-to-read text, graphs, and graphics increase learning (Bradshaw, 2003)

6. High-contrast slides are not more effective than medium-contrast slides in learning and satisfaction (Earnest, 2003)

7. Full-sentence headline (written as an assertion) compared to a word or phrase increases retention of slide content, especially with a clear supportive graphic (Alley & Neeley, 2005; Alley, Schreiber, Ramsdell, & Muffo, 2006)

8. Irrelevant pictures accompanying text and sound effects decrease learning (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

9. 2D graphs are preferable to 3D graphs for clarity and comprehension (Mackiewicz, 2007b; Stewart, Cipolla, & Best, 2009)

10. Cool color (blue, green, etc.) high-contrast graphs are preferred over warm colors (Mackiewicz, 2007b)

Binge Drinking?

2011-03-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

Louis Schmier, in the history department at Valdosta State in Georgia, posts his "random thoughts" on the POD listserv from time to time. They are always very good and at times they are excellent. I wanted to post one of his most excellent thoughts for FELC members to read and reflect on because it is "sobering."

BYU holding a star basketball player to its honor code, putting integrity before expediency, putting the value of character before the value of money, putting ethical and moral commitment over a top seed in the NCAA basketball championship tournament, about being mad over an honors code violation rather than giving in to "March Madness," looking into the eyes of the violating player rather than expediently looking away, putting the "game of life" ahead of a few basketball games? Gosh! What will they think of next!

That, stupid Spring Break, and an article I read in USATODAY a few days ago got me to think about binge drinking. Let's talk about it. Now, you think that I'm going to talk about wild, animal house like, beer and toga parties. I'm not. That's for later. Right now, the binge drinking I'm talking about is getting intoxicated on grades. Worse, I'm talking about getting addicted to, being controlled by, being owned by, and being enslaved to grades. I'm talking about students, faculty, and administrators who are testscoreoholics and gradeoholics. I'm talking about teachers who give students test answers. I'm talking about teachers/professors who teach to the test. I'm talking about administrators who fudge and alter test results. I'm talking about college faculty who manipulate their grading system with dropping or doubling or curving or extra crediting, at times with an eye on evaluations in their quest for tenure and promotion. Am I exaggerating? Maybe. Nevertheless, I'm talking about academics who have bought into the myths about equating grades and scores with learning in spite of all the research that has dispelled those Taylorist fables. I'm talking about institutions that allows students to drop courses up to mid-term and beyond in order not to jeopardize their GPAs. I'm talking about advisors on my campus who tell students to drop classes in order to keep their GPA high enough so they don't lose their state HOPE scholarship. And, watching all this going on, you don't think students go along with what the administrations' and their professors' actions make acceptable to them? Students aren't as stupid as we think. They've been taught and have learned how to play the system.

When push comes to shove, the excitement or depression or stress over grades create their own unethical urges. So, you gaze at the high-stakes college landscape and you see in the shadowy corners corner cutting, cheating, rationalizations, alibis, excuses, apologies, and a lot of looking the other way when things get challenging: conduct unbecoming, fudging scores, ghost writing papers, crossing the line, and inclinations to take the easy way out. It's a place where the pressure is on. It's a place of nods and winks. It's a place where personal accountability take a back seat to lame excuses, expediency, that quick fix; where we become apologists with implausible denials that shift responsibility with a age-old blaming "the system made me do it" or "it's the way the world works" or "everyone is doing it" or "it's no big deal." Well, if it is no big deal, why sit at the game table and play the cards? No. What we call "pressures" are little more than temptations that we use as explanations and exonerations. Enticement, temptation, pressure, whatever you want to call them, are not justifications. No, it's about ethical and moral commitment, about choice and responsibility, about resistance and refusal to submit and surrender. It's more about grades than some healthy doses of determination, perseverance, commitment, dedication, and all that stuff.

