By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Thinking carefully about who should be involved in revising the curriculum will help everyone know his and her role. It is an important way to move the process forward and collect as many ideas at the beginning and consult about proposals at the end.

In the last two Clinics, we reviewed the challenges of evaluating student performance, a task that is critical for student learning. Another aspect of ensuring successful graduates involves providing the best program for them, which raises the question of how we examine our curricula and make changes to improve courses and whole programs.

In this Clinic, we will discuss overall curriculum revision; in a later one, we shall review making course changes. Having just gone through more than two years of full revision of two undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees at NYU, I have a lot of empathy for people undertaking the task. However, it can be a creative and insightful activity, and one that makes a real difference in the quality and effectiveness of programs.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Making students responsible for assessing their own performance can yield real differences in the way you teach and impact students’ attitude toward evaluation.

Last month, we mentioned the five elements of grading including: feedback, methods, criteria, grading mix and recording; we also discussed, in some detail, the topics of feedback and methods of evaluating student work. This month, we shall focus on the criteria—the standards that are used to judge the success or lack of it in performing work or demonstrating knowledge and skills—and ways to have student practice self assessment.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Providing clear information about how students will be evaluated helps them demonstrate their knowledge and skills as well as to evaluate themselves and others.

Last month, we discussed accountability and its importance in helping students become better professionals. One of the ways that we can help them develop as professionals is to encourage their thinking about evaluation. This month and next month, we will discuss various aspects of evaluation, something probably on everyone’s mind these days while we are reading papers, lab reports and tests, listening to presentations and judging food preparation and presentations.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Many students have difficulty meeting deadlines. As faculty members, we carry different responsibilities in helping them learn from these various situations.

Last month, we discussed building community in the classroom and fostering student comfort. This month, we are focusing on the other side of the coin: helping students practice professionalism by meeting assigned deadlines.

Our Professional Obligation
Although we teach a wide range of subjects, we all share a common goal of helping our students become better professionals—often a big shift for them when they are still adjusting to college and juggling the many responsibilities of college life. As faculty members, we need to help them learn in every way possible to behave and think like professionals since we only have them briefly before they join the professional world. In fact, over the last 20 years, culinary educators have been successful in changing the ways that chefs and other hospitality professionals (1) establish good team work, (2) create civil and cooperative work environments, (3) treat women and members of minority groups with respect and (4) discourage sexual and other types of harassment. Today’s commercial kitchens are very different from what they used to be!

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Encourage students to use each other’s names and pronounce them correctly, and you will honor students and foster a community of learners.

Last month, we discussed getting students involved; this month, we will focus on building community in the classroom. Since the learning process is facilitated by an environment where students feel safe and honored as learners, creating a community is an important task for teachers.