Wine and Food PairingImplementation Plan

Renee KowalchikMay 2013

Wine and Food Pairing - Implementation PlanModule Overview and Description:

This instructional module is designed to teach store clerks at a wine retailer how to help customers choose a wine to pair with a meal. This module will not make the clerks expert wine sommeliers, but will give the learners the tools to make some general suggestions to help customers. Because of the complexity of wine tasting and pairing in addition to the time limit, this module will focus on learners who have at least a general knowledge of wine types and the characteristics used to describe wine.

Learner Analysis:

First, the learners for this module will all be adults. Because this employee training deals with an alcoholic beverage, the age restrictions imposed by the government will only allow employees over the age of twenty-one. Knowing that all of the learners will be adults gives the designers some direction for structuring the training. According to Knowles, as described by Mark Smith in his article, adult learners are self-directed, have increased background and life experiences, and are motivated and ready to learn (Smith, 2002). These characteristics may apply in the design of this module first by requiring the training to be flexible to increase the learner’s control to work with their self-directed nature. In addition, it is likely the adult learners will appreciate the connections to life experiences and the direct relationship to their job as a salesperson for the wine retailer.

Another generalization that can be made is the minimum academic level of the learners. Due to the nature of the job, the employer only hires individuals with at least a high school diploma and some experience in a retail setting. Because of these requirements, the learners all read at a minimum of an eighth grade reading level and have some experience using computers. These characteristics are a consideration when designing instruction to insure that the text is readable for the learner and multimedia is accessible using a computer.

The characteristics of the actual learners participating in this module are similar to each other. They are summarized in the table below. It is suggested in the text that instruction be designed so that it is slightly more challenging than would be expected for the average learner to accomplish. In this way, supplements or strategies in course structure may be available for those learners who are struggling, but the majority of learners are challenged and engaged (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2011).

Audience Retail store clerksGeneral Learner Characteristics

Age: 40- 60+ Gender: Females Education: Graduate degree Work Experience: 1-30 years Ethnicity – White

Prerequisites All are familiar with general types of wine All are familiar with different types of foods

Prior Experience All have experience with customer service All are casual wine drinkers who understand the characteristics

used to describe wineAttitude and Motivation Being only casual wine drinkers, these participant have little

experience pairing food and wine All participants are willing to learn more about wine/food pairing

Instructional Context:

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The learners in this module are all casual wine drinkers. They know the names and some general characteristics of different types of wine. They also have a basic knowledge of food and food preparation. These prerequisite skills and knowledge will be used to help the learner understand why certain wines pair well with specific foods. Being able to successfully pair wine and food will help the store clerks improve customer service, but will also be beneficial in their personal lives as all of them drink wine at least occasionally. Learners build personal interpretations of the world based on individual experiences and interactions. (Ertmer, Newby 1993) From Adult learning, learning occurs through independent action of the learner, when life experience can be used as a resource for learning, when learning needs are closely aligned to social roles, is problem centered and is motivated by internal factors. (Conlan, Grabowski, & Smith, 2003) Keeping these points in mind, the instruction focused on building on the learners prior knowledge, on developing their interest in learning about wine and food pairing, and on improving their ability to help customers.

The instructional module will be a blended format, some of the information is presented to each individual in a multimedia format via computer and other parts require individual and large group instruction by a facilitator. Access to computers, wireless internet, writing implements for taking notes, and a large workspace on which to place several wine glasses, food dishes, and utensils is required. Each participant will need a “Participant Guide” which should be printed in advance. A stove, oven, and refrigerator are all required for food and wine storage and food preparation. Samples of various foods and wine described later in this module are required for each participant. The foods chosen are those that can be found easily pre-made in most grocery stores. This will keep preparation to a minimum.

Unit Goals and Instructional Objectives:

There are three goals for this instructional module:

1. Explain the rules for pairing wine and food2. Match food with an appropriate wine3. Help a potential customer choose a wine that will pair well with their meal

In order for these goals to be met, the following learning objectives must be completed:

1. Identify wine and food characteristics that affect the pairing relationship2. List the rules for pairing wine and food3. Group wine and food based on their dominant characteristics4. Make appropriate connections between wine and food based on their characteristics5. Suggest appropriate wine using customer input

Instructional Strategies:

Introduction by Facilitator (5 minutes)Hand out learner packet. Refer learners to the wine guide on page 2 that summarizes the characteristics of some popular types of wine. Note that the wines used in this module are highlighted.

