School: Raymore-Peculiar High School
Class: The Den
Instructor: Jennifer Waterfield
Client: Ray-Pec Panther Den
Problem: What will the curriculum of The Panther’s Den be?
Summary
The Panther’s Den, a revitalized catering course at Raymore-Peculiar High School, relaunched with a student-led curriculum development project. Partnering with Assistant Principal Steven Meek, students answered the driving question: What will the curriculum of The Panther’s Den be? Since the course had existed prior to the COVID shutdowns but lacked a formal curriculum, students took initiative to research, plan, and outline course goals and outcomes. The resulting curriculum framework was implemented throughout the semester and shaped the structure of the class. Real-world catering events became embedded project experiences within the broader course design, allowing flexibility while maintaining the core objectives established by the student-created curriculum.
Takeaways
Throughout this CCP students gained communication skills, empathy, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, and adaptability through the project.
Advice
It is a process and takes time, trial, and error. It is okay to do your own thing and not follow every little piece of the project outline or process perfectly. Let students struggle and take time to figure things out. Silence is okay. It may appear to an outsider that you are not doing anything in class, but the wheels are turning and things are happening.
Standards/Learning Targets
- Explain the importance of customer service to the restaurant and foodservice industry.
- List the reasons for making a good first impression, and give examples of how to make one.
- Describe special needs that some customers might have.
- List ways to obtain feedback from guests and determine their satisfaction.
- Identify the types of costs incurred by a foodservice business and give examples of each.
- Explain the purpose of a budget.
- Explain the purpose of a profit-and-loss report.
- Explain the purpose of invoices in a foodservice business.
- Identify tools to help control costs.
- Explain why and how garnish is used.
- Describe the guidelines for plating food that has finished cooking.
- Explain how desserts should be plated and presented.