Now, who has the responsibility for putting grades in their proper place? The students? No. Well, maybe some. But, by no means all. To call them adults, is "professor-speak" for shirking our responsibilities. Remember, they didn't come out from the womb as shallow "grade getters." They were taught like seals to feel, think, and act this way if they wanted the fish of grades and scores tossed to them. Just read a recent expose in USA TODAY in its March 10th issue entitled "For Teachers, Many Ways And Reasons To Cheat On Tests." Well, while there may be many ways to cheat, there isn't one reason to do it. So, we have to unlearn students, help them to break deep rooted habits. It is we who must diligently teach, enforce, advocate, and model personal integrity. It is we who have the greatest responsibility to create an ethical culture that nurtures the virtues of honor, honesty, and fairness. It is we who must unlearn students and help them learn to learn, to become deep learners, to become life-long learners. It is we who must actively instill values, shape attitudes, and teach them a love for and dedication to honesty; to do what is right, because it's the right thing to do, not because of what they will get from it, but because of what they will become by it. You see, there is a world of difference between getting good grades and living the good life. The first is shallow; the second is deep. The first creates a hollow, light-weight person who is blown about the surrounding winds; the second results in a rock solid character able to withstand all the storms. We can help students become artists who paint their own portrait in the pale water colors of shallow and short-lived grade-getting and test scores or use a palette with the deep, rich oils of honor, spirituality, peace of mind, and self-respect. Personally, I stand up and cheer "Bravo; you go BYU!"

Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698

Using Facebook to Teach Sales

2011-03-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

My apologies for not posting anything lately. Life at Purdue has kept me busy indeed and I am counting the days to spring break to get a breather and recharge my batteries. On a personal note, I just want to scream when some politician wants to villify the service we provide to this society but that is a rant for another day.

On a positive note. Many of you may have a foodservice operation that is run by students under watchful eye of a professional staff. We have two operations that we run out of our department at Purdue. Because we are not recognized as an official "lab" like those in physics or biology on this campus we have to be self-supporting so customers literally keep us in the teaching business with their patronage.

So to generate much needed revenues we recently decided to formally tie my sales class to promoting our Cafe operation which has been the tried and true institutional cafe line when first installed years ago. Believe it or not we could depend on people lining up out the door for comfort food off the line and revenues were plentiful for a very long time. Not anymore! People are eathing healthier these days and while we offer meatloaf we also have vegetarian sandwiches and sides on the line.

So the ten teams in the sales class each get a week to blitz the building of their choice and manage the Facebook page to promote sales in the Cafe applying what we learn in the sales class. The blog is not intended for a long winded explanation but let me tell you that this project has exceeded my wildest expectations. The creativity and work that the students have put into their week has been unbelievable.

Best of all for students -- we can track sales in the Cafe and compare each team's week to same time last year to see if their sales efforts are paying off. And it appears that they are as business is really starting to pick up now that more know what we have refreshed our menu offerings and increase consumer awareness on campus for Cafe (which we are also not allowed to promote with any signage). During their week, each team gets the chance to stand before their peers and explain what they did to promote sales and what they are learning about sales. As each week goes by the team in charge sets the bar higher for the team that will follow so the salesmanship gets better, too. For example, the team taking over after we get from break is going to do a documentary on how the students make pizza and post taht to Facebook -- which is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is just one of those assignments that does not have a key course objective and slew of learning objectives to teach and assess it; the students are simply free to experiment with sales blitz techniques (which they were taught and practiced at the Indianapolis Hilton) and Facebook -- which they know quite well and learning whether or not it is a viable sales tool as claimed by many businesses. So if you have a chance check out the Facebook page for HTM Cafe Promotions at:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/HTM-Cafe-Promotions/119760051428827

Organic Food News

2011-02-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Students are more interested in organic food than ever before so today's blog post will provide a website of interest you can share with them in class or elsewhere, which is Organic.Org who has the tagline "Organic Made Easy. Life Made Better. There is lots of information and product reviews for educational and personal use, too. I especially like the blog that I reviewed to prep for this post, found at: http://organicbeet.blogspot.com/

Also, want to know the 12 most and 12 least contaminated foods? Check out the Environmental Working Group at http://www.ewg.org/ particularly the Food News link.

