The NAF courses are designed to be implemented in a regular class or in a computer lab.   I know my students enjoy being in the computer lab- they constantly need to be around technology. I was skeptical as to how it would be received in a traditional classroom setting: whether it was successful and if my students would enjoy it. I should have never doubted the curriculum. It is incredible!

  I can now say that no matter where you teach the courses the kids enjoy it and learn tremendously. At first you are always going to receive resistance, “why are we learning about this? Is this science class? How is this related to hotels?”   In the second or third day, the students quickly adapt and forget to complain.

I am teaching Sustainable Tourism for the second time and my kids are already learning and interacting well with the curriculum. They are expanding their vocabulary and understanding of a new concept to the industry. They ask brilliant questions and are eager to participate.

            I absolutely love the curriculum. The lessons are clear and easy to use. The kids are really learning and I am having fun teaching it.

I highly recommend teachers who are afraid to use the curriculum to browse through the many groups in the NAF Collaboration Network to see what other teachers say about it; check out portfolios to see student samples and teaching ancillaries; and blogs to read about real testimonies of other NAF colleagues in the U.S.

You can also send me messages through the NAF Collaboration Network website or at home: enriquezgriselda@hotmail.com . I am currently the Curriculum Leader for Geography and World Cultures and implement the following courses: Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, Geography and World Cultures, Customer Service, Sports/Entertainment &Event Planning, Sustainable Tourism.

Geography and World Cultures is a course that introduces students to the importance of geography in the hospitality and tourism industry. It is an excellent course to follow after the Principles of Hospitality and Tourism.     Throughout the course, students are exposed to the major concepts such as travel geography, global geography, weather and climate, history, culture, attractions, tours, current trends, and careers. The students will have both a mini-project and a culminating project to showcase their understanding of the concepts.    While learning about many features and characteristics of a destination, students work on detailed analysis of a country to create a travel website as a group.   They must also present their findings in front of a panel which may consists of faculty, administration, supporting staff, parents and local business owners.

            The course is both flexible and rigorous. The units are written to scaffold student’s learning and understanding as well as to provide substantial information and comprehensive background on the topics. The course is expected to take a total of 74 50-minute class periods, so you can pace yourself and students as you see fit.   You also have the option to utilize both the “enrichment” and “cross-curricular integration” activities at the end of each lesson to extend learning. There is also a myriad of websites which you can refer to your students for further exploration or as a differentiation of instruction tool.

            Each lesson is rigorous and integrates many literacy strategies to increase student achievement overall, as well as to ensure students have enduring understandings and develop necessary 21 st century skills. Some strategies include creating taxonomies for vocabulary development and acquisition as well as showcasing prior knowledge. Other activities include anticipation guides to help students address what they know and don’t know before they begin to learn a new topic.

            Many activities require students to think independently and develop critical thinking skills. However, there are also a lot of student-centered activities where students apply the knowledge not only in meaningful ways but in industry-related scenarios and case studies as well as sharing the responsibility to educate each other.

            The course lends itself to many classroom situations. It can be used in a classroom where a Promethean or SMARTBOARD are utilized. The PowerPoint presentations can be printed in notes-form or shared among students.   The teacher can use either the Teacher Resources or the Student Resources to teach the lesson as they see fit. It integrates many other technological tools such as digital camera, video camera, and webcams. As well as the use of Microsoft Word to write their findings and data.

In the process students will learn in-depth about the impact of geography and world cultures to a destination. They will learn and communicate effectively the destination’s geography, climate, and history; identify potential tourist attractions and types of tourists, as well as creating climate profiles, timeline of key event’s in destination’s history; two themed tour itineraries; and a list of travel tips and warning.

As I begin the new academic year, I am reminded of how busy the teacher duties keep me. I am married and have a 3 year old in Pre-K, so my personal life keeps me busy to the max.

As a dedicated NAF Teacher, I am using the curriculum to see what works and does not. Although I do face many issues in the school that are found throughout the network, I look beyond them, otherwise I would become disenchanted and overwhelmed. I make things work and move on. I have learned to deal with my reality. My school does not have a state-of-the-art computer lab, the projector is shared among a group of 15 teachers throughout the week. We have no copy machine to reproduce handouts. Our program lacks funding to request new equipment. Etc. Etc.Etc.

Despite it all, I am optimistic. I know that through the collaboration network, I can learn from my professional peers and feel connected! I am dedicated to my students and to NAF.

