Baking and Pastry Workshop
Baking and Pastry Workshop for Family and Consumer Science Educators and Culinary
Technical Center Foods Instructors
Erin Reed
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Baking and Pastry Workshop
The program plan I wish to design is a continuing education workshop for family and
consumer science educators. The purpose of this program will be to provide additional resources
and ideas for teachers to take back to and share with their own students. Recipes and
demonstrations will be designed in a way that can be altered to fit the needs of teachers at
different levels so that they may recreate the items in their own school setting. Advanced
techniques will be shared in lecture style and with hands on learning.
Sponsoring this workshop will be the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Academy
of Culinary Arts (ACA) in conjunction with the university’s Family and Consumer Science
Education department. The Academy will provide the facility, equipment and supplies necessary.
Academy students will be utilized to help set up demonstrations, scale ingredients and assist in
handling equipment and any other needs. A coffee break and lunch will be provided to the
workshop participants. The luncheon will be prepared by fellow Academy instructors and
culinary students.
This program will be done in a three-part series. The first part will be an introduction to
Artisan Breads. This will include a forty-five-minute lecture followed by a three-hour hands-on
lab. In the lab setting, participants will work in groups of three to four to produce multiple items.
Proper mixing, proofing and baking techniques will be demonstrated as well as final presentation
of all items. In part two of the series the objective will be cake decorating. Mixing methods,
torting, icing techniques and finishes will all be discussed and demonstrated. In the final part of
this pastry series workshop, we will be covering the topics of French Pastries. This part will,
again, include a forty-five-minute lecture portion followed by a three-hour hands-on lab, where
students will work in groups to prepare multiple items.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
This program will be geared specifically to Family and Consumer Science (FCS)
educators and Culinary and Technical Center (CTC) Foods instructors teaching at the middle and
high school levels as well as college level. Instruction will include ways that the material might
be adjusted in skill level, depending on the age and ability of the students. Attention will be
focused on building a lesson on these materials that might be able to fit the needs of different
teachers in different settings.
This program will provide a continuing education opportunity to family and consumer
science educators as well as culinary instructors at vocational schools. Educators will be invited
to participate in a hands-on and immersive workshop where they will have the opportunity to
learn and make a variety of new dishes. This will allow them to take their new knowledge back
to their own classrooms and inspire new learning experiences for their own students. This
workshop will focus specifically on baking and pastry techniques and how to incorporate these
easily into different school settings.
Planning and coordination of this event will be handled in partnership with the Indiana
University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Center for Career and Technical Personnel Preparation
(CCTPP). The workshop will be hosted by the IUP Academy of Culinary Arts. The Academy
will provide the venue and kitchen space as well as the supplies and resources needed. The IUP
culinary school will also be able to provide volunteers in the form of students to assist in any set
up and break down needs as well as help in the classrooms with anything that might be needed.
Academy instructors will be leading the workshops and providing a luncheon for the attendees.
Funds will be provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Bureau of Career
and Technical Education.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
Stakeholders will include the IUP CCTPP which is an organization that provides
professional certificate and degree programs that prepare career and technical teachers and
administrators to receive required state certifications. Their goal is to offer continuing education
classes and workshops to help teachers keep up with the hours needed to upkeep their
certifications and credentials. Another stakeholder will be the American Association of Family
and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) whose mission is to provide leadership and support for
professionals whose work assists individuals, families, and communities in making informed
decisions about their well-being, relationships, and resources to achieve optimal quality of life.
The IUP Academy of Culinary Arts will also be a stakeholder whose goals are to showcase the
Academy in a positive light and give culinary students an opportunity to interact with other
professionals in the industry and demonstrate some of their learned skills. IUP Academy
instructors will gain exposure and leadership skills and will benefit from the service they are
providing to the university. The last stakeholder will be the Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE) and the Bureau of Career and Technical Education (BCTE) and their mission is
to ensure that every learner has access to a world-class education system that academically
prepares children and adults to succeed as productive citizens.
To build support for this program, we will utilize the American Association of Family
and Consumer Sciences. An email flyer for the workshop will be sent to a list of its members.
The IUP Culinary Academy will also use its list of connections with vocational and technical
schools. Ample notification will be given so that attendees will be able to request the necessary
time off from their work schedules. Since this workshop will be hosted on a weekday and will be
an all day event, attendees will need to use time off from their normal work day to attend. Most
schools are encouraging and supportive of time off to attend continuing education events.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
Providing a fun experience with hands on learning and the opportunity to learn from experienced
culinary instructors will hopefully be motivation for maximum participation. The IUP Academy
chairperson will work in conjunction with a representative from the CCTPP to coordinate and
plan the timing and registration process.