Carmel Named ACF SE Region Educator of the Year

2011-02-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

The FELC is pleased to announce that Michael Carmel, certified executive chef (CEC), certified culinary educator (CCE), of Goose Creek, S.C., received the 2011 American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF) Southeast Region Chef Educator of the Year award at the 2011 ACF Southeast Regional Conference held at the Hilton Atlanta, Feb. 18–21. Carmel is department head of the Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College, Charleston, S.C.

“I really did not expect to receive this award considering there were six other deserving competitors,” said Carmel. “I am honored and deeply humbled. I cannot think of any job I would rather do than teach culinary arts, mentor students and share my love and passion for this industry. As an ACF member since 1985, the biggest reward for me is being a part of an organization that believes in what you do and is supported by great cooks, chefs and industry professionals throughout the country.”

The 2011 ACF Southeast Region Chef Educator of the Year award pays tribute to an active culinary educator whose knowledge, skills and expertise have given culinary students leadership and guidance for the future. As this year’s Southeast Region recipient, Carmel will vie for the national title against three other candidates at the 2011 ACF National Convention in Dallas, July 22–26. Candidates will each give a lecture/demonstration before a panel of judges who will decide the winner.

Carmel is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. In addition, he holds an associate degree in liberal arts from SUNY at Farmingdale State College, Farmingdale, N.Y., a bachelor’s degree in English and theater/film from Long Island University–C.W. Post, Brookville, N.Y., and a master’s of education degree from National-Louis University in Evanston, Ill. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Roosevelt University, Schaumburg, Ill.

Please pass along congratulations to Chef Carmel at mcarmel@fooded.org

ACF Educators Series, Atlanta

2011-02-23T19:44:00.000-08:00

FELC is please to have completed the first of the four regional ACF conferences. The new format is already popular itself given it consists of three, two-hour modules with lunch included after the first two morning modules.

The feedback from the educator workshops that Chef Michael Carmel and Dr. Mick La Lopa did in Atlanta has been very positive, too. Here is what many of the attendees had to say about the sessions:

“Excellent.…interesting, gratifying, applicable, approachable, interactive….bravo”

“Awesome”

“....great insights into the younger generation”

“Excellent workshops”

“The most useful educator seminar I have attended w/ ACF”

We hope to see you at the next series at Northeast Regional in Columbus!

WWOOF

2011-02-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

What is WWOOF? A sound your dog makes? Nope. As it turns out it is an opportunity for those like you reading the blog who may want to see the world and help organic farmers and learn organic farming. You can become a volunteer/member for the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and in exchange for your service you get free room and board on the farm you are serving.

Talk about a win-win. This noble organization began in the UK in 1971 and has grown ever since. I clicked around the site and there are some really neat places that you and/or your students could travel the world and learn organic farming while helping someone with their business.

Check it out at: http://www.wwoof.org/
Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WWOOF

Greetings from Atlanta

2011-02-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that FELC launches its partnership with the ACF to do the Educators sessions at the regional and national conferences. As I am making this blog post, Chef Michael Carmel is in front of a packed room of educators delivering a module on, "Effective Instruction Through Learning Style Management." Right now he is going through Gardner's Multiple Intelligences to help attendees understand why some students do well on some assignments and not so well on others. More good stuff to follow, for sure!

This afternoon I will do a module on "Presentation Techniques That Enhance Learning."

Hope to see you in Columbus, at the NE Regional.

See you at ACF SE Regional Conference

2011-02-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

As many of you may be aware, Michael Carmel and Mick La Lopa are doing the educational symposiums for the ACF this year at all the regional conferences and national conference. The presentations will enable those in attendance the chance to earn ACF continuing education credits and get started on the FELC online teaching certification that is growing in popularity and soon to be translated into Spanish.

The workshops are presented in the following three two-hour modules:

Dimensions of the Adult Learner- from Baby Boomer to the Millennium Generation & beyond
Learn how to better communicate to your audience in order to disseminate the information you have to teach. If your students are not hearing you then they are limited in their capacity to learn. In addition gather ideas for bridging the generation gap with adult learners

Effective Instruction through Learning Style Management
This session focuses on the understanding and implementation of various learning styles to improve effective classroom instruction and improve student retention. Knowing how your students learn will improve your effectiveness as a teacher.