This year I will continue my duties as a Curriculum Leader in Geography and World Cultures. Feel free to share your experiences; join the many discussions and send me messages regarding the course.

Happy new year and good luck with your new students and courses!

Hope to stay in touch,

Griselda Vile

Logistics

Although there are 15 lessons that make up this course, half of them apply specifically to the culminating project (Lessons 6-13 with exception of Lesson 12).   In lessons 5, 12 and 14 students discuss the various reasons people travel to those destinations as well as the careers that make part of the industry. The course is interdisciplinary and multi-layered. There are some lessons that focus on science and others, a good chunk, that deal specifically with history.  

The “Geography Overview of Culminating Project” details each part of the culminating project that students are to have in order to complete the project. While you teach the course they are going to be collecting important information for their specific “world destination”.   You can have them work in pairs or in teams. I had some students work alone, and some in groups as big as three. Some countries require and have more information to analyze than others.   In lesson 15, students will have more directions on   how to do the presentations.

Over the course of this project, students produce the following pieces that will make up their complete proposal:

·       Worksheet describing the country’s geographic features [Lesson 6]

·       Climate profile for the country, including a map and visuals [Lesson 7]

·       Timeline of major events in the country’s history [Lesson 8 and 9]

·       Three tour itineraries, including one that emphasizes history and one that emphasizes culture [continuation but also after Lesson 10 and 11]

·       Three traveler profiles describing to tourists likely to visit the country/destination [Lesson 12]

·       Storyboard for an online streaming video “commercial” designed to appeal to one of the three identified traveler types [Also Lesson 12, spec 12.5]

·       Travel checklist that includes what to bring and safety tips pertinent to the destination [Lesson 13- Travel Barriers]

In the course, students will be multi-tasking. While they are learning the major parts of geography and the characteristics to motivate tourist, they will also be collecting data that pertains to a particular “world destination”. You can create a master list of these, or use the suggested ones. I gave my students a checklist to keep track of their progress.

There are two main assessments for the project:

·       The final pieces that make up each world destination portfolio are assessed as a single collection using a rubric for the student group

·       The final presentation of each proposal is assessed with a rubric for the student group

While the groups or individuals were making their presentations, the other students were actively listening, critiquing and determining what they learned and what they thought about the presentation. In a previous lesson (4) students were asked to listen to other students presentations and come up with constructive criticisms and to highlight what they liked and what needed to be changed.

The Audience

When I first spoke to the parents at the parent teacher conference, they were very eager, excited and supportive of the idea. Letters were sent to them as an update of what we were doing in class so that they knew what their students were working and learning. Communication should also be put in place so that the principal and other staff in the school is aware of the program (positive publicity) as well as more people who you can invite to be part of the panel. If you have a strong relationship with board members, they should be among the first to contact.

Preparing the Students

The one thing I did not anticipate is how nervous the students would get. They knew that it was a tremendous responsibility to not only collect the parts of each lesson but of their culminating project. Some felt accomplished at how much they learned as well as how familiar they became of the world destination. Having students practice in front of other people helped tremendously.   However, the students who only practiced at home with their families and/or friends did not know until the day of the presentation what it would feel like- nerve wracking. They as a result felt overwhelmed and ill-prepared to speak in front of a large audience. You may want them to practice in front of you and another teacher to ease the feeling for when they make their final presentation.

I have spent the last five years teaching the Geography course. As a teacher of Foreign Language, culture was my niche  and if often came handy when sharing personal stories from my many travels. However, as many teachers in AOHT, I had no formal training other than the required Geography courses in my undergrad.

My students have finished the culminating project of the Geography and World Cultures. I was completely blown away. Their knowledge of the country after finishing the course is deeper and more in depth. I felt like they really understood each of the components to the last detail: weather/climate, history, culture etc.

In previous years the information was read aloud and students would follow with a QA. There were guidelines and they followed them. But the presentations often seemed like a report. There was no connection between the content and the student.

Since the students spent the last couple of months researching their country, they did not have to read their notes word-for-word. They were animated and kept the interest of their audience at the highest I have ever seen. The students presenting also felt more confident.

When I told the parents that the students were going to present infront of a large group, they were so eager to see the final product. The response from parents, staff and faculty is always supportive.

