• Make a Power Point presentation and create culinary teams in the classroom. Then the teams buzz in and answer questions like jeopardy. If the team gets the question correct, then they get the points. The highest team wins a token educational gift. (DK)

By Mary Petersen, Editor, “The Gold Medal Classroom”

Dr. Fred Mayo gave a series of educational workshops to teachers attending CAFÉ workshops last year.  His topic covered what teachers can do in order to present material for maximum impact and by way of example of what NOT to do, including some negative statements by teachers that have been heard in classrooms: 

Around the middle of the school year, my students tend to get a little lazy with their cleanup. This is the time I implement a sanitation scavenger hunt. I find all the problems and write them down. I divide the students into groups of four and the first group to find all the problems wins a dessert of their choice and extra credit. The "losing" groups get extra credit, depending on how many they find and they have to fix the problems. They look for things such as improper storage, improper cleanup etc... This really gets them back in line.

• Before students can leave for the day, they will need to fill out a comment card type of evaluation as an exit possibly 5 minutes early or to receive a homework free pass. (SL)

• Starting each semester, I ask students to find a dish or a recipe that they have always wanted to learn how to prepare. It gives students something to look forward to. (LP)

• My students, traditionally, have had little exposure to the wide variety of foods and cooking ingredients available. Many eat “fast food” on a daily basis and few have experienced fine dining. I like to introduce fresh produce groups (fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices and salad greens) by presenting a wide variety of items and having a tasting party. Students are given a tasting chart to complete as I introduce each new produce item. They then write comments under columns for description (can illustrate and color), aroma, taste, how used. I try to select the more common herbs and spices—sage, oregano, basil, chives, bay leaves, cilantro, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, etc. As students examine these and complete tasting chart, they make a herb collection to take home for their family to used in cooking. (KB)

• When I give lecture notes, I make handouts with blanks in them. I have the same handout on the overhead transparency. The students fill in blanks throughout the notes as I lecture. This way they can listen and still have to write, but not concentrate on trying to write every word I say. (LS)

• If you are looking for chef coats for your class, try calling your local uniform rental/cleaning company. When the coats are barely worn, they will sell for almost nothing and/or donate the coats to your class. (MM)

• Regarding lab evaluations: I use a form which lists the points available for labwork, attendance/prep, clean-up, proper uniforms/tools, and being on time (total 10 points for the day). The competencies I use are also listed on this form under skills tests which occur every 4 weeks in each section (for example, section 1 is sweetdough and muffins, section 2 is quickbreads, section 3 is yeast bread and section 4 is cookies for a total of 16 weeks or one semester). The competencies are graded using a scall of 1=no clear indication, 2=inconsistent evidence, 3=emerging competence, 4=clear competence. (KN)

• I developed a reading guide for my students in response to my frustration that students would not read assigned material in the text.  Each reading guide covers a chapter.  This has worked well with all levels of students.  I pull test questions from the reading guides for unit tests plus this helps me to develop a study guide.  Student grades have improved plus the reading guides are useful for me for teacher orientation. (MM)