Presentation Techniques that Enhance Learning
Gather ideas to improve your presentation skills in the classroom, through lecture, ice breakers, student groups, interactive learning, and advancements in technology.

To see the agenda for the Atlanta regional conference visit:
http://www.acfchefs.org/Source/Events/Schedule.cfm?EVENT=SE_REG_11

Registration for the Educator Development Series includes all three seminars and lunch for the affordable price of $125. As an added bonus all attendees will receive a free membership to FELC!

See you in Atlanta!

Organic Farming Research Foundation

2011-02-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

As usual, there is alot of disinformation out there about organic food and farming and its health benefits compared to "modern farming" techniques. There are also far too many chefs that I talk to on a regular basis that turn there nose up to organics and refuse to even consider that organic foods are better than factory farmed vegetables when it comes to health benefits, etc. To get a clear picture of organics one can now turn to the Organic Farmering Research Foundation as a resource if interested.
According to its website, the organization's mission is to "foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems."

Their mission is accomplished by:

Sponsoring organic farming research and education & outreach projects through our competitive grantmaking program;

Disseminating the results of OFRF-funded research and education projects to organic farmers and to growers interested in adopting organic production systems; and

Educating the public and decision-makers about organic farming issues.

Futhermore, OFRF’s integrated strategy of grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives supports organic farmers’ immediate information needs while moving the public and policymakers toward greater investment in organic farming systems.

I did like their website, you can get e-mail updates from them if you wish or just click around and see what's up on organics. The site is: http://ofrf.org/index.html

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching

2011-02-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share an e-mail I was sent yesterday. It is in reference to a great online journal for teaching and learning. I read some of the articles and they were pretty good. So fire up the iPad and enjoy!

We are pleased to announce that Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching (CELT), Volume III, edited by W. Alan Wright, Margaret Wilson, and Dawn MacIsaac is now available on-line at: http://www.stlhe.ca/en/publications/celt.php

CELT III, associated with the annual conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), features thirty-two articles based on presentations at the 2009 STLHE conference hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Each article was reviewed by three individuals from across Canada through a blind peer-review process. CDs of Volume III were distributed at the 2010 STLHE conference in Toronto, Ontario.

CELT, Vol. III presents an international roster of authors and outstanding articles. Among those:
Section I: Practice and Engagement

- Responding to the Challenging Dilemma of Faculty Engagement in Research on Teaching and Learning and Disciplinary Research, by Natasha Kenny & Frederick Evers, University of Guelph
- Qui a Peur d’une Pédagogie Différentielle des Sexes? by Claude Lamontagne, Université d’Ottawa

Section II: Identity and Community
- Learning That Matters: Discovery of Meaning and Development of Wisdom in Undergraduate
Education, by Thomas Mengel, University of New Brunswick
- Academic In/Civility: Co-Constructing the Foundation for a Civil Learning Community, by
Zopito Marini, Brock University, Christine Polihronis, Carleton University, & Wendy Blackwell, Brock University

Section III: Development and Transitions

- High to Low Tide: The High School-University Transition, by David C. Stone, University of Toronto
- Two Models for Introducing Graduate Students to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, by Natasha Patrito Hannon, University of Western Ontario, & Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, University of Waterloo
- Teaching Writing Skills That Enhance Student Success in Future Employment, by James P. Coyle, University of Windsor

Thirty-eight articles, submitted for publication in Vol. IV are being peer reviewed internationally at this time. Vol. IV will be published in CD format in time for distribution at STLHE 2011 hosted by the University of Saskatchewan.

CELT, Vol. I and II are also available on-line at: http://www.stlhe.ca/en/publications/celt.php

Feel free to contact me at celt@uwindsor.ca for more information.
Jessica Raffoul, Managing Editor, University of Windsor

Let's Move

2011-02-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

I made the mistake today of listening to right wing talk radio today host on the way to work. The unknown idiot was ranting against Michelle Obama calling upon the National Restaurant Association to get on board with her Let's Move campaign and help fight obesity in this country. She has asked that restaurants do things like cut back on the salt and fat and reduce portion sizes. Sounds reasonable to me and in sync with the trend of American consumer to start turning to more healthy food choices.