Multimedia Presentation – Rules for Wine and Food Pairing (10 minutes)In this interactive, multimedia presentation, the learners will be introduced to the rules for how tosuccessfully pair wine and food. This part of the instruction will be computer-based with a graphic organizer located in the learner packet on which participants can take notes. It will end with a short quiz to check for understanding.

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Wine and Food Pairing (35 minutes)The participants will receive samples of wine and food to test the rules for themselves. Directionsfor this activity are in the learner packet along with a place for the participants to take notes ifthey should so choose. There will also be an opportunity to try some of the wines with foods thatdo not pair well.

Putting it All Together (10 minutes)The participants will complete a final multimedia activity to review the pairing rules, and topractice helping customers choose an appropriate wine. This is in the form an computer-based quiz to assess how well the learner can pair wine and food.

Learner Assessment Strategies:

The overall goal in training and educational settings is to determine student success in learning. (Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011). Formative assessment of the learner will take place throughout the module as the facilitator interacts with the learners. Asking the learner questions and gauging their understanding through one-on-one discussions is a quick and easy way to determine learner progress. This can be done at all stages of the module for all of the learning goals and objectives. There is also a short quiz at the end of the interactive multimedia presentation on the rules of pairing. This quiz will allow the facilitator to determine who is ready to move on to the actual tasting of the food and wine pairs. The quiz will focus on the rules for pairing wine and food, which is aligned with the first goal of this module – “Explain the rules for pairing wine and food.” The objectives that support this goal and are tested in this assessment are identifying wine and food characteristics that affect pairing, listing the rules for pairing, and grouping the food and wine based on their characteristics.

We will use summative evaluation as it is directed toward measuring the degree to which the major outcomes are attained. (Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011) Summative assessment will take place in the last section of the module when the learner completes the interactive assessment to review the rules and suggest wine pairings to a fictitious customer. Using information provided by a customer, the learner will need to give a possible wine paring that will complement the description. In this way, the learner will show that they are able to successfully help customers. This assessment measures the level to which learners have met the second and third goals stated earlier, “Match food with an appropriate wine” and “Help a potential customer choose a wine that will pair well with their meal.”

The learners will also complete a short survey. This survey will include questions about whether or not they enjoyed the lesson, if they would like more information on the topic, and what they thought of the course itself. While these questions are not directly related to the goals of the course, the evaluation will help to determine whether or not the learners thought that the lesson was beneficial, and if there are changes that might need to be considered if the lesson were to be used again.

Summary of Modifications:

The major modification made was focusing the goals and objectives on wine and food pairing only. Because the learners all have a general knowledge of wine, there is no need to instruct on the characteristics of wine and wine tasting. This will also solve the problem of the module being too long. The original plan had expected a wide variety of learner characteristics and was designed based on the large range of prior knowledge a varied group could be expected to have. Because the actual learners for this module have very similar characteristics and a large amount of prior knowledge about wine and food, the instructional materials could be tailored to that level. The learning related scheme suggests ways to sequence content based on learner characteristics identified in the learner analysis. This scheme

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“considers difficulty of material, its appeal or interest to the learner, prerequisite information and the learner’s cognitive development.” (Morrison, G., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. 2011) Because the learners are very similar, it was much easier to focus on their strengths and deficiencies when designing the instruction. The instructional materials were revised with this focus, and now include computer-based segments in addition to facilitator led instruction.

The other major modification deals with the level of proficiency expected as a result of the instruction. Because of the complexity of the topic and the limited amount of time, the process of food and wine pairing was simplified as much as possible. The types of wine used in the module were limited to just five very common and versatile varietals, so that while the learner will not be an expert, they will be able to make some general pairings that will help the customers. In addition, the foods chosen to do the tasting portion of the lesson are those that can be purchased pre-made and stored and heated quickly and easily. This should reduce the time necessary for the lesson, but still give the learner enough experience to feel more comfortable helping customers select wine.

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REFERENCES

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith. (2003). Adult Learning. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and technology. http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Ertmer, P.A. and Newby, T.J. (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing critical features from an Instructional Design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2011). Designing Effective Instruction (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.

Smith, M. K. (2002). Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm#andragogy

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