HOSPITALITY EDUCATION & INDUSTRY :BRIDGING THE GAP:My Experience in Teaching Part 2

I tend to be a detailed oriented person. If there was anything I was so conscious of ever giving so much attention to and preparing for, it was a training/teaching session.
I always aimed at making an impact in the classroom, guided by the illustration above for what is required to make 'great teaching'. So to receive a referral for my delivery style, was a huge surprise; that was several years ago.

I had participated in a workshop towards the attainment of becoming a  Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), of American Hotel & Lodging Association. As a requirement, participants were expected to carry out a classroom presentation assignment; a 45-to 60-minute instructional presentation of a class. The presentation was to be captured on a videotape and submitted to CHE facilitators for evaluation.  This post-workshop classroom presentation was going to be evaluated according to specific standards, categories and criteria which we were all made aware of.

 I failed to make a positive impression on my evaluators in one of the two basic skills necessary to make learning effective; DELIVERY-primarily, body language and vocal variety;not spelt out in the illustration above but which influences the elements.

When speaking before a class, the teacher sends two types of messages. The voice sends an auditory message and the body language sends a visual message.

The least effective teacher will have the attention of students for only the first few minutes of a class. The skilled teacher is able to combine good vocal variety and body language with sincere emotion to keep the attention of students for the rest of the class. The latter was what I was aiming to be.

Effective use of Body Language through:

• Gestures
• Posture
• Body Movement
• Facial Expression
• Eye Contact

Effective use of Voice  in respect to:

• Pitch 
• Verbal Pauses
• Volume
• Articulation
• Inflection

I had the opportunity to re-do the assignment and to present it for evaluation. The exercise contributed greatly towards enhancing my efforts to make the needed impact in the classroom. I have since become much more conscious of my delivery style, having worked towards correcting the areas which resulted in the referral.

I learnt from my mistakes!

HOSPITALITY EDUCATION & INDUSTRY :BRIDGING THE GAP: My Experience in Teaching Part 1

I started my teaching career in the hotel industry before venturing out to teach in an established private hotel training institution. I found the latter much more challenging.

Training in the hotel industry
I remember taking up a part-time supervisory-trainer position in a hotel; a very old hotel located along the Atlantic Ocean in Accra. It had its unique challenges and finding solutions to those challenges were fulfilling.

As a new supervisor-trainer in the housekeeping department, I first observed the practices and working habits of the personnel, developed a good relationship with them and sought to understand their negative attitudes towards the job they were doing before attempting to meet their training needs. They had to acknowledge those needs before I could meaningfully engage them in brain storming exercises to try out 'solutions'. Personnel became emboldened and were soon taking pride in their jobs as room attendants and public area cleaners, the former were then referred to as 'chamber maids'.

Training in the classroom 

Fast forward:
I stepped into the classroom as a hotel instructor/educator. I had to handle students who had NEVER stepped in a hotel. There was a huge gap between the curriculum and the educational/training needs of the students. The problem was compounded when I realized that more than half of the students in a particular class were there UNWILLINGLY. Their parents/sponsors wanted 'something' to preoccupy them or wanted them to 'try their hands on 'something'; it was their last educational option.
Indeed, the challenges in this environment determined my dissertation for the award of my 'Master of Education Degree' in Educational Administration later on, where I investigated how low academic level students could be developed to meet the manpower requirements of hotels with ratings between 2 and 5 star. 

With the above background, I deem it necessary to bring to the fore, the diverse efforts educators in the hotel/hospitality industry in Ghana continue to make to bridge the gap between the classroom and the industry. Thus my first post this year, saluting committed educators for their efforts towards preparing professionals for the industry.

A couple more preludes will be featured to serve as background for the upcoming dialogues  to be held with fellow hospitality educators.

EDUCATION QUOTES

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PREVIEW OF UPCOMING POSTS

TO THE COMMITTED EDUCATORS OF OUR INDUSTRY

-HOTEL/HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY-

I SALUTE YOUR EFFORTS TO PREPARE 

PROFESSIONALS FOR THE INDUSTRY.

We are referred to by several names; professors, lecturers, facilitators, instructors, teachers, coaches etc., depending on the institution we find ourselves, imparting knowledge to students/learners who have chosen to pursue careers in the hotel/hospitality industry.

I will have the privilege of hosting a few of my 'colleagues', on this platform this first quarter of the year, 2019.

Teaching changes the lives of those who are committed to it. 

I had worked briefly in a hotel in Ghana before leaving its shores to study Hotel Management/Hospitality Administration. 

My first job when I returned was with the then Ghana Tourist Board, now Ghana Tourism Authority as a Trainer. I enjoyed identifying training needs in industry, developing and implementing tailored training programs. I wanted to impart knowledge to the next generation but I did not realize how difficult it was, particularly in this environment. I enjoyed it, nevertheless.

In this industry, teaching involves imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes simultaneously  to learners. It is an art that takes practice and dedication to master. It takes patience, empathy and above all passion to care for each student/learner, understand their abilities and to uncover their hidden potentials.

In my days (of teaching), students looked up to us, educators; not only because of our expertise but also, largely because we came from industry, and we 'walked our talk', bringing industry to the classroom in our mannerisms and everything we did. 

I will be presenting dialogues/interviews with a number of educators, focusing on issues related to our major theme, 'bridging the gap between industry and education' in upcoming articles.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!