BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING ... · PDF fileBETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY ....

BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING PROJECT FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

Learner-Centered Approaches to Teaching Hospitality Education

Gil Victor P. Acuña Program Chair,

Hospitality and Tourism Management, St Benilde College, Manila, Philippines.

Page | 2 This manual was written as part of the vocational training curriculum project that was designed by the Bethlehem University Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism in collaboration with Johnson & Wales University USA and St Benilde University, Manila, Philippines. USAID provided funding support for the writing project.

Table of Contents I. Introduction and Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 4

II. The “Big Three” Knowledge, Skills and Attitude ................................................................................................. 4

Philosophy and the Curriculum ......................................................................................................................... 4

Questions and Implications ............................................................................................................................... 9

Overview of Conflicting Educational Philosophies .......................................................................................... 10

III. The Curriculum and Learning ........................................................................................................................... 11

The Theory of Multiple Intelligence................................................................................................................. 12

The Theory of Left-Brain and Right-Brain ........................................................................................................ 13

Understanding Your Results ............................................................................................................................ 15

The Left-Brain Teacher..................................................................................................................................... 15

The Left-Brain Student ..................................................................................................................................... 15

The Right-Brain Teacher .................................................................................................................................. 15

The Right-Brain Student ................................................................................................................................... 15

The Teaching Challenge ................................................................................................................................... 16

IV. Learner-Centered Teaching .............................................................................................................................. 16

The Five Learner-Centeredness Checklist ........................................................................................................ 17

Learner-Centered Approaches ........................................................................................................................ 17

Key Characteristics of Learner-Centered Teachers ......................................................................................... 18

Key Learner-Centered Instructional Methodologies ....................................................................................... 19

Key Assessment Strategies .............................................................................................................................. 19

Using Rubrics in Assessments .......................................................................................................................... 19

The Four Domains of Effective Teaching ......................................................................................................... 23

Part 1: Planning and Preparation .................................................................................................................. 23

Part 2: Classroom Environment .................................................................................................................... 24

Part 3: Instruction ......................................................................................................................................... 24

Part 4: Professional Responsibilities ............................................................................................................. 25

Part 5: Learner-Centered Practices of Teachers ........................................................................................... 26

V. Adult Learning Principles .................................................................................................................................. 27

The Seven Student Foundations ...................................................................................................................... 27

The Difference between Teaching and Training .............................................................................................. 28

Motivational Factors in Learning ..................................................................................................................... 28

The Four Approaches to Motivational Learning .............................................................................................. 28


The Classroom ................................................................................................................................................. 29

Setting Instructional Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 30

VI. Teaching Adult Learners ................................................................................................................................... 32

The Power of Questioning Skills ...................................................................................................................... 32

The Sense of Sight as a Teaching Tool ............................................................................................................. 33

The Sense of Hearing as a Teaching Tool......................................................................................................... 33

Using Questions in Teaching ............................................................................................................................ 35

How to Handle Wrong Answers....................................................................................................................... 37

Thoughtful Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 38

Rewarding Learner Participation ..................................................................................................................... 38

VII. Establishing the Teacher-Student Relationships .............................................................................................. 39

Establishing rapport ......................................................................................................................................... 40

Developing Trust .............................................................................................................................................. 41

Ensuring Equality and Fairness ........................................................................................................................ 41

Mistakes for Success!....................................................................................................................................... 42

Technology in the classroom ........................................................................................................................... 42

The Use of Humor and Candidness ................................................................................................................. 43

Group Discussion Triggers ............................................................................................................................... 44

VIII. Developing the Service Culture Among Hospitality Teachers and Students .................................................... 45

Possible Teaching Implications ........................................................................................................................ 45

IX. Best Practices in Teaching Hospitality Education ............................................................................................. 47

X. Suggested Activities .......................................................................................................................................... 48

XI. References and Sources.................................................................................................................................... 50


I. Introduction and Objectives The best teachers are those who have a solid knowledge of instructional methodologies, a clear understanding of the nature of the learners and a considerable industry experience specific to their career. The noble purpose of this Teachers’ Manual is to present teaching practices with learner-centered training approaches which will enable either an academic or industry practitioner to teach hospitality management subjects in an effective manner.

II. The “Big Three” Knowledge, Skills and Attitude

Teaching competencies with appropriate learner-centered techniques in the classroom is a major responsibility of any teacher. But what exactly do we mean by “teaching”? Let’s take a look at a student, John. John is a student at a university taking up Hospitality Management. To acquire the required industry competencies, he should be able to acquire the necessary

• Knowledge • Skills or KSAs • Attitude

needed to become a Front Office professional. As he is definitely young and understandably inexperienced, there is an expected gap between what is and what should be in the KSAs.

This is where the importance of teaching is most evident because the student’s present level of knowledge, skill, and attitude is less than required. The curriculum design should be constantly change to continually bridge the gaps of knowledge, skills, and attitude. Being a highly dynamic industry, hospitality education should be sensitive to new trends, concepts and approaches to guest service, administrative and operational standards. Technology, tourism policies and regulations and millennials are some factors that may shift how we teach. Millennials are people who grew up in the technology age where information is within reach via social media applications such as Facebook, Wikipedia and other websites. It is therefore advisable to constantly be updated on industry developments vis-à-vis curriculum design in the implementation of the KSAs in the classroom. Teaching hospitality can be fun, creative and not necessarily formal in approach. The very nature of the discipline requires a high interactive environment that allows the learner to build on personality traits alongside with theoretical applications and practical skills.

Philosophy and the Curriculum Curriculum is defined as the totality of curricular content (subject matter) and learning experiences the learner goes through to achieve intended educational purposes or outcomes against which his progress will be evaluated (Reyes 2000).

A good lesson always begins with carefully written curriculum objectives that guides the teacher in structuring their lesson plans to allow students to learn progressively from simple concepts to more complex forms of thinking and critical analysis. On the other hand, traditional teaching reflects highly


teacher-centered lessons where the teacher lectures on the subject matter, while the students listen, take notes and asks occasional questions. Studies have shown that learning takes place best when there is a form of learning ownership and self-direction on the part of the student Well-made curriculum materials are founded on educational philosophies. As an academic institution, it is important to share visions on what you believe is right and true as anchored on your institutional values. This is turn give meaning to your institution’s judgments, directions and results. As an example, faculty at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (SHRIM) are one with the mission “SHRIM aims to become the premier learning institution in HRIM through a relevant and progressive curriculum that meets the standards of the global hospitality industry. It aims to develop hoteliers, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs with a strong management and service orientation.” Presented in a general sense, but one can trace underlying academic philosophies behind the statement. An institution’s philosophies on education are important in coming up with the mission. The La Sallian philosophical value of faith, zeal for service and community in mission are the basic foundations for identifying the six specific core values:

1. Professional competence 2. Social responsibility 3. Creativeness 4. Deeply rooted in faith 5. Sense of nationhood 6. Appreciation the uniqueness of each individual.

With these set as an educational culture, all:

1. Goals 2. Decisions 3. Programs 4. Curriculum 5. Facilities 6. Services 7. Faculty development

Will distinguish the administrators, teachers and students unique to Bethlehem University. Some questions to think about:

1. What is your personal philosophy of education? 2. How do I apply this philosophy in my work as an administrator and faculty? 3. What is the school’s philosophy of education? 4. How do I apply this in my work as a teacher? 5. What are the ways you ensure that the school’s philosophy cascades to the 6. Programs, projects and activities offered to the students? 7. In what concrete ways do you promote the school’s philosophy?


The curriculum is the factor that has the most direct impact with the student. Broken down further, it translates into the important responsibility of academic administrators and teachers to be in agreement on how the syllabus is best implemented in the classroom with the students as beneficiaries. In a vocational course set-up where the term is shorter and more compact than a degree program, specific topics are assigned on certain dates that translate to required hours. There is less allowance for adjustments is terms of days and schedules, as shown in the sample below:


BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY

Front Office Cluster Modules - Module 1 I. Module Name:

Welcome to the Front Office Department! II. Module Description & Objectives:

This is an introductory module focused on Hotel Front Office Operations. It starts with how hotel job positions and departments are organized and the role of the Front Office Department in such organizations. It will also cover hotel room types and features based on hotel classifications. A special underlying focus is given on identifying industry requirements on professional imaging given the nature of the hospitality business.

III. Module Learning Outcomes: Upon satisfactory completion of the module, the participant should be able to:

1. Illustrate the different types of hotel organizational charts and accompanying job positions needed to complete the 4-stage guest cycle.

2. Enumerate services, room types and features based on hotel classifications. 3. Explain positive human relation behavior and personal attributes in a hospitality setting.

I. Prior Learning/Prerequisites:

Ideally, each participant should have taken previous courses such as Principles of Tourism and Personality Development.

II. Program Duration & Capacity:

Two (2) sessions, three (3) hours per session. Maximum 25 participants. III. Target Group:

The target group is students interested in front-of-the-house positions of a hotel, specifically in the Front Office Department.

Module Outline including Class Activities and Teaching Methods:

LEARNING OUTCOMES TOPICS & SUB TOPICS LEARNING ACTIVITIES SESSION HOURS

1. Illustrate the different types of hotel organizational charts and accompanying job positions needed to complete the 4-stage guest cycle

• Introduction to Front Office

• Hotel Organizational Chart

• Key roles of the Front Office Department

• Basic tasks per departmental position.

• Overview of the Guest Cycle

Lecture-discussion using multimedia resources 1 1


2. Enumerate services, room types and features based on hotel classifications.

• Local and International Hotel Classification Standards and Rating Systems

• Various products / service descriptions of hotels based on classification.