But, No! In his idiotic rant he was saying things like let's have two menus. One that has the regular menu and one that has half portions at the same price as regulare menus so "we can see which one will win!" That made sense...NOT! He went on to rant that "I want as much food as I can get for little money so that I can take the leftovers home and eat them there for several days." Really, restaurants are in the leftover business???? I could go on with the brainless commentary but essentially the talk show host was saying that it is the right of every American to eat food that is not good for us and get as fat as we want -- afterall that is why we fought two wars to protect our freedoms. Yikes.

There are other well known idiots who have a national stage who mimick the sentiments of the talk show host I heard today. Here is an excerpt from an article on the Let's Move Campaign:
During a December episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska, the one-time governor took a swipe at Obama's Let's Move campaign — designed to encourage kids to eat better and exercise more — when she was showing how to make s'mores. "This is in honor of Michelle Obama," Palin said, "who said the other day we should not have dessert." When Obama successfully persuaded Wal-Mart to cut prices on fruits and vegetables and reformulate some of its foods to reduce calories and fat, Rush Limbaugh accused her of bullying or pressuring the retail giant. Read more at:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/07/obesity-the-first-lady-takes-on-the-nra-no-not-that-nra/

I am appealing for us to do the right thing, regardless of whether you did it based on Michelle Obama's campaign for healthier eating and exercise in our nation. We need to lead the way and provide tasty, healthy food options for the American consumer. I still deal with far too many chefs who think meat is in vogue like this was the 50's even when the ACF chefs project trends that are anything but meat, meat, meat. Our students are the future and we must do all we can to make it a healthier one.

I can tell you I am like a pit bull here in my department at Purdue pushing for more healthy, vegetarian options to serve in our student run restaurants. And guess what, every time a vegetarian option is provided it is a home run because that is what more and more Americans want. So here is to moving vegetables to the center of the plate! For more information on Let's Move visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/

Are You the Ultimate Teacher?

2011-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

We are now accepting proposals for those who are up for a teaching throw down to crown our 2011 FELC Ultimate Teacher at this years Summit in Charleston, SC. If you are interested in competing this year's event please go to home page of http://www.fooded.org/ to download the information about entering into the competition.

If you want to earn the bragging rights you gotta bring your teaching "A" game!

Can I Have an Amen!?

2011-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

A shout out to all you teachers out there. Is your love of teaching wearing you down? Students tiring you out? Dreaming of summer vacation? Can you use a quick pick me up -- no not by drinking a 5 hour energy drink -- to refresh, restore, and energize you? Perhaps if you are an adminstrator you could end a faculty meeting on a high note by showing it!

Well, take three minutes and watch a great video entitled "What Do Teachers Make?" See it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

Another updated version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBmSbiVXo0&feature=related
Can I have an amen, my brothers and sisters!?

Master of Science Degree in Sustainable Tourism

2011-02-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

To honor the request of one of my all time favorite teachers when I was a doctoral student at Michigan State, I am pleased to share this announcement for those looking to study tourism and sustainability.

Interdisciplinary Master of Science Degree in Sustainable Tourism, East Carolina University

As many of you know the new interdisciplinary Masters of Science in Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University is in full operation with courses first offered in 2009 and our first graduates matriculating this spring. Conferred through ECU’s Graduate School and managed by the Center for Sustainable Tourism, this degree is designed for individuals interested in the tourism profession with a focus on sustainability; it prepares students for managerial or regulatory positions in the profession and for relevant PhD programs.

Core courses and electives are drawn from the Colleges of Business, Health and Human Performance, Arts and Science, Human Ecology, and Fine Arts and Communication. The degree program is thesis focused with students involved in primary research projects within the Center for Sustainable Tourism or aligned with Affiliated Faculty through grants and funded projects. Applicants are not restricted to any specific discipline.

