Picking the Perfect Pace
Some of our most frequently asked questions have to do with time. How long does it take to complete a course? How many lessons should we do a week? How long is each lesson? Our answer is always the same: “It depends.”
I don’t mean to make it sound complicated, because it really isn’t. But you have to understand a bit about the nuts and bolts of Inquisicook before you can come to meaningful conclusions about scheduling.
The Lessons
The length of each lesson varies quite a bit, for two reasons.
First, we throttle the content intentionally so students don’t get overwhelmed and bogged down. If every lesson featured a content-dense activity with lots of kitchen time, ingredients, and cleanup, both parents and students would grow weary. We build in some lighter assignments to keep the pace sustainable and enjoyable. These activities include things like reading about the history of baking powder and sketching a design for an artistic version of focaccia.
Second, different kinds of food take different amounts of time to prepare. There’s just no getting around it. The lesson on frying eggs flies by at warp speed, even if students try their hands at different methods and degrees of doneness. Making Twisted Herb Bread, while thoroughly enjoyable, is a real time commitment. In addition to the entry-level mixing, kneading, and rising processes, there’s also a filling to prepare and a fairly complex assembly.
The good news is that you can always glance ahead a week or two to see what’s coming up so you can budget time accordingly.
The Frequency
The answer to the frequency question starts with a review of your student’s overall schedule. How many available pockets of time exist and how does Culinary Science fit into the priority hierarchy? How intense are the other subjects? If they’re already spending time in the kitchen, could Inquisicook be worked in as a natural part of that routine? Are weekends a good option for students to prepare recipes and share them around the family table?
The Pace
(Click on the images above to view detailed lesson tracks for each pace.)
Inquisicook 1 can be completed within a traditional semester using the 5 lessons per week track. It divides the 75 lessons into 15 weeks, and it is a very brisk pace. This track is a good option for students who need to complete the course within a semester for academic reasons or who are highly motivated to explore the subject.
Most self-paced students take at least 20 weeks to complete a course.
For a relaxed pace that still keeps things moving along well enough to maintain momentum, we recommend 3 lessons per week. This works out to 25 weeks, which can be divided between two semesters with plenty of time to spare.
NOTE: Orientation is an important component in setting students up for success. This content can be reviewed in a single lesson, which should be done prior to beginning the course.
The Extras
Keep in mind that the tracks described above don’t include any of the optional “For Further Eating” recipe preparations. There are 25 of these recipes in the course. Adding them to the lesson tracks described above would extend the 5-day-per-week schedule to 20 weeks. The 3-day-per-week schedule would become about 33 weeks.
The Safety Net
A great school year starts off with a solid plan, but we all know what can happen when reality pops in for a visit. With our flexible platform, you can adjust the pace to suit your schedule as often as you like. And with 12 full months of course access, there’s plenty of wiggle room to make way for the unexpected.