• Room type descriptions

Group Research and Group Reporting

Lecture-discussion using multimedia resources

Group Research and Group Reporting

1 2

3. Explain positive human relation behavior and personal attributes in a hospitality setting

• Importance of First Impressions

• Personal Grooming and Hotel Uniform Standards

• Key principles in hospitality

guest service with focus areas of application at Front Office operations.

• Personality Development

Video/Film Showing on Personal Hygiene and Good Grooming Lecture-discussion using multimedia resources Sharing of personal service encounters and recommendations Role-plays based on employee-guest interactions

2 3

TOTAL 2 6 VII. Assessment including Evaluative Criteria: Paper Output: Task may be done in pairs or individually. Participants will be asked to research about on specific hotel/property/brand – its hotel classification/ranking/rating, organizational chart, number of rooms and room types, and services and facilities. Using this data, participants will be asked to compare and contrast similarities and differences based on class discussions. The focus of the assessment is on the application of analytical skills in identifying commonalities in operations and the possible reasons behind the variations. Paper Parameters: Minimum of 3 pages, single-space, size 12 of conventional font style. Reflection Paper: Instruct students to watch the movie Hotel Rwanda and/or Concierge. As a guideline, they are to submit a reflection paper that identifies at least 10 key behavioral examples in the films that best represent a true hotelier in terms of personality and attitude. What do they agree with and what would they have done differently? VIII. Reading & Reference Materials: 1. Andrews, Sudhir. Hotel front office: a training manual. Green Park Extension, New Delhi:

McGraw-Hill, 2013 2. Bardi, James A. Hotel front office management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011 3. Vallen, Gary K. Check-in check-out. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Education, Inc., 2013

http://opac.dls-csb.edu.ph/webopac/author?searchtext=Andrews%2C+Sudhir%2E

http://opac.dls-csb.edu.ph/webopac/author?searchtext=Bardi%2C+James+A%2E

http://opac.dls-csb.edu.ph/webopac/author?searchtext=Vallen%2C+Gary+K%2E


IX. Facilities and Technology Needs: 1. Classroom with a computer, multimedia projector, and internet connectivity 2. Lapel microphone and speakers 3. Video Player 4. Hotel Training Videos/Films about Front Office Operations X. Optimal Partners: Industry Speaker - a Hotel General Manager / Front Office Manager from a deluxe property who will speak on the challenges of running a hospitality business and the importance of the Front Office in the operations.

Questions and Implications For the teacher, the challenge is developing the lesson plans based on the institutional philosophies as embraced by the academic community. A teacher who comes in with a shared value orientation with the institution has higher chances of being a collaborative partner in education. S/he would have lower risks of imposing her/his own beliefs in a way that impacted negatively on the corporate goals and vision. What subjects directly influence or affect the KSAs of a student studying Rooms Division (Front Office and Housekeeping)? This requires an analysis of a student’s prior learning. For example if previous study included all or some of the following types of courses (St Benilde, Manila): 1. Gepsych- General Psychology 7. Ptour 1-Pronciples of Tourism 1 2. Wordproc- Information Technology 8. Ptour 2-Principles of Tourism 2 3. Techwrit-Technical Writing 9. Hazonfo- Hazard Analysis on Food 4. Oralcom-Oral Communications 10.Perdevt-Personality Development 5. Intecom-Introduction to Economics 11. Prinmgt-Principles of Management 6. Aesthet-Aesthetics Front Desk and Housekeeping should be taught together with the previously learned core competencies. Some approaches can be:

• Connect ideas from the course with ideas outside the classroom either from teacher or student, and in-between ideas in one part of the course (telephone skills and taking reservations) and those on different parts.( Hazonfo and cleaning rooms using chemicals in housekeeping)

• If Front Office and Housekeeping is part of a sequence, consider how the students will fare without the pre-requisite knowledge acquired from the previous subjects?

What will be the consequences? For example, a student who did well in Perdevt from above, will most likely have an easier time handling those simulations and drills in Front Office.


• What skills and knowledge from these subjects will stand the test of time, given the dynamic nature of knowledge and information? These are factors such as flexibility, open-mindedness, servitude, an understanding and acceptance his/her role in implementing industry procedures, among others.

One may describe this concept as a form of brain evolution, as shown below, where the student’s KSA is not a product of the present subject being taught but rather the totality of the past, the present and how it can be used productively in the future.

Overview of Conflicting Educational Philosophies Depending on one’s educational orientation, there are six initial views on educational philosophies. Not one is entirely prescribed as it would depend on the basic discipline being taught, the teaching approach of the teacher and the learning style of the student:

Philosophy Controlling Aim Curriculum Method Ideal of Learner

Perennialism Cultivation of rational powers; academic excellence.

Basic education/liberal arts; Great Books of the Western World

Mental discipline; drill teaching; literary discussion; Socratic teaching

Rational being guided by first principles; mind elevated above biological universe.

Essentialism Academic excellence; cultivation of the intellect.

Basic education/fundamental academic discipline

Mental discipline; mastery of academic subject matter; drill/coaching; disciplinary inquiry.

Rational being in command of essential facts and skills that undergird the intellective disciplines.

Experimentalism Reflective thinking for social problem solving; democratic citizenship; growth

Comprehensive, unified, problem focused studies in democratic classroom/school setting.

Social problem solving through reflective thinking and democratic processes.

Autonomous thinking, socially responsible; organism in biological continuity with nature.


Reconstructionism Building an ideal democratic social order

Social problems; corrective programs scientifically determined for collective action

Critical analysis for societal flaws and programmatic needs for corrective action.

Rebel committed to and involved in constructive social redirection and renewal.

Romantic Naturalism

Individual freedom to develop one’s potential.

Learning activities based on learner’s felt needs.

Laissez faire; free learning for artistic self-expression: spontaneous activity

Unfolding flower

Existentialism Inner search for meaning for one’s own existence

Themes on human conditions; learning activities free from rational constraints, designed to free the individual to find one’s own being.

Introspection (examining one’s own feelings, impulse, thoughts) in a free-learning environment.

Flower in search of the meaning of its own existence.

Hospitality practitioners teaching hotel management courses may find the above irrelevant because it makes teaching appear difficult. What is clear at this point, however, is that the curriculum may be interpreted through various teaching methods and to know broadly what these are helps one understand their own preferred approach – its strengths and its limitations. Developments in learning theories have shown that learner expectations from the perspective of the teacher do not always match actual learning styles of the students. An understanding of one’s own teaching style/expectations is needed but so is a knowledge of a student’s preferred learning style. III. The Curriculum and Learning

There are many theories about curriculum development and learning. Here are some:

1. The lesson should be organized so students have a higher success in mastering the subject. 2. People can learn and have their behavior shaped by observing another person. 3. Previous learning is the basis of subsequent learning.( Jerome Bruner) 4. Appreciate all types of intelligences and all types of excellence that contribute to the worth

of the individual and society.

Initially, here are some action plans to consider:

• Institutionalize an entry-level student-assessment system that determines readiness for vocational level education. This ensures students are well matched to courses and vice versa.

• Develop a progressive and pre-requisite based curriculum. • Create a strong administrative and faculty pool that will establish the school culture. • Respect multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner) and other learning styles.


The Theory of Multiple Intelligence The theory of multiple intelligences support the belief that every person’s intelligence can be further explored to develop specific learning inclinations. The model below shows eight possibilities any learning may have as a student attends any of the classes:

At any given point in the lecture classes, any of these learning styles may be observed. Usually these can be identified in any of the various entrance exams. Based on the results, hopefully they match the vocational course that the student has chosen to take. For example, a student taking up a hospitality management course would most probably excel if the assessment shows positive results in spatial intelligence, verbal linguistic, logical mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities. There is no perfect match of these dimensions. Once identified as a strength, it can be supported by providing the right teaching approaches to further maximize its potential. There are similarities between multiple intelligences and the theory of left brain and right brain thinkers. (Dr. Lauren Crane, 1989) Left-brainers (LB) teachers will easily relate to left brainer students. The opposite holds true and poses challenges if left-brainer teachers have right-brain students.


The Theory of Left-Brain and Right-Brain Below are two interpretations of this philosophy:


Just a quick test to determine your left brain-right brain inclination: Choose the one sentence that is more true to you. Do not leave any blanks.

1. A. It is fun to take risks 12. A. With a hard decision, I choose what I know is right.

B. I have fun without taking risks B. With a hard decision, I choose what I feel is right.

2. A. I look for new ways to do old jobs 13. A. I do easy things first and important B. When one way works, I don’t

change it B. I do easy things first and important

things later. 3. A. I begin many jobs that I don’t finish 14 A. Sometimes in a new situation, I have

too many ideas B. I finish a new job before starting a

new one B. Sometimes in a new situation, I don't

have any ideas. 4. A. I’m not very imaginative in my

work 15. A. I have to have a lot of change and

variety in my life. B. I use my imagination in everything

that I do. B. I have to have an orderly and well-

planned life. 5. A. I can analyze what is going to

happen next 16. A. I know I'm right, because I have good

reasons. B. I can sense what is going to happen

next B. I know I'm right, even without good

reasons. 6. A. I try to find the one best way to

solve a problem 17. A. I spread my work evenly over the

time I have. B. I try to find different answers to

problems B. I prefer to do my work at the last

minute. 7. A. My thinking is like pictures going

through my head 18. A. I keep everything in a particular

place. B. My thinking is like words going

through my head B. Where I keep things depends on what

I'm doing. 8. A. I agree with new ideas before other

people do 19. A. I have to make my own plans.

B. I question new ideas more than any other people do.

B. I can follow anyone's plans.

9. A. Other people do not understand how I organize things

20. A. A. I am a very flexible and unpredictable person.

B. Other people think I organize well. B. I am a consistent and stable person. 10. A. I have good self-discipline 21. A. With a new task, I want to find my

own way of doing it. B. I usually act on my feelings B. With a new task, I want to be told the

best way to it. 11. A. I plan time for doing my work B. I don’t think about the time when I

do my work

To Score: Give yourself one point for each time you answered "A" for questions: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21.


