The process of learning new skills and gaining knowledge from an educational professional development experience allows for teacher growth and builds new skill sets. Done correctly, PD inspires and invigorates, allowing an instructor to unexpectedly see new patterns and parallels within their own knowledge. Newly learned material intertwines with previous information, forming new ideas, updated lessons, and a renewed energy in the classroom.
Baking and Pastry Arts Instructor in Virginia’s Chesterfield County School System Elise Chonko received an R.E.B. Foundation PD grant that enabled her to study baking and pastry arts across Asia. Last summer, she traveled to Japan, Malaysia and Uzbekistan, where she attended master classes, toured markets, visited farms, cooked with local people in their homes, and met local business owners. In an effort to envision the future of baking and pastry arts across Asia, Chonko learned the grand possibilities of pastry arts in vastly different cultural landscapes. The challenge was translating this newfound information about what it can be to her culinary arts students just beginning their education.
Her trips were so inspiring and interesting from a culinary arts perspective that I am breaking down her story into two parts for each country. The series begins with Chonko describing her Malaysia sights and tastes. The second Malaysia story focuses on how she translated her travel experiences into her classroom curriculum.
Next month, she will describe her experiences in Japan and how that affected what she is teaching her culinary arts students this year. Read on and enjoy:
A Journey Across Asia - One Bite at a Time
Part One: Malaysia
Lessons Learned Across Asia - One Bite at a Time
Part One Malaysia: Revitalize well-worn lessons with international techniques and flavors.