Feild trips
A field trip to a farm in culinary school is important. It allows the students to see first hand where the food comes from. Growing a graeter respect for the food itself
Cory,
This would seem to be a great example of a practical field trip, maybe even required (rather than optional) for folks in the food industry.
Barry Westling
Anytime you have students take a trip to an place where their career coarse is guiding them is a positive... This allows the students to truly get a feel for their chosen career choice. They get to see for themselves what it could or couldn't be like when they themself are working.
Kisha,
I really like field trips. They inspire, motivate, and educate. Rarely have I had had a bad experience. Aslo, students really enjoy the break from the routine.
Barry Westling
Field trips also bring relevance and currency to the students. It becomes real life rather than classroom or book learning.
Garry,
Relevance...I like taht. Often students can't see the forrest for the trees with certain topics. If we can introduce relevance, their whole approach to learning could improve just based on one good field trip that really opens their eyes.
Barry Westling
I teach medical coding and I always took my classes to the AAPC Tyler Chapter monthly meeting so they could network with real coders. I did this during the second month of class so they would at least have a foundation of coding and wouldn't feel so lost during the trip. This motivated them to finish the semester with some new ideas and principles. They seemed to all enjoy getting out.
Ruby,
Service clubs, local chapters of the professional society, and similar organizatons are a great way for students to network, get a feel about what workers in their profession are saying, and connect in with others with similar interests. Often, there is a student chapter or mentoring program that an interested student can associate with as well. These are great activities for class field trips in that they motivate and can create interest in both class and the work setting.
Barry Westling
I agree whole heartedly with you Chef. There are many forms of students retaining information, one of the best is to remove them from the classroom and bring them directly into the industry or some aspect of it and see first hand what is involved at that level or stage. I used to bring my studentd from a class I taught to a farm where the owners grew specialty flavored herbs for Chefs down on the strip in Las Vegas. Lemon scented thyme, Lemon Chives were some of her specialties amongst many others. The trip was extremely educational and the students loved it.
Chef Mitch Becker
Mitchell,
Yep, field trips are good stuff!
Barry Westling
I agree.Taking field trips helps students have a better understanding of what to expect and they can make a decision if that is what they really want to do or not.
Shawne,
Yes, and sometimes this can even be a life changing experience. Many students have only vague ideas about the profession they're entering. Field trips can inspire and motivate some students to begin to buckle down and take things more seriously.
Barry Westling
What are some other great ideas for field trips? I teach class at night so it becomes a little more difficult to go some where.
I have thought of the Asian Market during Fish week because they have almost everything right there in front of the students Vs. seeing it on a power point.
John
John,
Most cities have businesses that run either 24/7, or at least 2-shifts a day, which would include evening time. In some settings, the same business may have several different aspects (intake, priocessing, distribution) that could be tapped for multiple excursions. If an instructor would just look around their classroom, lab (or kitchen) and ask, where did xxx come from, that would be a good place to start to think about ideas for field trip experiences.
Barry Westling