Give yourself one point for each time you answered "B" for questions: 4 ,5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18.

Add all points. Totals mean: 0-4: strong left brain 5-8: moderate left brain 9-13: middle brain 14-16: moderate right brain 17-21: strong right brain

(from The Alert Scale of Cognitive Style, by Dr. Loren D. Crane, Western Michigan University, 1989. Reprinted with permission.)

Understanding Your Results Interpreting the results have direct implications to your teaching styles and can give you an idea of how your students think. If you are right-brain oriented, it is your natural, emotional right hemisphere that guides your judgments. Left-brain oriented people on the other hand would lean towards the sequential, time-oriented left hemisphere which tells you how to think, what to believe, and what choices to make. Teachers are more likely to connect with students who share the same brain orientations. Therefore a higher-level left-brain teacher will need more effort to teach high-level right-brain students in the classroom. It would be interesting to use this test to a certain class by having all students complete the same test and compare the tallied results with yours.

The Left-Brain Teacher Teachers with left-brain strengths generally prefer to teach using lecture and discussion. To incorporate sequence, they put outlines on the board or overhead, and they like to adhere to prepared time schedules. They give problems to the students to solve independently. Teachers with left-brain preferences assign more research and writing than their right-brain peers. A reasonably quiet, structured classroom is preferred. The classroom tends to be clean, with items in their place.

The Left-Brain Student Left-brain students prefer to work alone. They like to read independently and incorporate research into their papers. They favor a quiet classroom without a lot of distraction.

The Right-Brain Teacher Teachers with right-brain strengths generally prefer to use hands-on activities to a lecture format. They tend to embrace Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences. They like to assign more group projects and activities, and prefer a busy, active, noisy classroom environment. The classroom of a strong right-brain teacher will typically have materials and books scattered all over.

The Right-Brain Student Right-brain students prefer to work in groups. They like to do art projects, presentations, simulations and role plays. They would prefer to create visually rather than write paper assignments and researches.


The Teaching Challenge Once derived, the teacher needs to work trying to match the learning type differences and his teaching style, Left-brain teachers who are used to lecturing to teach using lecture based on books and experience would outline of the lesson on the board and make handouts available to students. Slowly, one can incorporate the use of visual methods such as videos, photos, art, music, PowerPoint presentations and other sensory approaches. For right-brain teachers, there can be engaging lecturing more often. Visual presentations can be complemented with reflection papers and assignments. The best mix is if you are a middle-brain teacher because you can select and incorporate something new from either left or right brain areas. These principles were sourced from Diane Connell, Ed.D. who is currently an associate professor and director of the Graduate Programs in Learning Disabilities at Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire.

IV. Learner-Centered Teaching

Students who are taught the traditional way often acquire habits of memorization without realizing the importance of what they learned. This is the reason why they cannot remember the lesson or its practical applications after moving on from the subject. The common fault of some teachers is to teach content only as by guided by the syllabus. For them, what matters is that the content was covered without consideration to pacing, individuality or learning styles. More damaging are teachers who believe that they are the gurus of knowledge and that students should just sit and listen.

The most credible approach to learning is to focus on the student, but again equal focus should be on the instructional skills and depth of content. Thus, the paradigm shift is: “Sage on the Stage versus Guide on the Side”.

According to Dr. Phyllis Blumberg, Ph.D., there are three principles of how learning works:

1. The more engaged a person is with the content, the better the person learns from it. The student

should be able to relate to why that particular lesson is important to the whole concept of the subject being taught.

2. Learning is a social activity. Learning with groups through class activities or through social

means such as research interviews or external interaction develops interactive skills important to build logic, reasoning and confidence.

3. People need to construct their own meaning of content. What the teacher says may not totally

make sense at all times to the student who cannot appreciate the importance of the lesson to the student’s personal goals.


The Five Learner-Centeredness Checklist 1. Learners have distinctive perspectives or frames of references brought about by their personal

history, formative environment, interests, goals and beliefs. 2. Learners have unique differences as shown by their talents, learning styles, and levels of

confidence. 3. Learning is a process that best occurs when what is being learned is relevant and meaningful.

Students do not come to class with zero knowledge. Just as things are learned, so are things unlearned. If their answer is correct, then it is strengthened by an obvious show of approval by the teacher.

If the answer is wrong, careful handling of the answer leads to new awareness. Remember that it

took some effort from the student to dig from his present knowledge to state his opinion or answer. These continuous learning experiences of being right and being respected for an incorrect answer leads to higher levels of intelligence and self-esteem.

4. Learning occurs best in a positive environment. In a classroom, indicators can be anything from

the way the chairs arranged and the seating plan, cleanliness, space dynamics, noise levels, and room temperature. On the personal side, this includes how a student feels respected, appreciated and acknowledged inside and out the classroom.

5. Learning is seen as a fundamentally natural process. People are naturally curious and are always

seeking information and positive life-changing opportunities.

Learner-Centered Approaches Learner-centeredness can be best explained by understanding how the basic approaches are applied. To start off, there should be a shift of focus from the traditional teacher-controlled classrooms to more focused learner-based teaching approaches. Because of the complex nature of learning, the teacher should develop and keep in mind daily objectives in support of overall general course objectives How students learn is just as important as knowing the implications of these teaching approaches. What areas are they most comfortable at in terms of multiple intelligences and thinking styles? Are they more hands on or expressive? To keep the inner spirit going, motivation is a key factor and positive reinforcement measures should always be in place. Together with appropriate feedback, planned collaborative strategies such as pair assignments, industry exposures and other low to high interactive tasks all come together to create fertile learning grounds.


Key Characteristics of Learner-Centered Teachers 1. Teachers do learning tasks less.

This allows students to take over the attainment of self-directive learning goals. In one culinary class, the chef discussed the merits of Regional Cuisine. He then asked students to group themselves according to their town origins and tasked them to research on their respective regional cuisines specific to the area.

2. Teachers do less telling while students do more discovering. This is best when showing films or videos. With a simple design of teacher-prepared guide questions, the students watch the instructional film on their own and submit a reaction paper based on their own perspectives. Highlights are then shared and discussed during the next class session.

3. Teachers do more design work.

By clearly stating the objectives and assessment parameters, students are empowered to work on attaining the expectations. Think of a master painter guiding his novice students on the drawing on their first oil canvass.

4. Teachers do more modeling.

The best teacher is one that inspires. How they see you as a person influences how they want to be someday. A teacher’s character, organizational skills, demeanor, intellectuality, survival/success stories and total persona makes a perfect template for inspiration.

5. Faculty does more to get students learning from and with each other.

Students talking to each other in class in the middle of a lecture can be distracting. On a closer look, this might be the much-desired “academic noise” where they seek validation of opinions from each other before raising it to the discussion floor. As an alternative approach, the teacher may silently watch as they compare notes in light productive chatter.

6. Faculty work to create climates for learning.

It takes more than classroom management to make this work. Openness, completeness of learning resources, availability of facilities and support services, and other student learning investments should be considered.

For example, a dependable on-line internet signal in the classroom connects the class to the world. In the absence of such technology, consider assignments and other off-class student-based work they can do at home.

7. Faculty does more with feedback. Personal notations on papers, one-on-one meetings and mentoring moments are effective tools to reinforce self-efficacy. Teachers can actually learn a lot from students so far as understanding how they learn from you if such approaches are used constantly

On the other hand, regular teacher performance assessments are important to identify areas of strengths and areas of improvement as evaluated by students. Faculty that need mentoring and coaching as to teaching skills are monitored and supported by the administration until acceptable levels of expertise are achieved.


Key Learner-Centered Instructional Methodologies 1. Lecture method matched with engaging classroom discussions.

A teacher may identify “hot spots” of meaningful learning in the course of the lesson. Sometimes one major question alone can produce enough answers enough to run the session. An example could be “how can we know that the hotel is making money?”

2. Active Learning Approach

This is used to stimulate critical thinking towards the end of the course– such as case studies, problem-based learning (PBL), role-playing with return demonstrations, project-based learning.

3. Integration of Technology Multimedia presentations, video presentations, internet referencing, online teaching all enhance and extend the learning experience.

4. Collaborative Learning

The meeting of minds is encouraged such as group discussions, course projects and inviting other industry experts. It is also practical to exchange classes once in a while to get different teacher exposures from the same subject.

Key Assessment Strategies 1. Properly designed quizzes, written exams, and oral exams.

This is a whole study in itself and will entail a deeper understanding of the matter. As a matter of reference, an example can be true or false questions. Instead of just accepting an answer that is easily a 50% chance of correctness, students may be asked to defend all “false” answers.

2. Informal Assessments: minute papers, reaction papers, issue papers. Usually the grounds for this assessment are current events and global developments in the hospitality industry. To make this workable, students are asked to always be updated on world news and trends as it affects the hospitality industry.

3. Project Assessments: group presentations, final outputs. Students have to be given with enough time to complete the complex deliverables expected from the group.

4. Faculty assessments & student’s self-assessments.

Not one way, but both ways since both are actually benefactors of the partnership. Students are also given the opportunity to evaluate their teacher’s competency at regular intervals. How much quizzes and exams are enough to assess student learning? This is debatable, although it is safe to assume that every student should be given enough chances to recover grades to better averages. Balance quizzes with recitations, papers, reports and other assessment forms.

Using Rubrics in Assessments A rubric for assessment is a grid tool meant to objectively interpret and grade students' work using pre-determined criteria and standards. Its strength as an assessment method lies in its structure where teachers can evaluate a learner’s performance using specific guidelines that avoids the mistake of grading subjectively.


Rubrics work best when explained and discussed with students prior to the assessment. Usually it should be developed and discussed the students as to the expectations related to the assessment task. This way, everybody is aware of how they will be graded. The advantage of this methodology is that consistent standards are used against a consistent grading system. It is advisable that the teacher completes the rubrics and the students do their own for comparison of the evaluation results and shared markings. For wide differences in score averages, students are then asked to defend and justify why they deserve a better rating than given. In the end, the evaluative exercise allows a deeper analysis of their output and gives an opportunity to be responsible for their own learning.


PRESENTATION RUBRIC

NAME: TEACHER: DATE OF PRESENTATION: TITLE OF WORK: CRITERIA LEVELS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT POINTS

Needs Improvement

(1.0)

Satisfactory (2.0)

Good (3.0) Excellent (4.0)

Organization (20%)

Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information

Audience has difficulty following presentation because student jumps around the topics

Student presents information in logical sequence which audience can follow

Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can follow.

1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20

Content/ Knowledge

(30%)

Students do not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject.

Students are uncomfortable with information and are able to answer only rudimentary questions. Mostly memorized.

Students are at ease with content, but fails to elaborate. Spontaneous and fluid discussion.

Students demonstrate full knowledge (more than required)with explanations and elaboration.

1 to 8 9 to 15 16 to 22 23 to 30 Visuals (20%) Students used

no visuals. Students occasional used visuals that rarely support text and presentation.

Visuals related to text and presentation.

Students used visuals to reinforce screen text and presentation.

1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to15 16 to 20 Mechanics

(15%) Students’ presentation had four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation had three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.

1 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 11 12 to 15


Delivery (15%) Students mumble, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for students in the back of class to hear. No clear demonstration of confidence.

Students incorrectly pronounce terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation. Obvious reluctance and apprehension to report.

Students' voices are clear. Students pronounce most words correctly. Distinct level of confidence.

Students use a clear voice and have precise pronunciation of terms. High level of confidence.

1 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 11 12 to 15

TEACHERS COMMENTS


The Four Domains of Effective Teaching Charlotte Danielson is a former economist and an internationally-recognized expert in teacher effectiveness and design of teacher evaluation systems. These ensure teacher quality and promotion of professional learning. In her chart, she says that there are four areas in effective teaching: Planning and preparation, Classroom Management, Professional Responsibilities and Instruction.

Each of these four areas has indicators that should reflect the relative success of the teacher in learner-centered teaching. These can also be the basis for the performance evaluation of all faculty involved in hospitality education. Part 1: Planning and Preparation

1. Connects past and present lessons. As structured in the course syllabus, previous lessons should re-enforce the succeeding ones with key areas of theoretical and practical applications. For example, core competencies of Reservation should be established before moving on to Registration lessons.

2. Knowledge of content-related teaching styles. Learning principles are integrated into the content. Based on the topic, the teacher decides appropriate learning methodologies.

3. Knowledge of students’ interests and cultural background.

A working background on the student profiles and learning needs should be in place to address various learners. A foreigner in a class of local citizens has a different coping mechanism, for example.


Male-dominated societies and gender preferences in the workplace have implications on how specific lessons should be discussed in class. Therefore lesson objectives should be encompassing and not restrictive.

4. Use of resources As available, multiple learning resources should always be included in the lesson plan. Handouts, book sources, power point presentations and instructional videos are included in the lesson flow to avoid straight lectures. Lesson objectives are matched with learning accompanying activities

5. Criteria and Standards of Assessment

Before any lesson, consider what assessment tools the teacher should implement to check for understanding and comprehension during the class. The assessment and standards set should be relevant to the present times, workable, attainable and explained to the students to avoid concerns about grades.

Part 2: Classroom Environment

1. Student Interaction and Monitoring Behavior The presence of a respectful environment between students and teacher. Proper ethics and norms are clearly observable. Adherence to classroom rules, attentiveness, cooperation and other norms of adult behavior are integral components in setting up an environment that is conducive to learning.

2. Management of Transitions

The presence of a smooth flow of lessons from one area to another in a logical manner. Previous topics are discussed at any time to be relevant to the present lesson.

Management of Lesson Materials, Supplies and Equipment

Since lecture hours have specific time periods, it is essential that these are available at the start of the session. Lack of it wastes time and shows lack of preparation.

3. Non-instructional Duties

Students voluntarily fixing the chairs, setting up the multi-media equipment and other pre-and after class duties as volunteered are good indicators that students are involved in the learning process.

4. Outside and Alternative Activities Aside from the lesson core, the teacher arranges off-campus or off-classroom learning opportunities where the students can validate their KSAs.

Part 3: Instruction

1. Directions & Procedures Students are able to follow instructions with minimal questions. Clarity of delivery and well-written guidelines are in place.

2. Oral & Written Language

The language used is correct with very minimal errors, including syntax and spelling. It is always clear, respectful and spoken in consideration to the listeners.


3. Quality of Questions The type of questions during the class flows from simple to complex, from ordinary to high levels of thinking.

4. Discussion Techniques The teacher prompts the discussion by posing challenging thoughts, uses various means to developing engaging interaction such as debates, oral arguments and group presentations.

5. Student Participation

By percentage, majority of the students should be engaged in voluntary participation. This is in contrast to an uneasy environment of student silence throughout the lecture period.

6. Grouping

The structure of groups is deliberately well-thought of, considering varying intelligences and differences of the class members.

7. Structure and Pacing The lesson was not too fast or hurried, allowing students moments for reflection or questioning. The lesson structure provided equal coverage of key topics.

8. Timeliness of Feedback All class records are organized and updated for reference. The teacher is prompt in giving back student grades and informs them of their class standing in a timely manner.

Part 4: Professional Responsibilities

1. Reflection for future teaching Teachers are encouraged to observe other teachers as a learning process. After the observer discusses the evaluation results, the teacher is able to assess and plan steps to work on his performance ratings.

2. Relationship with Colleagues

The teacher is well-liked because of attitude towards work, fosters good relationships constantly and in good terms with everyone regardless of ranking or seniority.

The teacher’s personal characteristics in and out of the school. He acts a good role model to both students and co-faculty.

3. Service to the Profession

The teacher voluntarily participates in activities and leads in the attainment of school’s mission and philosophies.

4. Advocacy for the College

Self- directed activities for the school that the teacher initiates for the improvement of existing institutional programs.

5. Advocacy for the students

Voluntary activities that provide mentoring or character-building of students beyond the usual tasks as an educator.


6. Aim for Student Learning Outcomes

Committed to the development, implementation and achievement of set learning goals with measurable outputs.

7. Community Service As coursed through the school, participation in external projects that benefit the underprivileged and marginal sectors in society.

8. Timeliness and Punctuality

Always adheres to schedules and class periods and has no questionable records on tardiness. Requirements and tasks as consistently done in a timely, dependable manner

Part 5: Learner-Centered Practices of Teachers

1. Respects and appreciates student’s ideas and point of view Is non-judgmental and respectful of opinions and always considers both sides.

2. Tries to know each student

Takes the effort to understand personal backgrounds as it affects the student’s learning process. Remembers important concerns of students and works around them to help them cope.

3. Creates a caring atmosphere

Mistakes are considered part of learning and are genuinely concerned with the welfare of students. Responds appropriately to difficulties encountered by students.

4. Is approachable

Adopts an open-door policy that allows students to freely express their concerns in and out of class.

5. Provides challenging tasks Tasks given to students are matched to the academic requirements and expectations. The teacher develops tasks to push learners outside their comfort zones.

6. Encourages critical and deep thinking

The teacher does not tolerate mediocrity and always includes analytical exercises at certain parts of the syllabus.

7. Elicits active participation.

Students feel free to recite and teacher seldom has to call on names for recitation. Focus is on passive and shy students.

8. Gets feedback about the contents of the lesson

Regularly seeks evaluative opinions and comments about teaching performance for self-improvement and improvement in instructional methodologies.

9. Allows students to disagree with his/her ideas Accepts his role not only as a teacher, but also as a facilitator of reasoning and logic. Welcomes contradictions as a form of student assertiveness and confidence.


10. Schedules consultation hours

Sets aside regular weekly hours for students to discuss academic concerns affecting their studies. Always ready with courses of action in response to student concerns.

11. Helps students having difficulty.

Depending on the case, may be a mentor, informal counselor, a parent and friend to ease stress. The teacher is able to segregate individuals who need special understanding and attention.

12. Provides time to reflect on things learned Allows learners to sink-in realities and relevance of lessons. Frequent pauses and quiet times are part of the lessons.

13. Builds lesson based on students ideas, opinions and experiences

Respectful of the learning partnership between student and teacher. Willing to adjust the lesson to accommodate more important learning needs than the one planned for the day.

V. Adult Learning Principles

The Seven Student Foundations As the schematic diagram illustrates, teaching the curriculum involves a cycle that includes seven strong student foundations:

1. Organization- how the student body is organized as class in terms of semesters and homogeneity of classes.

2. Assessment- types of recurring assessment methodologies across the semester. 3. Teaching and learning pedagogies- a clear perspective of how adults learn

and learner-centered curricula. 4. Content- relevant, updated and applicable to present and future industry demands. 5. Intents- clear measurable goals with learner domain outcomes 6. Situation- a well-founded understanding of student profiles 7. Evaluation- Timely and addresses key competencies


If you want to teach, learn to reach. The concept of learner-centered teaching takes away the focus from the teacher and re-directs it to the students. At this point it is important to have a deeper understanding of how adult learners learn based on the multiple intelligences.

The question we have at this point is: Should a hospitality school like us teach and train? Teach only? Train only?

