By Amy Oates
Learning isn’t the same as we once knew. And the humble couch or dining table has become the new classroom for students with many courses focusing on theory work until on-campus learning returns.
For some cohorts this is a challenge when classes are structured around hands-on learning and on-the-job training. This rings true for the Yooralla students who run the much-loved Thursday lunches at TAFE Gippsland’s Leongatha campus and the Community Cafes throughout West and South Gippsland.
Hospitality Trainer, Kevin Campbell, and Foundation Teacher, Bec Arnason, got to work with Yooralla to brainstorm different ideas that would work for their cohort of students.
“The current student cohort we are training have varying disability levels,” Kevin said.
“We had to maintain that all students could utilise and engage with the on-line learning platform we used to make sure the environment was as inclusive as possible, while meeting the requirements of the accredited training.”
With most of their classes revolving around food, it was only fitting to get students into their kitchens at home, with a little help from their trainers and Zoom. Appropriate to their Thursday lunches, they recently put on a two course lunch, for themselves, featuring a salad wrap for main course and a chocolate chip blondie for dessert.
Bec Arnason said that subsequent classes have seen the students serve pasta bake followed by bread and butter pudding.
“It is great seeing the students learn and engaging in a new learning platform, even through it has its challenges for some. It's also great to see all the students supporting each other during this pandemic with course content and in life in general,” Bec said.
Yooralla Community Engagement Coordinator, Vanessa Holness, is thrilled with the students’ involvement.
“The innovative programs that TAFE Gippsland are providing during the pandemic has enhanced our students’ engagement. We are finding our students are online waiting for the class to start and don’t want to take breaks,” Vanessa said.
“Our students are extremely happy with what TAFE Gippsland is offering and we thank them.”
Each on-line class is averaging around 12 students per session and students have had great support from their families and Yooralla to be able to attend the classes via Zoom.
“It's very rewarding being able to re-engage with this cohort of students and to continue to deliver during the pandemic,” Kevin said.
“Some students love cooking at home and most are counting down the days until we can put our cooking into practice and serve our local communities in our Community Cafes once more.”
