Creating a growth mindset
We have a problem. I teach both entry level and post graduate cooking at the college level.
Because our curriculum is set by SkilledTradesBC (Formally the ITA), we are bound as instructors to teach the material given to us, and then to assess with the exams and rubrics provided.
I fully understand the importance of this system. The goal of the federal government in Canada is to harmonize the skilled trades so that a graduate of a trades program in one province has the same level of education as a graduate in another region.
I experienced the need for this when I graduated from cooking school in Quebec in 1995. I moved soon after to Banff, where my apprenticeship hours were not recognized by the province of Alberta. As a result I was not able to complete my Red Seal examination.
We’re in a new found phase of Canadian unity, and I do really hope that greater harmonization can be achieved, so that trades curriculums taught in one province will match those of another.
That said, as a professional and an instructor, I want to foster a growth mindset in my students that goes above and beyond the simple contents of the curriculum.
I know it, and you know it. As instructors, we have students attending our classes just to pass. Our class that they are attending may just be a stepping stone onto something else. How do we change that? How do we develop curiosity, choice, ownership, and give our students a voice? How do we lead them down a path of a learner’s mindset?
Not yet
This is one of best things that I have taken from this current PIDP class. It’s the idea that learning is a path. Assessments are snapshots of progress along that path. Although a student may do poorly in an assessment along the way, it seems so important to me now to say “You will learn this skill, but you’re just not there yet.” I also mix in encouragement when working with students by saying “This is hard. It took me a long time to learn this skill, and it will take you some time also. But you will get there.”
Failure as a tool
This is so important to me. We really don’t learn something if we get it right every time. Failure to me is just as important as the successes, and I will often mix that into my lesson plans. I will have most of the students prepare dishes the correct way, and then have a few students intentionally prepare things incorrectly so that we can compare. It works very well in the kitchen, and it emphasizes to the students why we do things the way we do.
Turn your trade into a creative art.
So this is an easy one, since I teach cooking. But I really feel that we can apply it to many trades. When we take a trade and treat it as a creative art, we push our students to develop a curiosity beyond the base curriculum. It gives them a personal voice. I will develop this idea further in my next presentation.
Be authentic and have fun
More than anything, it’s important to me to have fun in the classroom and in the kitchen. I think that we can take the material too seriously and get bogged down in what has to be learned. I remember this well from my university days when instructors would run on auto pilot, simply delivering the information. Be yourself, keep it light, and have fun.
















