By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Site visits, or field trips, are great educational experiences that provide students with an industry perspective we cannot provide in our classrooms.

Last month, we discussed Organizing Review Sessions, which help students prepare for examinations. However, the activity that broadens their education the most is probably field trips to restaurants, foodservice facilities, dining rooms, food markets and other organizations in our industry. While the logistics of these visits can be a challenge, this "Mayo's Clinic" will focus on making these trips into valuable educational experiences, a task that requires some careful planning ahead of time and the attention to appropriate follow-up assignments.

Planning for a Field Trip
One of the hardest activities for many of us is identifying the correct site for a field trip and then integrating it, effectively, into the courses that we are teaching. Often, the sequencing of the field trip becomes a challenge because the availability of the site might not match the timing of when appropriate topics are covered in the course. Sometimes, I have used a field trip to start attention to a topic and at other times, been forced to use it to review material later in the course.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

A variety of review techniques can help students excel.

Last month, we discussed teaching seminar classes; given the time of year, this month we will talk about review sessions. In some ways, it would be nice to assume that we do not need to organize review activities for our students, and sometimes we don’t need to do it. Some of them are very capable to study and remember material without our help, but many students are not used to or skilled in reviewing material for tests and preparing for other demonstrations of knowledge.

Class Review
In class, there are a number of activities that we can use to help students review materials. One involves making a list of key words or terms and then calling on a student to define the word and apply it to an industry situation—using an example not in the reading—and then calling on a second student to accept the response or correct it. Calling on the second student keeps everyone alert since he or she might be called on in either capacity. An addition to this activity involves calling on a third student to explain the significance of the term or concept. Using the application and significance approaches pushes students to expand their thinking and ensure that they really understand the key ideas or techniques in the course.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

A seminar can be a great place to push students’ thinking and provide them with a different educational experience.

Last month, we discussed using how to make large classes seem small and less intimidating to students; this month, we will talk about the delight of some faculty members and the fear of others: teaching seminar classes, courses most often with fewer students and focused on specific, limited themes or topics.

Definition of a Seminar
Of course, many colleges have used the word seminar to distinguish certain courses as in Freshman Seminar or Major Seminar, often courses with large enrollments that have nothing to do with the original conception of seminar. However, most seminar courses are typically organized around a single topic or set of topics, they involve fewer students (often just enough to sit around a table or in a circle), and they require an approach to teaching and learning different than the typical lecture and discussion. Those of you who have had a chance to teach seminar courses know how different the experience can be and often how critical it is to help students adjust to this alternative structure.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

In a large class, it can become very easy for us to lecture and not invite questions or discussion. Here’s how to engage all students.

Last month, we discussed using peer evaluations when students are working in teams on course projects. One great advantage of using project teams is the connection that students can make with each other, the realism of having to work in teams whose members may not be best friends, and the value of learning self regulation of a team. It also decreases the intimidation of being in a large class.

Realistically, for some of us—most culinary laboratory classes being the exception—class sizes have been growing as pressures increase on budgets. Luckily, we can still make the learning experience interactive.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Using an evaluation form makes a difference in the way students work in small groups, encouraging them to provide feedback to each other.

Last month, we discussed using small groups in classes; this month, we will discuss peer evaluations as a way both to help students learn to work with other students and to assess their own work and the work of others.

Process
When I use small groups on long-term projects, one of the ways that I encourage students to work together more effectively is to require them to think about what contributions their fellow students make to the project work. An essential element of any final report is the submission, in hard copy, of a self evaluation and peer evaluations of each of the students in the small group.