This unique MS degree is part of the Academic Common Market (ACM) a program of the Southern Regional Education Board which allows qualified students from the 16 partner states to pay in-state tuition and fees. Participating states include: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MI, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, and students apply through their own state ACM Coordinator (www.sreb.org).

For application, three letters of reference are required as well as original transcripts, a statement of purpose, application fee and acceptable GRE or GMAT scores, (TOEFL score is also required for international applicants). All candidates offered admission will be considered for financial support and graduate assistantships as they are available.

The first full review of applicants for fall 2011 will occur beginning March 1, 2011, with admissions remaining open into early summer as long as space is available. We anticipate admitting 12-15 new students to the program for the fall.

For additional information, please see the information at the following web sites:
MS in Sustainable Tourism http://www.mastersofsustainabletourism.org/
Graduate School, East Carolina University www.ecu.edu/gradschool
Center for Sustainable Tourism http://www.sustainabletourism.org/

Should you have any specific questions regarding the program or the application, please contact:
Joseph D. Fridgen, PhD
Director of the Graduate Program
Center for Sustainable Tourism
RW 214 Rivers Building
Professor, Recreation & Leisure Studies
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
Phone: (252) 328-5435
Fax: (252) 328-4963
fridgenj@ecu.edu

Death by Power Point

2011-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

Today is website Monday. In keeping with that it is worth the five minutes it will take to watch a great presentation on Death By Power Point. Perhaps show these in a facutly-staff meeting and see who gets defensive. Or just look and see if you are a good presenter or perhaps not so good. So check out some of these:

Humorous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ5dbUCu2Ug&feature=related
Serious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfFQ9XU7Jw
Comedian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tGq3tH4qSw&feature=related

Dishwasher -- One Great Read

2011-01-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

I am home with the flu bug courtesy of my children. They spread their bugs everywhere and sooner or later one of them takes me down. Oh well, perhaps time to read the Christmas present my oldest daughter gave me (who doubles as the leading suspect for making me sick). The book she bought me was written by Pete Jordan entitled, Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States.

I must confess that it is very well written and an interesting story to boot. It provides insights to all of us who teach or are managing foodservice operations today from the perspective of the dishwasher. One of my favorite passages early on is when Jordan cites commentary from a master dishwasher who states, "Dishwashers are the least-respected restaurant workers...yet the most important." And according to the master dishwasher, "...cooking was too much responsibility. But as employees with massive egos, cooks needed constant flattery. Anytime a cook offered him something to eat or taste, Jeff always gave the food the highest of marks -- regardless of what he really thought. A rave review boosted the egos and kept the eats coming."

There are more gems throughout but the author and his book are an authentic depiction of life lived in the dishroom. Right down to when the author is told at one restaurant that "You gotta love your baby...You gotta keep her shiny and happy...Ya gotta caress Baby and give her a kiss." And then he was asked to "Go on, kiss Baby." Of course, the author thought his new boss and trainer were nuts for asking him to love the Hobart. That was until the Hobart went down during lunch and backed him up on dishes for hours. Soon thereafter he had a newfound respect for Baby and kept her shiny and clean! I am sure that any of you reading this work back of the house you can relate.

I cannot recommend this book higher than those before it for students to read and discuss at school. It is a refreshing perspective and a great read as I indicated earlier. Check it out for yourself; if you are a true foodie you will find it difficult to stop turning the pages. Check out a YouTube video of the author's hilarious interview on the Letterman Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N1O-GH4-4A

Website Monday -- Kahn Academy

2011-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

My friend, George Glazer, at the Education Institute of AHLA shared a great resource with me at the end of last week. It is the Kahn Academy and all materials are online and open to anyone to review. As their website says, "The Kahn Academy is a not-for-profit with the mission of providing a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. To see the plethora of classes that are online visit

http://www.khanacademy.org/

The cool thing about the website is that all the lessons are posted on YouTube. All you need to do is click on a lesson and it will pop up for you to review. It uses a technology that appears as a blackboard that has information posted to it -- depending on the lesson -- and you can hear Kahn's voice as he talks and writes on the blackboard. Pretty cool stuff so check it out. You can also check them out on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/khanacademy?v=photos

I can only imagine how cool a resource such as this would be to teach culinary arts to students. Imagine if your lectures could be put online for students to review BEFORE they got to class and the work that could be done applying the information using such pedagogies as cooperative or case based learning and working with the materials to make the kids better chefs and/or foodservice ops managers.