The mission of this Baking and Pastry Workshop for Family and Consumer Science
Educators and Culinary and Technical Center Foods Instructors is to provide continuing
education in advanced food preparation and culinary techniques with a focus on baking and
pastry. In partnership with the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, a
hands-on learning experience will be provided with instruction and guidance from industry
professionals. Participants will be able to take the knowledge and information learned and apply
it to the instruction in their own classrooms.
In order to develop a successful and beneficial workshop, a needs assessment will be
imperative. In initial research for this program, I conducted informal interviews with three
different educators, two in the field of Family and Consumer Science and one vocational school
teacher. It was important for me to get an idea of things these teachers would like to learn and
what they would find beneficial in their everyday teaching. I also wanted to gain an
understanding of the facilities and tools that they had to work with. Many luxuries that we might
have at a culinary school may not be available to a high school family and consumer science
teacher. Also, the time constraints in which some of these teachers are working under. Many
teachers have only a forty-three minute class period in which to deliver their instruction, so
developing courses in the program would need to be adaptable to this style of teaching. Another
key piece of information I was looking for was the skill level and backgrounds of the teachers.
Many family and consumer science teachers take only one or two college courses on food
Baking and Pastry Workshop
preparation, but vocational instructors may have attended culinary school and have more
advanced knowledge. What I did discover was an overwhelming need for additional skills on
baking, pastry and dessert techniques from all three teachers that I interviewed. This was an area
that could be further built upon and could be adapted to suit a range of experience levels.
Another tool I will use to gather data will be a more formal questionnaire. These
questionnaires will be sent via email to members of the American Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) and previous attendees of classes and functions hosted by the
Academy of Culinary Arts (ACA). This questionnaire will include not just questions related to
topics that the teachers would like to learn about in the workshops, but also questions about their
work environment. Data will be collected on the average class size, class duration, equipment
and tools that are available in their classrooms as well as ingredient resources. All of this
information will be helpful in the development of a program that is best suited to the needs of the
students.
The overall goal of this program will be to provide continuing education opportunities to
Family and Consumer Science Educators and Culinary and Technical Center Foods Instructors.
These workshops will provide hands-on learning of skills and techniques that the educators will
be able to take back to their own classrooms. A primary focus will be on baking, pastry arts and
desserts. A series of three workshops will take place in this program. Each workshop will be 4-6
hours in length and will have different daily objectives.
In the first workshop we will focus on breads. The objective on this day will be to
produce four different types of bread with a variety of makeups. Using the straight dough method
we will produce soft rolls, focaccia, whole wheat baguette, and kachapuri. While some
participants may already know the mixing method, we will go much further in the makeup
Baking and Pastry Workshop
process, exploring single knots, double knots, braids and rounding techniques. At the end of the
day, students will have had a refresher on different yeast products, mixing methods, and
makeups and will be able to produce a variety of bread items. Students will also learn how to
break down each recipe into stages to fit each individual’s classroom schedule. Proper scaling,
mixing, makeup procedures and how to adapt recipes will all be discussed.
In the second workshop of this program series, we will build on the knowledge learned in
the first class. In this workshop, the objective will be cake decorating. We will do a brief
overview of cake mixing and icing types but the main focus will be on cake stacking and
decorating techniques. Cake cutting, torting, and filling types will be discussed as well as
masking and piping skills. We will explore different mediums of décor such as royal icing,
buttercream, fondant and glazing. Each student will have the opportunity to stack and decorate
their own cake. Recipes, ingredient lists, and an equipment list will be supplied as well as
sources for acquiring all products and tools used. Guidance and advice will be given as well as
how to take these tools back to each participants own classroom. Success will be measured in the
outcome of each cake.
In the final workshop in this program series, we will continue to build upon all things
learned in previous classes and move into individual dessert types and some plated styles. An
introduction to French desserts will include baked custards, soufflé, and pâte à choux. Full
demonstrations will be done on each item and students will participate in making each dessert.
