Instructional Design Document

Target
Audience/
Learner Profile

Demographics

My target audience are 16 and over, Japanese language students, tourists, and food enthusiasts. This course is for both the casual learner preparing for a trip to Japan to the serious beginning Japanese language learner seeking to expand their cultural knowledge and food palette.

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This course is inclusive in its target, all genders, educational and ethnic backgrounds.

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Background knowledge/Disposition/Skills

The audience is familiar with Japanese food and seeks to expand their appreciation and knowledge through language acquisition. Or the audience is a beginning Japanese language learner who loves food and seeks to review and supplement their learning around dining, eating, and cooking.

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Works cited, Week 2

Course Type

Combination of food culture survey course and language learning course

This course is a hybrid between language survival and food culture guide. It seeks to introduce the curious student to the whys behind its cuisine. While exploring the dining landscape, the student will learn to identify different establishments and types of Japanese cuisine. The course will further identify food origins and the integration of other cultural influences into its domestic cuisine.

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The course prepares the student to navigate the dining landscape:

• introducing common kanji-kana words

• providing common key phrases for communicating when dining anywhere in Japan.

• introducing vocabulary identifying food categories and items found on menus and on display at food establishments

• ​differentiating between different establishments along the continuum of casual to formal and the type of clientele it attracts

• introducing apps that help decipher the environment on the fly​
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Audience analysis

• Tourists seeking to explore their dining options at Japanese restaurants

• Beginning language students seeking a language learning supplement that focuses on food culture

Works cited, Week 3

Course Modality

Asynchronous online

This course emphasizes a self-paced structure encouraging curiosity and exploration around the topic of Japanese food from its native washoku cuisine to foreign influences integrated into the Japanese contemporary palette. It is thus asynchronous, beginning with a generalized overview of some history and cultural contexts for the cuisine. It then addresses common basic sentence structure and (survival phrases) and explores the philosophy and approach of washoku. From there, we explore the dining landscape of Japanese food and its dishes, menus, and atmosphere. 

Learners can go at their own pace, get assessed for knowledge retention, and post their first-hand experiences with recommendations. Synchronous may also be possible in the future once I have a series of offerings with audience interest in having live sessions online. Synchronous breakout rooms would enable students to practice their dialogue in real time.

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Asynchronous with video presentation allows the learner to watch and get language training at their convenience. Infographics (animated?) will identify different components of a dish or items within a restaurant or table setting. Alt text will provide background information for visual scanners. Much of the information will be available as text for English as a second language learners and the hearing impaired. 

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The course seeks to foster community through student participation on food dialogue scenarios and sharing images of meals they enjoyed and recommending eating establishments. This seeks to promote diversity and hybrid influences that enrich the learning experience based on the audience participating at the time. It also shows the opportunities to learn from each other and present cultural insights from various traditions.

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Technical requirements & supplies

Enough bandwidth to stream video. This can be done from a smartphone as well as a laptop or desktop. Access to a camera (or webcam) will enable the learner to dialogue with another partner for synchronous interactions. 

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Works cited, Week 3

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)

Terminal learning objectives

By the end of this course, students should be familiar with:

1. 5 key principles of washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) and imports incorporated into domestic cuisine.​ (Aligns with WLO2)

2. Food philosophy behind diet, nutrition, cooking, presentation, and dining rituals. (Aligns with WLO3)  

3. Basic food composition and ingredients for daily meals, such as bento and teishoku

4. Dining etiquette and key phrases to ordering or sharing a meal:

5. Japanese vocabulary: menu mainstays and key ingredients in washoku (Aligns with WLO1)

6. Dining scene in Japan: different types of food establishments for various budgets and occasions, from low to high end. (Aligns with WLO4)

7. Key nouns, adjectives, and verbs used for dining and eating and identifying foods

Course Outline

Module 1: Japanese food culture & history: an overview

Oishii!! opens with an introduction to traditional Japanese food, washoku, its origins and adaptations from foreign influences. We look at food philosophy and cultural significance of food: overview  

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Objectives: Understand Japanese philosophy and historical influences around its adaptive food palette and gain basic food vocabulary

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Cultural Insight:

• Five key principles: 5 colors, 5 flavors, 5 ways, 5 senses, and 5 outlooks (Zen Buddhism: rules for partaking food)

• History of washoku and how Japanese food evolved to its present day

• Power dynamics: East vs. West, washoku vs. yoshoku, and how it came to be

• Ingredients: Sourcing and seasonality – bounty of sea and mountain 

• Basic etiquette – importance of respect and politeness (from 5 verses)

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Vocabulary

• Basic vocabulary: 和食 (washoku, meaning "harmony of food" Japanese food)、洋食 (yoshoku, Western food)、食べ物 (tabemono, food) and synonyms, like ご飯 (rice)、飲み物 (nomimono, drink)

• Japanese daily dining habits: breakfast, lunch, and dinner options in the urban centers.

• 5 ways (cooking): 煮る(niru, boil), 焼く(yaku, grill), 揚げる(ageru, fry), 蒸す(musu, steam)

• 一汁三菜（Ichi juu san sai): なますNamasu (raw in vinegar), にものnimono (boiling or stewing), and yakimono (flame broiled)

• Most common washoku food composition: proportions of teishoku 

• 一期一会 (Ichi go ichi e, mindfulness principle)​

• Etiquette: 頂きます(itadakimasu) and ごちそうさまでした(gochisousama deshita)

• Common ingredients: miso, shoyu, gohan (rice, kome, rice grain), yasai, sakana, niku

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Grammar focus

• Basic sentence structure ((subject+) object + verb)
  Example: すしが好きです。((I) + particle ga + sushi + like)

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Activities

• Role play dining scenario + etiquette

• Discussion: Japanese dining customs vs. student's countries; student's experiences with washoku dining if any