The Difference between Teaching and Training Teaching is mostly theoretical while training is directed on the practical application of the KSAs. The formation of a solid knowledge core is necessary to develop the intended attitude and skills needed to collectively carry out competencies. In the progressive maturation of one’s intellect, these combined attributes define the person.

If the course is Front Office Operations, the teacher delivers the facts. But he should also train the learner how to apply the facts into actual observable, measurable tasks. In Front Office, taking reservations would be readily be considered as a key competency. Take note though that not all competencies have trainable counterparts, especially in the knowledge domain.

To highlight this concept, try to identify another example of a teachable fact and the corresponding trainable applications:

What are the teachable facts of taking reservations and what are the training possibilities as broken down into tasks?

Teachable Fact

1. Information to get from the guest wanting to make a guaranteed reservation.

Trainable Applications

1. Upselling higher priced rooms 2. Handling rate objections 3. Telephone skills

Motivational Factors in Learning The syllabus design lays out the battlefield for the students. This is where the overall objectives, sequencing of lessons and activities, sessions teaching methodologies and references are considered. Assuming an academic institution has laid out the whole curriculum and respective syllabi, it is equally important to understand how adults learn. The common concern of teachers is the students’ apparent lack of drive to study. Understanding the possible causes of disinterest is a good start.

The Four Approaches to Motivational Learning 1. Adults seek out learning experiences to cope with specific life-changing events. An example would

be the need to graduate from a course the soonest time possible to help with the family. What are examples of life-changing events?


The more life-change events an adult encounters, the more likely he or she seeks out learning opportunities. Just as stress increases as life-change events accumulate, the motivation to cope with change through learning experiences increases.

Since the people who most frequently seek out learning opportunities are the people who have the most number of years in education, it is reasonable to guess that for many of us, learning is a coping response to significant change. What is the relationship of stress to learning? Should it be productive or counter-productive?

2. Adults who are motivated to seek out a learning experience do primarily because they have a use for the knowledge and skill being sought. Learning is a means to an end, not an end to itself. Students must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate to the past experience and apply it to their daily lives.

3. A change in daily schedule should be matched with an equally challenging change in self-

fulfillment with the opportunities provided by the school. How would a student appreciate a course on Front Office if the goal is to be a manager someday? What can advantages can he/she get from studying it that is useful to his/her goal?

4. Maintaining or increasing one’s sense of self-esteem is a strong motivator for engaging in learning

experiences. Adults tend to take errors personally and more likely to let them affect self-esteem. What are ways to increase self-esteem in the classroom and school community? What are ways to destroy self-esteem in the classroom?

Understanding the motivational factors, it would now be helpful to know basic theories on how adults learn: 1. Adults need to be able to integrate new ideas with what they already know if they are going to keep

and use the new information. This is also known as prior knowledge. How do we check on prior knowledge of students?

2. Information that conflicts sharply with what is already held to be true, and thus forces an evaluation of the old material, is integrated more slowly to the KSAs. What is the implication of this to different teachers with different lesson contents under the same subject?

3. Adults tend to compensate for being slower in some psychomotor learning tasks by being more accurate and making fewer trial and error attempts which are important to the learning process. These are the low-risk takers. What does this tell us about our student backgrounds?

4. Non-human sources of instruction can be powerful and influential tools in learning if incorporated in the lesson structure. What are examples of these sources?

The Classroom 1. The learning environment must be physically and psychologically comfortable. What conditions

should be present in the classroom to promote learning?

2. Adults have expectations and it is important for the teacher to clarify student expectations before teaching the content. What should be done if the teacher expectations differ from the students? How do we avoid these from happening?


3. Teachers have the tendency to lecture rather than facilitate or mentor. How can one increase the chance of participation and critical thinking in the classroom?

4. The teacher has to protect minority opinion, keep disagreements civil and under control. When are

these situations most likely to happen?

At any class, there is bound to have a mix of learner types: The Typical Learner, The Non-Participator, and the Over-Participator 1. The typical learner wants to participate in order to learn more. The teacher has to provide that

opportunity for participation and keeping the discussion aimed at accomplishing the objectives if the session.

2. The non-participator are inhibited for some reason that has to be identified, at the least. 3. The over-participator seeks to establish his knowledge level and/or participate for better

understanding. Basically students evaluate the learning environment to decide if a particular session demands participation or a look-and–listen attitude. They may not do this consciously, but they do it. How the teacher guides the development of a highly participative class will be improved by carrying out the following strategies:

1. Have clear lesson objectives 2. Give advanced readings or assignments 3. Implement proper classroom management approaches 4. Initially tone down difficult areas of the subject matter to levels that are acceptable and that

students can relate to. Increase the difficulty as the course progresses.

Setting Instructional Objectives The best lessons are always objective-based. These objectives identify the content, pace, materials, and assessment dimensions of the session. In setting objectives, the principle is best exemplified in the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains or areas. Name after the esteemed educator Benjamin Bloom, different objectives are classified into three main learning areas that have to be present in every lesson.

• Cognitive- the mind or the “knowing head” • Affective- emotional state or feelings • Psychomotor- using the hands or doing.

The chances of a student attaining higher levels of learning are dependent on any of the KSAs achieved earlier in the process. With this approach, educators are guided in developing the lesson by choosing the action verbs that are measurable and distinct, leading to the holistic accomplishment of the specific objectives.

The Bloom’s Taxonomy chart below is an example of how learning areas and action verbs can be used in setting up the session objectives:


Consider developing a set of learning areas for the competency topic: “Checking-In a Guest with Guaranteed Reservations”. Ideally there should be enough objectives to cover the range from basic knowledge to higher-level thinking.

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Objective 1: List the steps needed to check-in a guest with guaranteed reservations. Objective 2: Demonstrate positive upselling skills during the check-in process Objective 3: Evaluate the strengths and areas for improvement of 2 students who demonstrated upselling skills using the assigned rubrics.

This now sets as a form of a guide for developing future lesson objectives in respective subjects and lessons. As a rule, general objectives cover desired learning outcomes at the end of the course while lesson objectives guide the teacher in identifying focus points in teaching the lesson. VI. Teaching Adult Learners The real validation of teaching success is when one’s expertise is passed on to a learner with deep meaning and applicability. How often do teachers say the following statements when frustrated with slow learners?

• It is obvious! • It is common sense! • If I have told him once, I have told him a thousand times!

Rather than lecture what we know, it is essential to challenge the thinking abilities of the learners. One needs to realize that learning will only take place with active participation and involvement. This is where good questioning skills come in.

The Power of Questioning Skills Prepare a small glass bottle full of water, with no label or identification markings. Ask the audience:

Q: What is in this bottle? Q: What else could it be? Q: What else? etc. Q: How could we tell what is in the bottle?

A: We could taste it. (Sense of taste) A: We could smell it. (Sense of smell) A: We could feel it. (Sense of touch) A: We could shake the bottle and check its density. (Sense of sight)

The senses are most effective in sending the information across and helping the student take in the information as quickly and as easily as possible. The following exercises will be looking at important theories about of the senses and their practical applications in the learning process.


The Sense of Sight as a Teaching Tool Choose a participant with a watch. The watch should not be a digital watch, and should have a detailed face as possible. The facilitator should then say to the owner of the watch:

Q: What else is written on the front? Q: What color are the numbers? Etc.? Q: Please tell me everything at the back of the watch?

The person will normally only remember a small proportion of the facts. The facilitator should then ask the participant:

Q: How many times do you look at your watch in a typical day? Q: Why is that you were only able to remember a small proportion of the facts?

Because we only see what we need to see. This time show some pictures to the group. Ask them to describe what they see. After they have shared their answers, why is it that not all of them interpreted the pictures in the same manner? Because the sense of sight is not 100% reliable on its own learning process. We have different perceptions on how we look at things.

The Sense of Hearing as a Teaching Tool Read out a list of 20 words as numbered. After finishing reading the list, repeat the list a second time. Do not allow note-taking. When finished, instruct the participants to write down as many words as they can remember.

(Read out the following list of words)

1. Knife 11. Suitcase 2. Match 12. Book 3. Dog 13. Hut 4. Umbrella 14. Horse 5. Boat 15. Picture 6. Flag 16. Train 7. Comb 17. Scissors 8. Cinema 18. Wig 9. Map 19. Gun 10. Bed 20. Shoe

Read out a second list of 20 words, as numbered. After finishing reading the list, repeat the list a second time, and when finished, ask the participants to write down as many words as they can remember.

(Read out the following list of words)

1.Paper 11.Door 2.Pencil 12.Window 3.Ink 13.Floor


4.Ruler 14.Roof 5.Stapler 15.Wall 6.Camera 16.Car 7.Film 17.Tire 8.Photograph 18.Battery 9.Slide 19.Oil 10.Focus 20.Garage

Show the list of both set of words up on a screen large enough for everyone to see. Instruct the participants to mark the words that they got right, and add the total score out of 20 for each list. Typically the majority would have increased their scores on the second list. Why was it easier to remember the second list of words? Noticeably, the words in the second list were related. If we rely on the hearing only as a learning sense, a large proportion of facts is lost. In addition, statistics show that experienced people usually remember only 8 out of 20 facts.

The exercise is a simple way to highlight the importance of relating previous concepts to present lessons. In class, this may be achieved by doing any of the following:

1. Reviewing the highlights of the previous lessons as it connects to the present one. 2. Asking students to state what they remember about the previous lessons with the teacher linking

their answer to the present lesson objectives. The second option works best to check for understanding and establishing prior knowledge status of students before starting the lesson.