Scheduling was hard. In New York we have finals the last week followed by Regents examinations. Of the four courses offered parents had to come in at different days, and different times. So it was decided that a only a few parents from each cohort would be allowed to view the work of the students. With the kind of support I receive in my school, I often have 15-25 parents show up. If you are able to use the auditorium that would be great. We have a small stage for the music class and also used the computer labs, as the sound carried better.

Note that while students are presenting, the rest of the class is not only engaged becuase the information is fascinating- yes they all listen quietly- there is a part for them to evaluate and answer questions.

It has been amazing to see this product and feel the enthusiasm of my students. I know I could have never created a lesson or course that would have them thinking of Tourism and Geography to this level. The magnitude of work and knowledge these students develop will help them in any course. They really appreciated what they had done. They did not complain that it was busy work and they were always asking questions. So, the next step is to promote the course with the next cohort so they can share the positive experience and learn about the expectations.

The Challenges of Teaching Geography and World Cultures

There are certain challenges that teachers will face when they implement the course.   I have implemented this course in both a computer lab as well as in a traditional classroom.   As stated before, each of the lessons ends with a project that is related to the culminating project. Once I became familiar with the projects, I worked through the lesson backwards. If I knew that students had to do internet research or assignments that had to be typed up, I would tailor the lessons to have sessions for brainstorming, rough drafts due dates, peer editing, and dates for their final submission.

In terms of obtaining information, a computer lab works excellent. But as you, know there are advantages and disadvantages.   The advantages are that students have the software needed for word processing and the internet capability at their fingertips. The disadvantage is that they often find ways to play videogames or update Facebook or myspace or the internet is down. Teachers should always have a back up plan in case there is no internet.

If I knew that students had to research a country or a destination or obtain information related to geography or another topic, it was assigned as a homework assignment. I know that many academies do not give homework. I give homework 3-5 times a week.   You know the needs of your students better than anyone else, the course allows for flexibility. An idea might be to give them the list up front with the syllabus so they know which components should be collected the first week and the second   week and so on.

Two things that were essential for each setting, computer or traditional class, is the several resources that are used in lieu of the internet. I kept a set of dictionaries and atlases. It was critical for developing vocabulary and understanding.

I also planned in advance a trip to the school library, which is actually not utilized at my school as much as it should. I can’t expect my students to take advantage of the many neighborhood libraries, and the librarians are always very helpful. Prior to our arrival, they collected and set aside the books to many countries. Students were not allowed to use computers when they were at the library. I insisted in bringing and maintaining index cards related to their topics. I gave them hints on how to classify and organize their notes. My students had the entire library to themselves. I encouraged them to check out books on their destination- which they could keep for up to three weeks. Enough time to do several lessons on various topics related to their destination: geographical features, culture and historical events.

My program has been running without any means of financial assistance for six years. My school is a large and comprehensive high school. There are many resources that I tap into so that my students can do their work. Although we are not under the Technology department, I did collaborate with teachers who were in the computer lab to exchange rooms for a few days in a week. My students already had their rough drafts edited by their peers, so they only had to type, spell check and print.

For every obstacle there are solutions. One just has to ask in the collaborative network or seek advise from others in their school. I hope the year finds you well. I have but two more blogs before the conference and May is a very important month. It is your last chance to submit suggestions and changes before they *finalize* the course.

Sincerely,

Griselda Vile

Curriculum Leader for Geography and World Cultures

My school is New Utrecht high School in Brooklyn New York . Our school overview can be viewed online:

http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/20/K445/AboutUs/Overview/OverviewSchool.htm

http://schools.nyc.gov/OA/SchoolReports/2007-08/ProgressReport_HS_K445.pdf

My academy is Academy of Hospitality and Tourism. The course I piloted and am currently a Leader for is Geography and World Cultures.   Last year I piloted the course with all my cohorts and it worked best with my juniors, as the communication level was more advanced and the students were serious.   This year with the new curriculum, I have   greatly improved my results with my freshman. I am still waiting to see how it will result for the presentation part.

To be honest, I am out of the building a lot so I have not taken my students out into the community. Last year they had to do it on their own, which allowed my students to learn more about where they live. The project was about their specific neighborhood. This year’s final course focuses on a country of their choice.

I used to teach the old “Introduction to Travel and Tourism” course for NAF. The one real-world role that I feel students do is act like travel agents. But instead of doing the research for one client they are to present the information to a panel which I think helps students take ownership of their work.

Each lesson so far is inter-disciplinary in that it focuses on various aspects of a destination and students begin to build a stronger understanding of the country as well as the concepts related to hospitality and tourism. Since these particular students also completed the “Principles” course, they build on the foundation.   For example, they revisit travel theories and traveler profiles.