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Module 2: Eating in & 5 ways – Cooking methods & key ingredients and dishes

We explore common home cooked meal and washoku principles in action

• 5 ways (cooking): 煮る(niru, boil), 焼く(yaku, grill), 揚げる(ageru, fry), 蒸す(musu, steam)

• 一汁三菜（Ichi juu san sai): なますNamasu (raw in vinegar), にものnimono (boiling or stewing), and yakimono (flame broiled)

• Most common washoku food components: 

Teishoku

which

and ingredients and dining out: different types of dining establishments from daily dining hall to high-end and special occasion foods

• Different types of cuisine under the umbrella of Japanese food and food origins

• Basic phrases for ordering a meal and inquiring about menu items (referring to near to distant items: kore, sore, are, dore)

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Module 3: 5 verses – Dining etiquette/consuming principles

This lesson covers food etiquette when dining in a Japanese home,

reviewing and differentiating phrases when ordering at a business and accepting hospitality.

We cover key polite phrases and introduce conversations around preferences.

• 一期一会 (Ichi go ichi e, mindfulness principle)​

• Etiquette: 頂きます(itadakimasu) and ごちそうさまでした(gochisousama deshita)

Module 4: Food related expressions and idioms

The module covers key expressions to communicate food related issues

• おなかがすいた (I'm hungry, or my stomach is empty)​

• ​お腹いっぱい (I'm full, or my stomach is full)

Module 5: Dining out – from daily dining hall to high-end special occasion.

• Different types of cuisine under the umbrella of Japanese food and food origins

• Basic food etiquette in different establishments and in general.

• Basic phrases for ordering a meal and inquiring about menu items (referring to near to distant items: kore, sore, are, dore)​​

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Further studies: Regional specialized cuisines within Japan

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Learning Objectives
(Weekly learning outcome, WLO)

Module 1: Introduction to Washoku and Five Principles

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By the end of this module, students should be able to:

1. Explain Japanese nutritional philosophy and how it's applied in food composition, choice of ingredients, food preparation, and consumption rituals. (Aligns to CLO1)

2. Evaluate 5 principles of washoku for their own daily culinary and dining practices. (Aligns to CLO1) 

3. Apply the ichi juu san structure in meal planning a breakfast or lunch, employing namasu, nimono, and yakimono. (Aligns to CLO2)

4. Employ washoku techniques in sourcing color diverse local ingredients and composing a nutritionally and visually balanced meal. (Aligns to CLO4) 

5. Identify and source 5 or more accessible washoku ingredients. (Aligns with CLO3)

6. Plan 3-5 ways bento to maximize umami factor for a washoku-inspired breakfast or lunch. (Aligns to CLO3)

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Works cited, Week 7

Learning
Activities
&
Assessment
Strategies

Module 1: Introduction to Washoku and Five Principles – Sequenced activity & assessments

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Sequential learning activity and corresponding assessment 

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1. PRE-ASSESSMENT

   • Self-assessment survey: demographic info (data collection), background on washoku and cooking skills, reason for taking course (collected as multiple choice) – starting point

2. ACTIVITY: Narrated slide show (presentation) – WLO1

   • An overview of history and philosophy behind washoku will lay the foundation for cooking activities with a brief mention of health advantages such as weight loss/management and mental health (statistical data). Links will be presented to sources for further inquiry

3. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT – WLO1

   • Discussion topic: Self-reflection prompt on prior experience of and impressions of Japanese cuisine and their own reasons for learning about it. 

4. ACTIVITY: Video or narrated slide show (lecture + presentation) – WLO2

   • Five principles of washoku will be presented in text and image format as well as a video or animated slide show 4-7 minute blocks

5. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT – WLO2

   • Quiz questions on five principles.

   • Discussion topic: Self-reflection – From sourcing seasonal local ingredients to mindfulness, relate 2-3 principles to your own dining and culinary practices.

6. ACTIVITY: Video demo – WLO3

   • Ichi juu san & food preparation montage (namasu, nimono, and yakimono, etc) will be presented prior to cooking demonstrations, also no longer than 3 mins in length

7. ACTIVITY: Text and images​

   • History of bento will cover 1:1:1 protein:vegetable:starch proportions. And contemporary visual presentation trends – WLO1

   • Ingredients most frequently used: preview of other modules + flavor and nutritional benefits – WLO5

     • dashi (soup base)

     • starches: gohan (rice) – different types, (noodles) soba, somen, udon

     • sauces and seasonings – shoyu, osu (rice vinegar), sake, mirin, miso, etc.

     • protein: fish, tofu

     • key vegetables: daikon, carrots, lotus root, etc, ​

8.  AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT – WLO4–6

   • Discussion topic: Peer review

     • Bounty of sea and mountain – Source local, seasonal ingredients (based on nutritional value, optional)

     • Identify and source 5 or more accessible washoku ingredients to add to pantry. 

     • Game-based quiz: Plan 3-5 ways bento to maximize umami factor for a washoku-inspired breakfast or lunch.

     • Process report on a bento and how it supports 2-3 washoku principles

Works cited, Week 5

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Future
Learning Activities & 
Assessment Strategies

Activities will be comprised of lectures/presentations and hands-on activities for cooking. Discussion topics further build community and social presence around self-reflection and cooking and dining experiences and philosophies. Flipped classroom may be a possibility for a future synchronous classroom where students collaborate on cooking strategies and dishes.

Assessments will take the form of quizzes, discussion topics, peer review, and a final video demo.

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Game-based learning: Quizzes 

• Quizzes on factual information of above sections, multiple choice and true/false. Students progress to scenario-based questions at the end that test their knowledge in novel contexts.

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Hands-on activities: cooking for assessment  

• The heart of this course would be the actual cooking. