RedLobster

INTASC #5 - Artifact #3

In NBEA policy #62 it describes the role of standards for business education. It states that standards for business teacher education become the benchmarks for best teaching practices. Business teacher education programs must prepare teachers who:

Have command of a core body of knowledge for and about business
Understand how individuals develop and learn
Create instructional opportunities that meet the need of diverse learners
Assist students in processing information and making decisions at progressively higher cognitive levels
Provide articulated instruction and programs that allow students to progress smoothly from one educational level to the next
Value diversity and cultural differences

As a certified trainer at Red Lobster, I have the privilege to use state-of-the-art training material and am able to use a process that has been proven to be successful. It is my job to train them to do their job and to get them excited about selling seafood. The training manual using several instructional strategies to make sure all new employees become engaged in the learning process. There are visual, auditory, and hands-on experiences. The new crew member is given information and then allowed to practice what they just learned. The trainer gives the new crew member feedback as to how well they did on the previous section. The ratio is to be 3 to 1, which means three positive comments to every one negative comment.

The training sessions are usually small groups of 2 or 3 new employees, so it is easier for the trainer to make the crew member feel more at ease. There is always opportunity to go back and practice or review part or all the section just covered. The next time the new crew member comes back for more training, the first thing that is covered is the last lesson learned. These training sessions allow for hands-on experience, time to practice any technique several times, and give the employee a complete overview of the restaurant from front to back. This method of training has been in place for about three years and the difference in the knowledge that the new crew member has as they go the work for the first time is remarkable and noticed quite often by our guests. I put this information in about Red Lobster, because it shows I have experience in training with different techniques to maximize learning with new employees. The new training methods have been accepted by the new crew members with positive reactions, it allows more than one person to train and still have everyone get the same information, and it definitely sets the new crew members up for success.

This can be paralleled to a school situation so easily. As a trainer and key employee, the managers expect me to be more motivated then the crew members and to set an example. I feel that I do a good job of keeping the environment in the restaurant positive and I can manage the store if I have to. This has given me a great opportunity to develop my management skills, my human skills and my technical skills, all of which I will need as a teacher.