With the current structure of the curriculum, students look to their personal experience or prior knowledge to springboard into the lesson. My freshmen are enjoying the class. It is not difficult. What they struggle with is research and writing. There are a ton of handouts.   They also do not have internet research skills. Although they are tech savvy and familiar with many social websites and have typing skills, they are strongly working on their critical thinking skills. We have learned so much about learning to read graphs related to monthly temperature and precipitation. They are definitely going to have a stronger understanding of the underlying question of “What makes a place a place?” As travel agents they are going to be able to identity factors of human motivation and wants/needs as well as characteristics of place.   The impact is that my students feel a connection to their work, since they have a lot of choices.   They are also forced to collaborate toward a common goal and under my direction. When they work in groups the work is done outside of class, I can help monitor them and see how they delegate responsibility.   They are learning to manage their time and their workload.   A major component is how students are to write about their country and speak about them. They are learning to analyze their research and find the parts that are related to their country.

Each Pearson and NAF developed course has the same components and layout. For each course, you can read the course overview, scope and sequence as well as the culminating project. For Geography and World Cultures, the overview is:

Geography and World Cultures introduces students to the importance of geography in the hospitality and tourism industry through the study of travel or “destination” geography.

                          Geography and World Cultures invites students to consider questions like “What makes a place a place?” This course introduces students to the concepts and vocabulary of geography as they explore the world’s geographic regions. The course focuses on the factors that create desirable travel destinations: weather and climate, physical features, cultural elements, and historical interest. Students apply their understanding of these factors to a detailed analysis of one country from a travel geography standpoint.

Finally, students learn about careers in the hospitality and tourism industry that are particularly dependent on a deep knowledge of geography.

                   As a teacher who has used the NAF courses, I found that materials, in the past, were scarce, outdated and students were not engaged. The new curriculum was created to infuse literacy strategies to increase student performance and 21 st century skills that helped students foster and bridge work-related skills and abilities.

          As stated in previous blogs, my students were not at the level to understand the concepts let alone apply them with the old courses.   The new curriculum presents the information in ways that engage and are easily identified by the students, it is also information that they bring from other classes and personal experience. The course is also adaptable. It can be implemented in a traditional class or in a computer lab. There are many opportunities for visual aids such as power point presentations and rubrics. Many teachers who have SMARTBOARDS or Promethean boards can easily open and manipulate the course content and material.

      The lessons are in Microsoft Word so they can be opened and transported for use.   They indicate the amount of lessons for each unit and where the unit falls in the course.   The course identifies the learning objectives.   The lessons are then divided into two other parts that are critical for implementing the lessons: Teacher Resources and Student Resources.   The lesson than gives the instructor step-by-step directions to implementing the lesson, often a rubric is included to aid the students and clarify expectations.

      The new curriculum is also clear and easy to follow. However, I do urge current teachers to read or peruse the NAF Learning Handbook.   There may be words that you are not familiar with such as “Taxonomy” or specific literacy strategies. The handbook is a great resource and tool for teachers.

I encourage you to browse through the many courses that are currently offered in AOHT:

                      Principles of Hospitality and Tourism

                     Geography and World Cultures

Introduced 2008-2009 as piloted courses:

                      Customer Service

                      Hospitality Marketing

Soon to be piloted 2009-2010

                     Sustaiable Tourism

                      Sports and Event Planning

Current Curriculum Leaders include:

They can also be contacted via the collaboration network. They have been selected to assist you with any issues, concerns or suggestions on the new curriculum.

Wesbites about the collaboration with Pearson and NAF, curriculum leaders and more:

http://www.naf.org/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3F57E0FB-1E5E1CCD/naf-2006/hs.xsl/1956.htm

http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/pg5.7.html

When I was a student in college, laptops were not ubiquitous in the classroom.   Instead, students took lectures notes in the most traditional and conventional methods- pen and paper. Today, many career technical programs attempt to prepare students rigorously for the workplace while keeping abreast of the many new technological advances. One luxury that my seniors experienced was taking the NAF/Pearson “Customer Service” course in a computer lab. They obtained first-hand 21st century tools, which will serve them for the rest of their lives. A digital notebook is a Microsoft Word document that students use to take notes from class discussions, complete assignments, and organize them in chronological order.   Since the curriculum is tiered the students complete assignments that build on their knowledge and experience.   Not only did they practice their typing abilities, but they also learned to organize their class notes and assignments to serve as a reference tool and a learning process.