Objectives of the day will be to successfully produce chocolate soufflés, crème brûlées, cream
puffs and macarons. Participants will be provided with recipes and ingredient lists and
information to take back to their home schools. Again, a focus will be placed on how each recipe
can be broken down into parts in order to fit the needs of each particular teacher. Outcomes are
Baking and Pastry Workshop
clearly measured each day by the success or failure of each item. In the event of an item not
being successful, we will troubleshoot and explore what may have went wrong and use this as a
learning tool for future success.
In this program and its series of workshops, transfer of learning will be measured directly
in the success of each daily objective. In each class, the objective will be demonstrated and then
replicated by the student. If the student has a successful outcome in their dessert or baked item, it
will be clear that the learning was properly transferred. A secondary transfer of learning will
happen when the program participants, who are either an educator in the family and consumer
science field or an instructor at a culinary technical center, take the information learned back to
the students in their own classrooms. A primary goal of this program is that the participants will
be able to learn new techniques and skills to enhance their culinary and pastry education. They
will then be able to transfer this knowledge to the students in their classes. What they learn will
be applied directly to the daily objectives in the workshop through hands on experience and
application. A critique of each item produced by the participants will be done at the end of each
workshop. To ensure success and learning, troubleshooting will be done for any items that did
not turn out as expected in the class, so that future attempts are successful. It will be important
for participants to recognize when a mistake has been made and how to possibly correct the error
in order to be successful in transferring the knowledge to students in their home classrooms.
At the end of this program, it is my hope that each participant will be able to take with
them a skillset that they can be applied to their own careers as educators in the culinary field. In
addition to skills a sense of inspiration is another take away that I think is important. Many
times, learning a few new tricks is enough to spark some newfound excitement in your area of
expertise.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
This program will take place over the course of three non-consecutive days throughout an
entire year. I will utilize the semester breaks throughout the year. The first class in the series will
take place on the first Monday of winter break, the second class will continue the first Monday
over spring break and the final class will take place the first Monday of the summer break. This
timing will allow for proper planning and scheduling of each class in the series and also allow us
to offer this series each year with possible modifications to the classes. Each class will be an all
day format, starting at 9:00am with registration and a continental breakfast that will include
coffee, tea and pastries. At 10:00am we will move into a forty-five minute lecture portion of the
class. Here we will discuss methods of teaching and production and the recipes for the day. A
forty-five minute lunch break will follow the lecture before moving into the kitchen for the
cooking lab portion of the day. In the kitchen we will spend three hours making the items that we
will have discussed in the lecture.
Time
9:00am-9:45am
Arrival, Registration, Continental Breakfast
10:00am-10:45am
Lecture Portion
11:00am-11:45am
Lunch Break
12:00pm-3pm
Food Lab
In the first class of this series which will feature topics of Artisan Breads I will use
methods of demonstration followed by hands on learning. In this class we will make four
different kinds of bread including a focaccia, a soft roll using a variety of makeups, whole wheat
baguette and kachapuri. I will demonstrate each portion of each recipe. The students will then
work in groups of three or four to reproduce each item. In the second class of this series we will
Baking and Pastry Workshop
focus on Cake Decorating. In this class the format will be the same as the previous with a fortyfive minute lecture and a three hour food lab portion. In this class we will work through proper
icing and filling techniques as well as piping. Each student will stack and decorate their own
cake. Each method and recipe will be demonstrated before being made by the students. In each
class the techniques will become increasingly more advanced as we end with the final class
which will cover an introduction to French Desserts and plating techniques. Students will learn
not only how to make popular French pastries but also how to plate and present.
For this program it will be necessary to have a facility that provides a fully equipped
kitchen space. The kitchen will need to have at least four tables to accommodate groups of four
students each. Equipment needed will include induction burners for each group, appropriate oven
space, deck oven and convection as well as proper refrigeration. Smallwares needed will include
bowls, spatulas, mixers, whisks, spoons, sifters and sheet trays. The facility should also have a
separate classroom space in which to have the lecture part of this program. Computer and
projector will be needed. The facility to be in use for this particular program will be the Indiana
University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts (IUPACA) located in Punxsutawney, PA.
This facility will provide the needed classroom and kitchen space. For future editions of this
program, any fully equipped teaching kitchen would be appropriate with the possibility of going
into other culinary schools and vocational schools.
To market this continuing education workshop I will use a variety of strategies. Initial
strategy will be an email blast to go out to all local Family and Consumer Science teachers as
well as Culinary Technical Center Foods instructors from surrounding areas. This email will
include a flyer that details the dates for all three classes as well as information on the instructor
and details of the program. Information on how to sign up will also be included on the flyer. This
Baking and Pastry Workshop
initial flyer will be sent out three months before the first class so that ample planning and
preparation can take place. I will utilize the American Association of Family and Consumer
Sciences (AAFCS) to obtain a thorough list of teachers in the area. One month before the first
class date of the program I will make arrangements to visit a few local schools personally.
During these visits I will bring promotional materials to advertise the dates of the program and
speak about some of the things that we will do and learn in the class. Promotional materials will
include a hand crafted box of macarons that will adorn the Indiana University of Pennsylvania
(IUP) logo and will have a tag attached with pertinent information. The tag will list the dates and
names of each class as well as email information to RSVP for the program. An Instagram
account and facebook page will also be created for this program. These sites will include
information and biography on the instructor of the program. It will also have pictures from
previous classes, examples of desserts and items that will be made in the classes and recipes.
This will also be a way for attendees to communicate with me and other students and keep track
of upcoming events.
Since this program will take place during semester breaks I will have full utilization of
the Academy culinary students and instructors. As an IUPACA student, they are required to
fulfill at least two volunteer opportunities each semester and will receive letters for their
professional portfolios. As an instructor during the semester breaks we are still required to put in
hours though we are not teaching classes, so this leaves availability to take on other
responsibilities. For each class I will require five culinary student volunteers to assist me in the
kitchen. One student volunteer per group of attendees. They will assist in scaling recipes, doing
dishes and gathering anything that might be needed. I will require one faculty member to prepare
the luncheon for the attendees and volunteers as well as three more students to assist. I will also
Baking and Pastry Workshop
need one more faculty volunteer to man the registration table and hand out name tags and aprons.
Total staffing needs will include three IUPACA instructors, and eight student volunteers.
Funds for this program will be donated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education,
Bureau of Career and Technical Education. These funds will be allocated by the IUP Center for
Career and Technical Personnel Preparation (CTPP). Budget will be outlined as follows.
Category
Projected Cost
Actual Cost
Balance
INCOME
PA Dept. of Ed.
Total Income:
1,054.00
EXPENSES
MARKETING
Flyers, Macaron
Boxes
REGISTRATION
SUPPLIES
Nametags
Welcome Folder
Gift Bag
BREAKFAST
250.00
189.00
61.00
50.00
30.00
250.00
25.00
30.00
200.00
25.00
0.00
50.00
Pastries
Beverages
LUNCH
30.00
10.00
30.00
10.00
0.00
0.00
Caesar Salad,
Grilled Chicken,
Cookies
Beverages
CLASSROOM
SUPPLIES
Ingredients
250.00
250.00
0.00
20.00
20.00
0.00
250.00
250.00
0.00
Recipe Packet
50.00
50.00
0.00
STAFFING
0.00
0.00
FACILITY
0.00
0.00
Notes
Baking and Pastry Workshop
The goals of this program will be to increase subject knowledge on the topics of baking
and pastry and provide a solid base of skills for teachers and instructors to take back to their
home schools. During each class formative evaluation will be taking place throughout the day.
As the students produce their own baked items we will evaluate the outcome of each product as
it is finished. In the event that an item does not turn out as expected we will troubleshoot the
outcome to figure out what went wrong. As the students are working I will also be walking
around to assist in production and directly make any corrections that I see. Also, in seeing how
the students are progressing will be a direct reflection of the instruction. If a certain component
of instruction is just not transferring or if I notice students are struggling in one particular area I
will be able to adjust my demonstration methods.
To provide summative evaluation feedback, participants will receive a survey via email,
at the end of each class. The survey will include multiple questions about their experience in the
workshop. This information will be important for the success of future workshops. Survey
questions will read as follows:
1. What is your current professional role?
2. What aspects of this workshop were most beneficial to you? Please be specific.
3. What did you expect to accomplish in this workshop?
4. How well were your expectations met?
1-Exceeded expectations
2-Met expectations
3-Short of expectations
5. How will the knowledge gained from the workshop help you in your current role?
6. What other topic areas would you like to see offered as professional development?
7. Please, share any other comments or suggestions.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
Data from the survey will be evaluated at the end of each class. This information will be
used to understand what it is the participants were trying to get out of the class and if their needs
were met. Other information will be used to held decide what topics might be covered in future
classes.
Baking and Pastry Workshop
References:
Career and Technical Personnel Preparation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.iup.edu/careerteched/
Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pafcs.org/home
Pennsylvania Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx