Chocolate, Learning & Feedback

Watching a Chocolate College class on Netflix last night was amazing. I was truly amazed by the teacher’s approach to Chocolate, Learning & Feedback. Here is the instructor, Amaury Guichon, demonstrating how to make a Chocolate Sculpture:

What stood out was how he gave the students, all current chefs in this contest, FEEDBACK that was significant and unfettered. And, he also treated the learners with shared respect and an environment of trust and pushing their skillsets.

The assignments were difficult and complex. He started each one with a demonstration of a chocolate cooking technique that was new and different. And, they worked in teams and on their own, creating the assigned chocolate project. His feedback during the project time was supportive and stretching of their techniques (eg. created an “oozing” of chocolate when the dish was eaten).

During the evaluation of the projects, he gave very targeted and deeply honest feedback on their accomplishments and failures.

Here is a video clip of the show, that is now streaming on Netflix, “School of Chocolate”:

So, why was I captivated by his teaching and feedback approach:

• Challenging Assignments: We need to make the practice or lab assignments in our learning programs deeply challenging.

• Teacher Examples to Motivate: He started every episode with an amazing chocolate sculpture or project that he had just completed. They used his examples as learning and motivational tools.

• Feedback Must Be Actionable: I sense that many of our learning designs do not have deep or actionable feedback. Learning is so much more effective when our teachers provide real and targeted feedback. No warm fuzzies - instead, very specific feedback on technique, approach and skills.

If you can, watch a few episodes of this program on Netflix - from your account or a friend’s.

While I loved the chocolate sculpture, my lesson is to hone and focus my FEEDBACK skills as a teacher or leader.

Would love your comments - send me an email to emasie@masie.com

Yours in learning,

Elliott Masie
MASIE Innovations
Learning COLLABORATIVE
www.masie.com
emasie@masie.com