                Many programs attempt to give knowledge to students in lieu of on-the-job experience, but fail at providing an adequate experience that will enable them to really be able to survive in the real world. Typing is a lost craft. Many students limit their computer use to internet and word processing needs. They communicate in a language that is not professional and text a thousand phone messages a month that do not improve their communication or allow them to network in productive ways.   While technology can be considered dangerous or useless in the educational field, computers can serve as learning tools for the students of tomorrow. While each student created their own digital notebook, they also learned to network for answers and support. Their assignments were to generate original thought and challenge their preconceptions of Customer Service.

                One case in point, during our annual site visit the Director, Regina Flannery, asked one of the students the point of the notebook. He quipped that he wished he had this ability in all his classes.   Since schools have limited funding as result, they average about 2 computer labs, if any, for every   1,000 students. My Academy students, in the course of four years will average two courses in a computer lab before graduation. He believes that by having this ability, he would then understand the class notes and use them to study for tests and learn more effectively.   Deciphering his scribbles and frantic comments would be a thing of the past. The digital notebook also allowed him to experiment with other functions in Microsoft Word that are normally not used in simple essay writing. My students learned the value of creating columns, adjusting margins, and playing with many editing functions, particularly with inserting tables.

                The digital notebook also served as a learning tool. All students had to create table of contents with dates, page numbers and strategies. Many of the kids enjoyed the anticipation guides; those were days they loved to be in class. They enjoy arguing their points of view and as active consumers they had many experiences to draw from.   At the end of the course, they were able to visualize the main ideas and concepts. They could easily scroll back and forth and see their progress in understanding Customer Service. Students were able to identify contradictions and misconceptions clearly. But most importantly, they had all the pertinent information about the industry that could be used in future jobs and/or with personal relationships.

For many of my students when they join the Academy they lack one very important skill- to communicate effectively.   What I have noticed from them with the current curriculum, is the various ways students are required to discuss various Hospitality and Tourism topics.   My NAF students are developing and nurturing their ability to express themselves to different audiences and in many mediums. Here in the Northeast region, students are often required to take a speech course that helps them develop organization skills and techniques to overcome stage fright. The course helps boost their confidence and allows them to prepare for the impending internship interview. However, space is limited and sometimes students are only able to scrape the surface of public speaking. The new curriculum focuses heavily on student’s ability to critically analyze and generate original responses to career-based scenarios. In the past year my students had various forms of assessments that really served as tools for organizing their thoughts and expressing themselves. As mentioned in previous blogs, the emphasis is on their individuality: taking from their personal experiences and prior knowledge.

                When I began teaching for NAF and AOHT, my students lacked the basic formula for an essay. Their idea of a “paper” is really a journal format. They write what they think and they write every possible word. It is not organized nor is it logical. It is informative on their “ideas” and “beliefs”, but since it is not concrete or based on lessons, it is futile to serve as an assessment for content understanding.

                The NAF curriculum is direct and effective. Students use the material from lessons to answer questions about the industry or clarify on related issues.   They write scenarios with various people in the industry and address the issues that are most critical such as in Customer Service. They research in books from the library, sans internet, for facts and information about countries and write beautiful descriptive essays, such as in Geography and World Cultures. They create colorful PowerPoint presentations that not only help communicate verbally but visually. It is also the most common form of presentations in the business world.

Students are also learning to communicate only what is necessary and are often “guided” by the many mini discussions or activities that help the class work as a team to dig deeper into a topic. The new approach is definitely student based.  

Now I know that a lot of this sounds like what should happen naturally in a classroom.   However, it was not a reality in my school. It was a struggle six years ago to have students “think” or be engaged. Since the lessons were teacher based, I spent more time researching a topic which I never felt comfortable teaching because I was not from the industry. Most of my energy was spent on classroom management than content. The NAF/Pearson lessons are a great jumpstart to the Academies and offer valuable ways to extend them further or tier them to students who are highly motivated. They are also highly effective. My students for the past year have received them well, have not complained about all the work we do or how long it takes to complete a project. I believe they are thinking more on such a professional level that they grow tremendously as young adults. I almost feel like they are gaining as much as if they were all having a taste of what an internship offers- but in my classroom. They are gaining a deeper insight into the various industries within Hospitality and Tourism than they have ever received.