What would happen if the teacher talked for non-stop for one hour? The students would probably fall asleep or switch off. Hence, it is important to:

1. Vary the tone of our voice during the session. 2. Support the sessions with lots of visual aids –interesting PowerPoint presentations, films,

social media sites etc. in order to keep the trainee’s attention. 3. Develop activities to complement the theoretical part of the lesson such as reporting and

recitation. However, experience shows that the most effective sense in the learning process is the sense of touch. People learn to do a thing better by doing it. A teacher can give a lecture for one hour on how to check-in a guest, but unless the learner is involved in a simulated check-in scenario, one will not remember the method as easily.

In a theory (knowledge) session, the most important senses in the learning process are sight (75%) and hearing (25%) Remember that when we were in school, we were used to sitting down and listening to the teacher every day. Adults have lost the ability to sit and listen. If one is teaching a theoretical subject, one must use a lot of support visual materials to help the learning process. In a practical session such as teaching a student how to prepare the guest bed, the most important senses probably are:

• 55% Touch • 25% Sight


• 15% Hearing • 5% Taste/ Smell

Confucius is famous for many quotations. One that is very relevant to teaching is: “I hear: I forget; I see: I remember, I do: I understand” As a thinking exercise: Divide two groups:

Group I: List the factors which will prevent learning. Group II: List the factors which will help learning.

Possible answers for Group 1:

1. Not considering practical applications to theoretical lessons 2. Lack of planning and organization 3. Distractions and interruptions 4. Fed up with listening 5. Personal problems 6. Time

Therefore the teacher must be aware of these barriers and plan accordingly to prevent them. On the other hand, the following may promote learning in the classroom. The teacher must take advantage of these factors to ensure maximum effectiveness of the training.

Possible answers for Group 2:

1. Interest 2. Praise 3. Participation 4. Associated ideas 5. Clear/ Concise Reasons

Using Questions in Teaching The skill of asking questions in a classroom setting has a lot of advantages: They can either or fully:

1. establish existing knowledge 2. recap on previous knowledge 3. gain and maintain interest 4. ensure maximum participation from the trainees 5. check progress, understanding, and learning 6. encourage students to reason out the answers (students will remember more if they have

thought out the answer for themselves)

1. “Framing of Questions” is the deliberate construction of questions that will allow learners to think given a stimulus as posed by the teacher.


They should be simple and clear- questions should be clearly worded in simple language. Avoid questions that give yes or no answers. Develop the question by using either: what, where, how, why, when, who. This will ensure an answer that the teacher can build on. For example: Instead of stating “we need to get a passport imprint from the guest upon check-in...” we can ask “Why do we need to ask for a passport imprint from the guest upon check-in…?

As a caution avoid “which”. If we use the word “which”, then the student can guess. Avoid vague questions

For example, by asking “How do you check-in a guest?” you run the risk of misinterpretation and get answers like:

• Right away! • I will ask if it is a guaranteed or non-guaranteed reservation… or • I will ask him to fill out the registration form…

Maybe the question can be reworded to a more focused form: “What are the steps in checking-in a guest with a guaranteed reservation?” 2. Avoid multiple questions

This clearly requires breaking up the questions so as not to affect the expected main answer. For example, What information is required from a walk-in guest, how is he different from the other guest classifications and when does the Front Desk deny his request for a room?”

Break down questions in progression, validate answers per question before moving up to the next level.

3. Avoid questions which end with a question word.

For example, “The usual amount required to cover the incidental charges upon check-in is how much?”

The question word should be stated at the beginning part of the sentence. “How much is the incidental charge deposit required from the guest upon check-in?”

4. One of the most effective methods of asking questions in a class environment is the “Three P

Technique”. The Pose-Pause-Person technique ensures that questions are evenly distributed among the students.

Post the question: “When is a room downgrade acceptable to the guest?”

Pause: (for a few seconds) Person: “Peter…?”

The Three P Technique is applied in situations where the teacher thinks the question requires some analysis based on prior knowledge. By pausing after the question, the question is thrown the class as a whole which allows a certain level of uncertainty on who will be called. At the same time,


students have begun thinking of the answer. Correct answers are always rewarded with acknowledgement and encouragement. As teachers, there are various types of answers that we could receive from the students whenever a question is posed. Each answer needs different handling in order to:

• avoid embarrassment • encourage and give students confidence • develop the flow of the session.

How to Handle Wrong Answers How should we answer an answer that is wrong?

• Avoid saying “no,” Instead; say “that was not quite what we are looking for….” Or “Bern is in Switzerland. The city you mentioned is in France. Can you try again?”

• Rephrase the question. If the student is still unable to answer, the question should be opened to

the other members of the class.

Sometimes teachers get responses where the student says “I don’t know…” In this case, one may either:

• Rephrase or simplify the question • Throw the question to another classmate with a high probability of response and get back to the

first student and ask for his opinion about the answer. • Find out why he was not able to answer.

In some instances, we get student questions we cannot answer ourselves! Pretending to know the answer is a high risk and endangers one’s credibility. One may:

• Refer the question to another student or students in the group • Suggest that you and the students research the answer and compare notes during the next

meeting. How about answers that are partially correct?

• say which part is correct • rephrase to get the correct answer for the remaining part • open question to group


Thoughtful Questions Thoughtful questions are effective ways to ask questions that promotes inner pride, acknowledgement, and promotes more active participation:

Description What did you see? What happened? What is the difference

between…? Reflection What was interesting? What was surprising? Analogy What else does it remind you of? What else does it look like? Common Purpose What is the purpose of…? What is the usual function of..? Procedures How does one normally do…? How was this done? What is the

normal next step? Possibilities What else could..? How could we..? If we hadn’t had, what could

have happened? Justification How can you tell? What evidence led you to..? Theorizing Why is it that way? What was the reason for it? Generalization What is the same about… and …? What could you generalize

from the information presented? Definition What does …mean? Define the word…?

Rewarding Learner Participation 1. Expound the praise

Praise, the expression of positive judgment is less successful in rewarding experience than the techniques listed below. It tends to foster approval rather than independence.

• “I like how complete this is.” ( Implies pleasing me is important) • “Good question.” (Implies some other learner’s questions are both good.)

2. Description Describe objectively those aspects of learner performance needing support. To avoid making a personal evaluation, state a culturally accepted conclusion a group of dispassionate observers would concede.

• “You have addressed each item” • “That question is probably shared by many here today.”

3. Narration

Detail the action a learner takes immediately as it occurs. Narrations usually begins with “You...”

• “You’re raising an issue that needs discussion.” • “You’re obviously trying to put the steps together.” • “You remembered the first step.”


4. Self-Talk Talk about your own thoughts or prior personal experience

• “I have wondered that too.” • “Questions like that have always intrigued me.”

5. Nonverbal

Communicate your recognition through body language and facial expressions.

6. Personal Feelings

Describe your emotional reactions as a participant learner, a member of the group, expressing deep, genuine, personal feeling.

7. Intrinsically-Phrased Reward Statements

Positive expressions about emerging learner performance and achievement highlight internal feelings of self-worth and self-satisfaction. (Praise is an extrinsic judgment.)

Using Rubrics in Assessment

VII. Establishing the Teacher-Student Relationships An important key in achieving lesson objectives is the development of teacher-student connectivity. The term connectivity is sometimes associated with popularity. What’s the difference? Can a teacher be popular and still not connect with the students? Which is more important? If a teacher is able to conduct a productive class session with students listening and participating with a degree of discipline and respect, then one has achieved a certain level of connectivity. Popularity may complement connectivity through a credible industry background, a sound sense of humor, charisma, and a considerable length of service in teaching.

• Smile Broadly. • Thumbs up. • Move to convey excitement and enjoyment.

• “What a joy for me to listen to this discussion!” • “I am amazed by what you have done.” • “I wish I could wave a magic wand to make everyone do that well.”

• Enjoyment- “That was fun!” “What a pleasure it must have been to do.” • Competence- “You did it!” “An accomplishment.” • Cleverness- “That was tricky.” “Intelligent.” “Unique.” • Growth- “You’ve taken a step forward.” “What changes have occurred?”


On the other hand, too many long class breaks, unfocused lessons, giving early dismissals and other non-productive practices may make a teacher blindly popular with students. So how can one create the right balance of positive popularity and constant connectivity? People teach for three reasons: As a job, as a vocation, or both. Teaching as a vocation is a noble purpose. But for practical reasons, an acceptable remuneration is usually enough persuade one to teach both as a job and as a vocation. The problem lies when teaching is done as a regular job. Students may be seen as numbers to be processed with no consideration for individual learning styles. Deep teacher-student relationships take time to mature. In most cases, it would mean having the teacher again for another subject but with the same or increasing connectivity as the last subject most of them were together in a previous class. To connect with the students and thus get their attention, a mutual partnership should be clear between both parties. How this partnership is developed and maintained depends largely on how the teacher effectively manages the classroom environment. We refer to environment here as the teacher, the students, and whole symbiotic relationship that is present in a class. Let us take a look at some factors that may help develop connectivity and how it helps in curriculum implementation:

Establishing rapport After the usual teacher introductions, get to know your students beyond their names. This is best done at the first day of classes when the teacher meets the students for the first time. A couple of questions should be posed for a student to answer and should not take more than a minute each to deliver. “How do they call you? What is the name your father and mother? Do you have any family business? Where does your father work? Why are you taking up this vocational course?”

Pick up at least one fact from the answers and build on it. “Rick, you said your father has a rug business in _________? John (the previous student) mentioned their family is into the wool supply business…” By the end of this short exercise the teacher would have more or less a basic knowledge of the students’ background in the class. Instinctively now it is a safe presumption that John and Rick are familiar with salesmanship which can be used as a sub-topic in upselling skills at the Front Desk. There will be students who will share he/she is the first one in the family to take up a hospitality course. As the teacher listening with intent, what message can you get from the student in terms of enrollment purpose? Shy and passive students should get an introductory initiation to recitation by asking safe questions that progress to more difficult ones. Easily a keen teacher would know who to have special focus on in terms of developing communication, confidence and interactive skills on. Regardless of the answers you get, remember that they are searching for non-verbal or verbal cues from you as to how you feel about their answers. “I have never met my father.” A constant teacher reaction


of interest and understanding sends the message that the teacher is fair and non-judgmental which should set the tone for the semester that the teacher can be trusted. Students will pick up from the candid reaction of the teacher. “My mother is a laundrywoman.” In a class of students with professional parents, this answer takes on many meanings which should be handled well. A calm, accepting face as against a face of surprise spells the difference of how the students will regard you as their teacher from thereon.