Call for Papers, Hosteur Webzine+

2011-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

HOSTEUR Webzine, Vol.20 No.1; Spring Summer 2011

The next issue is dedicated to "Competencies in the Hospitality & Tourism Industry." The Editors encourage especially submissions of student authored papers about this topic. Papers with other topics are also considered.

For those who do not know, HOSTEUR™ is the only internationally distributed career and self-development magazine for future hospitality and tourism professionals. It aims to prepare the more than 60,000 students enrolled in hospitality and tourism education programs at International CHRIE member schools for careers in the industry. The objective of HOSTEUR™ is to ease student transition from undergraduate education to graduate- or study-abroad programs, professional life with restaurants and foodservice management, hotels and lodging; travel-related businesses; food & beverage suppliers; equipment manufacturers; trade and professional associations; and commodity groups. Learn more by visiting: http://www.chrie.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3391

To answer this call, please send your mansucript by March 15, 2011 to either:
Dr. Ali Cetinkaya -- alisukru@selcuk.edu.tr or
Dr. Michael Vieregge -- michael_vieregge@hotmail.com

Great Quote

2011-01-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

I have a day calendar on my desk that has a Green theme. You know the kind, you tear off each day to get to the next news or information tidbit. And yes, I am using the back of each day as a note pad to recycle my Green day calendar :)

There was a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt for yesterday, 1/18. She said, "What you don't do can be a destructive force." When I first read it I thought that it was nice. And then I noodled it for time to let it marinate in my brain. Then it really started to take its affect/effect. I wondered what I do not yet know about the best ways to educate the students that are before me at the moment in all my classes and what I am not doing to adequately prepare them for the future.

In effect, I am in the soul searching mode to think through my approach to teaching to see what I may be missing that is doing a disservice to my students when they are out there in the trenches as hospitality professionals. Happy soul searching to you today, too, perhaps.

For all you boomers out there, take a trip down memory lane and listen to McGuire's Eve of Destruction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntLsElbW9Xo (recent video made from song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwYNWYaS3bI (remember when he sang it on Hullabaloo?)

Good Reason to be Great Teacher

2011-01-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

So we were hungry on Sunday and did not feel like cooking especially with all the great football and basketball to watch on tv. I called my favorite pizzeria to place the order for two large pizzas -- a veggie and a three cheses white pizza -- and then the person on the other end of the phone asked for the name, as they always do to know who's pizza belongs to whom. I said La Lopa and she repeated it.

In the background I hear, "Is that Professor La Lopa on the phone?" The girl taking my phone order said that it was and then she asked me to hold on a minute. She then got back on the phone and I heard students talking about "Professor La Lopa" in the background. It was also when my first total of $35 was now $27 courtesy of my students. My daughter then picked up the pizzas and brought them home and they were AMAZING! I then thought how cool it was that my students thought to take the time to give me a discount and better than usual pizzas.

And that was when it him me. What if I was a douche bag as a teacher!? I wondered how many of my ingredients might have made it to the floor before they were put on the pie! I wondered if there would have been fewer toppings. I wondered if the students would have taken turns to spit on the pizzas before baking and boxing. Indeed many terrible scenarios ran through my mind. Especially when I stopped to realize that with over 500 students in a university town it is difficult not to find them working the front desk of hotels, waiting tables, cooking, and so forth. One can only imagine what happens to those faculty who turn up to a hotel or restaurant that are known douche bags and the level of quality they get as a result.

So today's message for quality teaching. Don't be a douche bag -- your students are cooking your food and they might choose to pay you back for your misdeeds! I can't blame them either.

