Describe Yourself As A Reflective Practitioner

I would describe myself as a culinarian, molecular gastronomist, and educator, with a deep passion and enthusiasm for innovative food product development, scientific research, and nutrition and well-being. My view on cooking is that it is science, understanding the science of food and cooking allows for manipulation and optimization of the culinary experience. Furthermore, I respect the art component of cooking. The characteristics and traits that make me suitable for the Food Science position with Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University (FIU) are:

• Teaching experience to date

• Teaching style and techniques

• Industry experience

• Previous research, and future research interests

In my personal experience, both as a student and as an educator, passively receiving information is a method that does not foster conditions for an optimal learning experience. My approach is to use constructivist teaching methods that encourage personal understanding based on activity and experience, followed by reflection. Furthermore, this teaching style focuses on student engagement, critical thinking and problem solving, and ultimately self-motivation of students. A main objective of mine is to break up the traditional classroom lecture into smaller modules, in order to encourage engagement and interaction. Tools and methods that I have tried and tested in the classroom to ascertain such results

A specific example of would be requiring students to prepare for the each culinary practical classes by researching the topic of the class, writing the recipes for class and preparing an order of work for the class (Just-In-time Learning). During the lecture portion of the class, I randomly ask students questions that pertain to the topic. In addition to this, for these classes, after I have conducted numerous demonstrations (Hands-on Learning), students are broken up into groups to work on the items for the class (Guided Discovery Approach/ Group Learning). Each week, students reflect on their experiences in class using a learning portfolio which is submitted for graded each week. This allows for documentation and reflection for the students, and continuous assessment and feedback for myself as the instructor (Experiential Learning). This structure of this portfolio is based on scientific research papers: introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion of results and conclusions. The discussion of results is a key aspect of this learning tool; students must explain and discuss their results using science. For these classes, Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking is an adopted textbook in addition to the culinary