After attending the first practical session, there are some tips I brought home with me.
- We have to set ground rules on expectations and safety with the students. We have to tell them the reason behind every rule so that the students can understand the rationales.
- We have to be firm with our rules so that the students will obey it.
- For positioning of students, we shall arrange for the taller students to stand behind so that everyone can see the demonstration clearly and we can always ask the notorious student(s) to stand beside the teacher to prevent disruptive behaviour.
- Divide the recipe steps into few sets so that the students are clear of the steps.
- Provide time frame to complete each set of recipe. We can extend the time if the students could not finish the part within the time given but keep them alert of the time.
- During the practical, we have to walk about to facilitate and correct the students' techniques which might be wrong sometimes. We can jot down what we observed so that we can share with them after the practical.
- Debrief. Comment on what they have done well and what not, ways to improve and give them worksheets on the practical.
In the previous lesson, I was fascinated by the ways Ms Soo let us familiarise ourselves with the kitchen. She divided us into 5 groups and each group took a corner (the fifth group went to the storeroom). She allowed us to open the drawers and determine what could be found in the lab. I find this very hands-on and fun. I think we would all fall asleep if Ms Soo just talk or flash the items on screen. Most importantly, we would most probably forget what she said.
I find another piece of words from Mrs Stevenson equally important, too. We have to assume that the students are not experienced and do not know how to handle the equipment appropriately. Therefore, in our first lesson or during practical lessons with the students, be it lower secondary or upper secondary, we have to brief them the rules and expectations on safety and hygiene.
Overall, this is what I have observed from my colleagues during the period of my contract teaching. We would have demonstrated the whole process to our students without splitting the recipe steps into a few sets. Personally, I am quite agreeable towards demonstration by parts as students will always forget steps. By practising this, the students can follow the recipe closely and teachers can facilitate better.
However, there are some considerations that I would like to raise.
- Will this take longer time as compared to one-shot demonstration?
- Teacher might ask a representative from each group to demonstrate certain steps while the other student is working on the product. Will the other student be able to learn the steps as well?
- Is it applicable for all recipes? or just for complicated recipes?
So back to our practical, we cooked mini burgers and coleslaw.
What we have learnt:
- knife / cutting skills : julienne, brunoise (dicing), chiffonade.
- shaping
The pictures below show the snippets of the process.
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| The ingredients for mini burgers and coleslaw. |
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| The coleslaw before tossed with low fat mayonnaise and lemon. |
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| After shaping the mixed meat mixture. |
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| Adeline was pan-frying the meat patties. |
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| Melting the cheese on top of the meat patties towards the end of cooking |
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| Adeline and me. :) |
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| The patties with melted cheese were ready to be served in mini burgers. |
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| Final step: Liyana placed the patty in between two buns. |