Eat Wild

2011-01-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

As the 2011 survey of ACF Chefs will attest, eating hyper local sustainable foods is hot in dining trends these days. The main reason is that the American consumer is making healthier choices when it comes to eating at home and away. As such our students need to be up on how to cater to the needs of changing consumer tastes and provide a menu to meet it.

To that end, I discovered http://www.eatwild.com/ which is a website to find local purveryors of grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy in all 50 states. In other words, those who are not into CAFO's and the inhumane treatment their animals endure and the pollution that results so we can keep meat and egg prices artificially low. So check it out and share with students if you like or perhaps even move to change purchasing practices for labs and public dining outlets, if your school runs one.

The Wisdom of Dumbledor

2011-01-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

And so we begin anew. The fall semester is a recent memory and the spring is upon us all albeit at various stages depending on your class schedules. One of the things that I like to do on the first day of class is share a Professor Dumbledor quote, the professor in the Harry Potter Series, that suggests “It isn’t your abilities that make you great, Harry, it is the choices you make.”…..

I then speak to the students about whether they will choose to focus on being a student during the coming semester or give in to the distractions that are sure to come their way from fraternities, parties, friends, parents and all the rest. We then talk about which is the safest choice to make when it comes to preparing themselves for the career path they currently have in mind.

The quote is also the last slide in my classes. We discuss whether the choices they made were those that enabled them to perform as they had hoped in their classes or if there were decisions along the way that should have been made differently to avoid the troubles they put upon themself. We also discuss how making smart choices now will increase the probability of a successful career later. More importantly, have they learned from either choice to continue to be successful while in school.

It is a great discussion to have with students. It orients them to the reason they are sitting in your class and helps guide them the rest of the way.

Recovery of Gulf Seafood Industry

2011-01-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

Although the national media attention has shifted from the oil spill in the gulf there are still concerns that the seafood that comes from that area is unsafe to eat. As it turns out, those concerns are without merit as the government has reopened the area to commercial fishing.

The following video is narrated at the beginning by FELC member Randy Cheramie and starts with a brief summary of the oil spill and how the ecosystem has had a remarkable recovery. There are also chefs talking about how they use gulf seafood in their restaurants and the Dine America 2010 program to promote the industry. This video would make a great case study for students to debate in a purchasing class -- to purchase or not to purchase gulf seafood!

Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJLWoHqis3g

Are You the Ultimate Teacher?

2010-12-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars. The call for proposals from FELC Members who wish to compete in our Third Annual Ultimate Teaching Competition will be going out the first week of January 2011. The competition will take place at the FELC annual summit in Charleston, South Carolina, April 7-9, 2011 at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, Palmer Campus. The competition is designed to provide culinary arts and hospitality educators a chance to show off their best practices when it comes to demonstrating culinary techniques, cooking styles, and culinary information in a visual medium. A non culinary demonstration could feature any number of topics, for example, Case study method, Problem Based Learning, Cooperative Learning and Lecture. Be Creative!

Only 6 competitors will be picked for the final competition. Educators will be given 15 minutes to demonstrate excellent teaching doctrine in the form of a lesson with one-two objectives presented. This should be done in a presentation format with or without a cooking demo; and can be added as a take away for our education tool box. The competitors will be on a cooking stage in an amphitheatre that seats 120 people. Each competitor will be judged from their peers in the audience. Judging criterion will be based on the competitors teaching skills, diversity of subject material, and delivery options that address the maximum amount of learning styles.

The 6 finalists will be selected based on a review of submissions by members of the FELC Advisory Board, Dr. Mick La Lopa, and Michael Carmel. To be accepted please fill out the information requested below and submit it to Chef Michael Carmel electronically via e-mail at mcarmel@fooded.org by midnight, February 14, 2011. Those submitting proposals will be notified by March 4, 2011 as to whether or not accepted for the Summit. So watch for the Call for Proposals!

Happy Holidays to All!

2010-12-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

I know that those of you who are educating the future generation of chefs and hospitality managers have worked hard this past fall to do the best job possible and deserving of a winter break. On behalf of myself, Michael Carmel and Jami Yanoski we wish you the best holiday season no matter how you celebrate this very special time of the year.