Change Proposal
Kari Bereczky
Change Proposal
INTE 6750
Introduction:
I have have been a Culinary Instructor for the ProStart program, as well as Metropolitan State University. Culinary education should be more accessible for students by creating more options for online learning. Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and MSU Denver have begun moving in this direction and I think it will continue. MSU Denver offers a “Food Fundamentals” class online for their Hospitality and Nutrition students. Culinary school graduates are in high demand. Emily Griffith offers a free 4 week “Quick Start” program to help meet the demand. By offering hybrid classes, schools can better educate future cooks. Students want interactive learning when they can’t be in the kitchen.
Colorado ProStart® is a junior/senior high school hospitality education program of the Colorado Restaurant Foundation, Colorado Restaurant Association, and the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. The program is a restaurant/hospitality management, culinary arts, and business economics curriculum that provide for high school and college academic credit, scholarships, and paid work experience opportunities for students.
The Colorado ProStart Program currently serves more than 900 students from 27 high schools across Colorado. The ProStart® program currently provides high school and college academic credit through Metropolitan State University of Denver, ProStart® Post -Secondary Passport, scholarships, and employment opportunities. An eLearning tool would bring the ProStart program into a cohesive training hub.
Problem:
High School students are excited when they begin the Colorado ProStart program. They can’t wait to get into the kitchen and become the next “Top Chef”. Before they can get into the kitchen there is the curriculum that needs to be covered first; equipment knowledge, food safety and, and product identification. Students don’t find these subjects engaging. It would be beneficial if they could cover that part of the curriculum online. ProStart students can cover subjects through interactive online learning activities.
Planned Intervention:
- Set up a Colorado ProStart website specifically for teachers and students to access curriculum, content, quizzes, and community. The 27 Colorado high schools can easily follow the lead of Metropolitan State University by providing online curriculum to ProStart students. The students can engage in online content that covers material that would otherwise be taught in the classroom. Students will be given a login to access their account. They can also track progress through the chapters and review material already covered.
- Train high school ProStart teachers on how to use the website for their classes/kitchens.
Evaluation:
First ProStart teachers at each individual school would need to make sure that students have access to the internet. Students would need to connect to the internet, which could be accessible at school. To determine the success of the website as a learning tool, evaluations and surveys will be given to teachers and students anonymously. Students’ end of semester course outcomes will also be considered in determining the success of the online collaboration. I believe the survey will show a positive response to the
- Identify the Problem
High School students are excited when they begin the ProStart program. They can’t wait to get into the kitchen and become the next “Top Chef”. Before they can get into the kitchen there is the curriculum that needs to be covered first; equipment, sanitation, and product identification. Students don’t find those subjects engaging. It would be beneficial if they could cover that part of the curriculum online. ProStart students can cover subjects through interactive online learning activities.
- Describe the planned intervention (this should be backed by research)
The curriculum that needs to be covered before culinary students can engage in cooking will be covered online through an LMS (Blackboard or Canvas). Equipment and product identification will be introduced through short online modules. Food Safety will also be covered in modules through an LMS. Students will
- Timeline for Implementation
The curriculum currently shared by ProStart teachers in a Google Site will now be converted into modules into Canvas. ProStart teachers have been trained on how to use the online modules during their summer ProStart training.
- Evaluation Plan
To determine the success of the plan
- Expected Findings / Potential Issues
I expect that high school ProStart students will be excited to be able to use technology (phones or Chromebook) to access pre-lab modules. Potential issues that we may encounter would be
- Description of Implementation
- Findings
Set up a Colorado ProStart website specifically for teachers and students to access curriculum, content, quizzes, and community. The 27 Colorado high schools can easily follow the lead of Metropolitan State University by providing online curriculum to ProStart students. The students can engage in online content that covers material that would otherwise be taught in the classroom. Students will be given a login to access their account. They can also track progress through the chapters and review material already covered.
Train the teachers on how to use the website for their classes/kitchens.
In such a technology-driven age, online modules can lure students when compared to conventional paper prelabs.
He also found that the online prelabs seemed to speed up the actual lab because of the better preparedness with which his students came into the class.
The students in the experimental group performed slightly better than the students in the control group based on the post quizzes given to both classes. Moreover, the teacher found that the lab was more efficient because the students in the experimental group were more prepared than the control group. This could be attributed to the students having to complete the prelab in full before coming to class, whereas students with paper copies would rush it beforehand. This further supported the goal of using technology to sustain student interest and promote learning.4