Developing Trust Sensitive issues will arise from the previous session discussed. The teacher now holds the vital information that can either ruin or strengthen the relationship. It takes discernment on how to use the information just shared. Knowing that he is an only son, a single mother, a transferee, or a student on scholarship will give the teacher the proper approaches in dealing with individuality in the classroom. They have their own ways of coping with class requirements and demands and should be respected as such. Take extra care in handling the information. Sharing it with other teachers as gossip spells doom in the critical relationship between teacher and student. If needed, share it to the team to help them understand the student, no more than that. It would be unimaginable to teach when the trust is broken. At certain times, a student may approach you with his problem. Another clear message that he values the trust the teacher has been given. The teacher now transcends the line from educator to mentor. This is the rare opportunity to act as locus parentis, or second parent. Listening, clarifying personal issues and problems break down walls and opens minds towards more receptive learning.

Ensuring Equality and Fairness There are many ways to establish equality and fairness in the classroom. A grading system, a common syllabus, clear assessment criteria, and being non-partisan to favors and status are a good start. The first two factors should be made clear at the start of the semester. The grading system should be presented on the first day together with the syllabus. A teacher may open up the grading system for any suggestions and consider with discretion. Under no circumstance should the original grading system as presented be changed without class consultation. A student privately seeking a higher grade may request for extra work. If given, this leaves the other students at a disadvantage. Unless, the teacher announces the proposal to the class and accepts the fact that others may not want to do the extra work. For those who do, they are now at the same leverage as the original student who proposed it. One should be careful of misconceptions of fairness. With the best intent of celebrating an occasion with students outside class, it is near impossible for a teacher to say yes to all invitations. As a matter of principle, such invites are politely and consistently turned down to avoid bruised feelings for those who have to be declined. To avoid such unwanted situations, every faculty should establish a comfortable professional distance between them and the students.


For consultancy requests for student-owned businesses, this is best left to institutional policies to address. It is safe to accept such offers only when allowed by the administration and the student is and will no longer be under your class.

Mistakes for Success! Much of the stress students undergo can be traced to the fear of committing mistakes in the classroom. This becomes evident when the teacher makes it even more obvious and humiliating in front of his classmates. When the ego goes, the person goes with it. There can be many reasons for mistakes or errors. Unclear directions, inattentiveness, unpreparedness, physical or emotional state are just a few. Recitation is best appreciated when the student answers voluntarily, without having to be called. This means the student is prepared, has been listening and has a certain level of confidence to answer, to ask, or just to share thoughts and opinions. Every teacher’s dream student. In reality, this is not constantly the case. That is why it is a dream! From the other side of the spectrum, there are students who have to be coaxed out of passiveness. Calling on specific students to answer a factual question lays the foundation for a 50-50 chance of success or failure, especially if he has a history of non-performance.

Assuming there was a given reading assignment before the class, a student as called fails to answer correctly. His ego is on the line and the teacher is either hero or villain in here. When is he the hero and when is he the villain? An insightful teacher will ask the student why he thinks the answer is correct, without saying it is wrong. From the student reasoning, pick up a glint of correctness and work on it by asking others to add on to the answer. At the worst, say “there is something in your answer but I am not sure where to place it just yet.” Extra caution should be kept in mind when dealing with adverse reactions of other students to the wrong answer. One other way to motivate such reluctant students is to ask a question based on opinion where there is no wrong or right answer. End it with a short reporting assignment that he should present the next meeting. Students having difficulty remembering factual information are best handled when presented with visuals co-relation and areas of application. For example, when teaching beds as room types, a teacher may start off with a single bed and work up progressively from there up to the king-sized bed. Though time and constant support, a student then realizes small levels of success in a non-threatening environment.

Technology in the classroom No doubt technology plays an important role in 20th century education. Numerous websites offer extensive information and materials about global hospitality at the flick of a finger. This is precisely why research assignments can be done faster as compared to the equally productive book era of previous generations.


Topics can be broken down and assigned to groups to be presented given specific parameters such as time and coverage. Aside from the presentation, accompanying handouts and links should be uploaded for class reference.

PowerPoint presentations by far are the most common way to present group work. There are specific reporting requirements that should be emphasized. According to Dave Paradi in the The Powerpoint Lifeguard, there are certain distracting habits that has to be avoided:

1. The speaker reads the slides. 2. The text is so small it can hardly be seen from the back. 3. The slides are hard to see due to color choice. 4. The text is presented in full sentences and not bullet points. 5. Moving or flying text or graphics. 6. Overly complex diagrams or charts.

The above list clearly distracts the audience from the focus of the presentation. Reading the text reflects lack of preparedness on the part of the presenter. The class is better off being given handouts and spared from the boredom. The best slide font size is at 30 Arial or Helvetica because that can be read comfortably at the back of a regular classroom. Screen labels uses 35-45 points with a different color for the title. Use dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background. Backgrounds and graphics should be consistent from the first slide to the last. Keep the design clean and uncluttered with empty space around the text and graphics. Limit the number of colors on a single screen. Bright colors make small objects and thin lines stand out. For charts, use no more than four colors on a single screen. Lastly, ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a single meeting.

The use of intelligent hand phones and gadgets as learning technology has found its way into the classrooms. They are a vital resource when connecting to web-based information that may be found important to look up at a certain point in the class session. Understandably, academic institutions do not favor these as they end up as disruptions to learning with students taking and sending personal messages and playing games.

However with the right guidance as what circumstances they are allowed, a win-win compromise is arrived at. Asking students to check the rankings of a deluxe hotels in the Bahamas in the middle of a session using hand phones develops technology appreciation useful in Front Office operations.

The Use of Humor and Candidness One guaranteed method to inspire participation is to create an atmosphere of lightness and spontaneity as the discussions go along. A teacher who makes mistakes and is humble enough to allow the class to realize it is telling them he is as human as everyone else. Mistakes taken in humor de-mystifies the common notion that a teacher is all-knowing and perfect. Well-placed light jokes with laughter with the students is a good break-time by itself!


Be careful though with the following no-no’s when using humor:

• Off-colored jokes about race, religion, social status or politics • Offensive statements about sexual preferences • Focusing on emotional state or physical deformities

Candidness is also fair ground for connectivity. Everybody is free to speak his or her mind about the topic, often de-structuring the lesson plan. Of course, unrelated ideas are skillfully acknowledged and discussed at a more appropriate time. When honest opinions are taken with respect, it encourages openness and leveling. Allowing candidness (as against structured lessons) also brings about incidental learning.

A hospitality curriculum is characterized by discussions on job descriptions, organizational ranking, shift duties, importance of team work and guest encounters. Inevitably, there will be isolated but derogatory comments about the nature of the job or personality branding. A common side remark heard in hospitality course classrooms is that Housekeeping as a career is not as prestigious as Front Office. While at that point the remarks have no direct bearing to the topic (organizational chart), incidental learning calls for skillfully picking up those remarks in the middle of lesson and addressing the issue with the class. When this learning approach is integrated into every lesson, we now have imbedded character-building into the curriculum.

Group Discussion Triggers There are effective ways to present a common experience to engage a group in a discussion. Awareness of complexity and enhanced understanding result when learners discuss the meaning of events with each other. But to be successful, groups need a common experience to draw them into participation, establish a personal connection with the content, and provide a shared referent from which to exemplify their ideas. There are many kinds of triggers, but all are designed to precede group discussion. Participants, therefore, become connected with both a concrete example of the content and each other.

• Short Readings:

Brief assignments to read in class (especially effective are contrasting viewpoints leading to debates). For example, students may be assigned to read on the government’s recent law on regulating foreign hospitality workers to the country.

• First Person Experience:

Assignments written in the first person form (“I”), autobiographies, biographies, oral histories, diaries, and memoirs, when used as counterpoints to a topic, bridge the gap between their own lives and the content under study.

Students more readily take part in discussions when they can personally relate to the material. Students may be asked to reflect through a reaction paper their thoughts on a recent speaker’s session about the state of tourism in the Middle East.

• Case Studies:


A case study is a factual account of human experience centered in a problem or issue faced by a person, group or organization. It can raise a variety of complex issues and stimulate discussions of alternative viewpoints. It would be ideal if the case studies are localized to reflect present issues.

Typically, case studies are written objectively and include a brief overview of the situation, its context, and the major decisions that must be made. Rather than expecting learners to have a right answer, learners develop their ability to articulate their thoughts, frame problems, generate solutions, and evolve principles that may apply to other situations.

• Visual Studies: Seeing first hand creates a common ground. Photographic essays, video programs, and personally made video recordings are examples of ways to bring into the classroom direct examples of the concepts being discussed.

• Role Plays:

Learners explore industry problems by enacting situations and then discussing the enactments. Together learners can explore feelings, attitudes, values, and problem solving strategies. It attempts to help individuals find personal meaning within their classmates and resolve with the assistance of the social group.

