The Ram Chef Program: Building Skills and Self-Efficacy of Nutrition Professionals Through Culinary Instruction for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

Student Member Price: $10.00

There is ample research on the impact of culinary instruction and positive health outcomes for persons with disabilities, but little on program design or skill-set development necessary for students and nutrition professionals working with this population. The session will share the evolution of the Ram Chef program, a culinary program which promotes health and independence for persons with disabilities through use of the active engagement model. Two different areas will be presented. First, research and case studies on program development and parental and individual perception of culinary independence of persons with disabilities will be discussed. Second, an overview of high-impact practices in education will be discussed, highlighting service-learning via the Ram Chef program as a beneficial educational strategy for undergraduate students. Attendees will learn strategies and pedagogies that are effective in meeting the unique needs of this population, while developing the skill sets of nutrition professionals.

CPE Level: Level 2 (intermediate knowledge/experience)
CPEU: 1.0

Performance Indicators

• 8.5.3 Uses a variety of cooking techniques, food preparation methods and production and delivery systems.
• 9.2.2 Determines and takes into consideration the literacy and readability needs of individuals, groups and populations.
• 9.2.3 Applies educational theories and uses assessment results for planning process and development of materials and teaching aids

Learning Objectives

• Identify the challenges faced by persons with disabilities when receiving culinary instruction, and the challenges faced by the nutrition professionals in providing services and programs to persons with disabilities.
• Discuss the use of high-impact practices in education for skill and self-efficacy development of students.
• Create lesson plans and instructional strategies using appropriate pedagogies in the development of nutrition-related culinary programs for persons with disabilities.

Speakers

• Lori Klein
• Joanne Christaldi
• Jeanie Subach