VIII. Developing the Service Culture Among Hospitality Teachers and

Students The concept of “teaching by example” can be viewed from certain perspectives that may offer new insights into understanding how students may learn beyond lecture presentations. There is a saying that “teachers open the door but you must enter by yourself” Bandura in 1967 said that teaching by example is process whereby a person reproduces the behavior exhibited by real-life or symbolized models. There are still more theories and concepts about today’s learners. As previously mentioned in this manual, students today grew up in a social networking world and were exposed to a buffet of multimedia choices like intelligent phones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets. Interestingly enough, according to the Scientific American Mind, an FMRI scan revealed that a person’s visual cortex or ability is 15% larger than it was 20 years ago. An FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) measures the brain activity or “brain mapping”. The visual cortex is that part of the brain that processes visual information. If one was born before this time, then the person is described as a digital immigrant who has to learn to cope up with the digital world. In this situation, the teacher has to learn the technology common to students or be left behind in terms of learning practices. Before, someone has to teach a person how to bake a cake. Today, students believe the internet can do that for them. Imagine the effect of this isolated form of learning to today’s youth!

Possible Teaching Implications • Students can recall 90% of visual content compared to digital immigrants who can recall only 60%

of visual content.


• Our parents can recall 10% of visual content. • 98% of new learning enters the brain through visual, hands-on and hearing experiences. • The youth tend to switch off mentally after 15-20 minutes of continuous lecture. The following scenario can describe a student’s life: A subject load with an average of 18 units per term, excluding extra-curricular activities. They have to balance study time, friends, personal pursuits, family responsibilities, personal relationships, peers and travel time to and from school. Among the more important social realities students are confronted with may be:

1. Family pressure to graduate 2. Single parenthood 3. Absentee parents 4. Young parenthood 5. Extended family support arrangements 6. Dormitory or apartment life 7. Mastering the language of the hospitality industry. 8. The need to improve personality

There is a need to nurture a teaching environment that is both personally enriching and supportive of the academic, social and emotional needs of the learner. In summary:

1. In class discussions, there are no real mistakes, only inappropriate answers. 2. Create moderate but productive stress. Monitoring academic stress is advised as this

prevents boredom and inattentiveness. 3. Have links from prior learning and experiences to bridge them to realized and validated

“aha” moments. 4. Level up the challenges expected of them. This is where mentoring comes into play. 5. Be realistic in your goals for attainment. Check student profiles with Admissions or

Counseling. 6. Instructions work best when there are immediate opportunities to work on the new

learning. Setting the stage for class instruction can have these guidelines:

1. Identify what they know. 2. Discuss what misinformation they may have regarding the subject matter. 3. Discuss what they don’t know and create opportunities for them to know through

properly design lessons and activities

What a hospitality teacher teaches is as important as how he looks, what he says and what he does. Here are some suggested thoughts to consider:

1. A warm and positive attitude is most likely reciprocate and admired. 2. If the teacher has the lesson well-organized, then the importance of planning and

responsibility has just been subconsciously imbedded in the students’ thoughts. 3. Looking and acting the part sends a powerful message of professionalism.


4. Giving second chances reflect exactly how life is- always giving options and second chances to those who are willing to try in the search for success.

5. Filter your thoughts and words before you say anything that upsets you. 6. Our errors should be transparent and handled as a humble human being. 7. You were once a student too. 8. Academic policies and procedures have similarities with actual job scenarios. 9. Our behavior is a template that is downloaded, uploaded, tweeted and more.

Have a reluctant mentor image that allows learners to seek you out as needed. 10. Look at your students through the eyes of a parent.

IX. Best Practices in Teaching Hospitality Education

1. Glossary of terms—distributing a list of vocabulary words and terminologies in advance prompts students to take interest in the topic. It also saves the teacher time to explain basic terminologies fully.

2. Reading assignments—giving reading assignments prepare students to level up with the teacher

in discussions. Depending on the sources, it may even be a good way to compare information for particular topics.

3. Group reporting—Cooperation at its’ best. Ensure though that each member does his

responsibility fairly.

4. Industry hours—Inviting guest speakers to the class to talk about a particular topic always inspires.

5. Interviews with professionals—direct contact in the actual workplace allows the use of key

senses and development of interviewing skills.

6. Immersions—partnering with local hotels for a few hours of actual duty or observations gives insightful revelations no classroom can match.

7. Buddy system—pairing new faculty with senior ones decreases anxiety for first time teachers

and builds teamwork.

8. Post-class feedback—conducting a meeting with all new faculty after their first few weeks in class to gather work related feedback to ensure their concerns are addressed.

9. Parental encounters—Meetings with parents by chance or as scheduled provide teachers the

opportunity to know the students from another angle.

10. Uniform and grooming standards—Provides the development of habits in following the industry- prescribed uniform codes and grooming requirements.

Those who choose to teach have to realize that the job is one of the noblest of all professions. The benefits may not be as competitive as compared to that of the hospitality industry but one thing is for sure: If you want to be immortal, teach!\ Finally, a few words from some very wise persons:


1. “A teacher affects eternity, He can never tell where his influence stops.” - Henry Adams 2. “Whatever you want to teach, be brief.” - Socrates 3. "They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carol

Buchner 4. “Teaching is one profession that creates all other professions”. Unknown

X. Suggested Activities A. Writing Objectives

1. As discussed in the manual, objectives have to cover simple to high forms of learning from

knowledge to evaluation. In training teachers how to appropriately choose objectives for a lesson, faculty may be clustered into groups depending on the subjects they teach- Front Office (sampled), Housekeeping, Food and Beverage, Culinary Arts, etc.

2. Given the modules they will teach, the cluster will identify the corresponding objectives per class session with specific learning outcomes and assessment strategies to validate the learning.

3. The format used in the Front Office Cluster Module may be used as a template to guide them in the exercise.

B. Organizing Group Work.

Group work is very collaborative and learner-centered in approach. However, certain students raise concerns that some members do not put in work as much as the others, yet everybody gets the same grade. Likewise, it is a challenge to teachers to determine the students’ comprehension of the topic when they just read out the report in front of the class. . Below is a sample guide given to a class on Personality Development (Perdevt) that was developed to address these concerns:


Perdevt HSB 11 Group Project

1. Form yourselves in groups of five members 2. Develop a power point presentation on the Top Ten Social Etiquette Issues Among Teens. 3. Aside from books and online sources, include your personal insights, observations

and interviews. 4. Maximum of 30 minutes presentation including the question and answer part at the end of each

presentation. 5. Power points should be highly visual. Bullet entries only. Paragraphed slides are unacceptable. 6. Reporters are to discuss the presentations. Hence, no reading of notes are allowed. Cue cards

are acceptable. 7. Groups to report will be drawn on the class day, and hence, all should be prepared at any time. 8. Each group should test their presentations on the classroom prior to the class to ensure a smooth

run. Have a back-up in case of malfunction of USBs. 9. All USBs should be clearly labelled and placed inside small ziplock-type bags. 10. The reporters for the group shall be chosen at random throughout the presentations and may be

changed at any point by the teacher to give chance to others. It is important that every member as chosen can carry the discussions pertaining to the presentations and answer questions as asked.

11. An absent member at the time of their presentation cannot be given a grade for that report. 12. Reporting days are November 11, 18, 25 and December 2, 2014. 13. Refer to the rubrics that will be used for grading. 14. Creativity and innovativeness is highly encouraged.

C. Conducting Drills

Drills are evaluative tests to assess the comprehension of a certain task, usually one that requires the correct execution of a procedure matched with verbal skills and a measurable output. An example would be the Reservation Drill under the Front Office Module.

1. After the students are done with the theory and procedures, the actual task is demonstrated

by the teacher. A question and answer portion comes next to clarify any topic that may not be clear.

2. The correct steps are written as checklists on the board which the teacher and other students

can see but not the student being assessed because his/her back is against the board.

3. Other students one at a time are assigned as a “board person” to check or mark the checklist as the drill progresses.

4. Using a table as a mock Front Desk, the teacher now acts as a “guest” and each student as a

Front Desk Agent is tasked to check-in the “guest” manually without any notes.

5. As an option, the student may choose to consult a “mentor” from his classmates if he/she encounters some difficulty during the drill.


6. As a culminating exercise after all the students have done the drill, they are given a reflective paper assignment to record their own individual strengths and weaknesses as experienced and as observed and noted by the other classmates.

D. Shadowing

In teaching hospitality subjects, shadowing is best done when a particular task is highly visual, such as table set-ups, wine service and bed making.

1. The student observes the teacher do the rubric-guided task and they are expected to ask

questions during the process.

2. Once all questions have been answered, each student is then asked to demonstrate the skill in front of everybody while the teacher observes.

3. There is minimal teacher role here as the students end up correcting and helping each other

get the correct standards during the session.

XI. References and Sources 1. Huba, M.E. and J.E. Freed. “Using Rubrics to Provide Feedback to Students.” 2. Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2000. 3. Gardner, Howard. “Multiple Intelligences”. Basic Books, USA. 1993 4. J. Diane Connell. “Brain-based Strategies to Reach Every Learner”. Scholastic Teaching

Resources, 2005. 5. Engelhart,M.D; Furst,E.J; Hill, W.H.; and Krathwokh D.R “Taxonomy of Educational

Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. David Mckay, New York. 1956 6. Drummond, Tom. “A Brief Summary of the Best Practices in College Teaching”. North Seattle

Community College. 2002 7. Rao, M.S. “Where Knowledge is Wealth”. http//professormsr.blogspot.com. 2011 8. Zemke, Ron and Susan. “Adult Learning in Your Classroom”. Training the Magazine of Human

Resources Development. June 1981


DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States

Government.

االمريكي من خالل الوكالة االمريكية للتنمية الدولية.انجزت هذه النشرة بدعم من الشعب وال يعكس بالضرورة وجهة نظر الوكالة االمريكية للتنمية الدولية أو الحكومة االمريكية

Bethlehem University in the Holy Land E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +972-2-274-1241 Fax: +972-2-274-4440 Bethlehem, Palestine

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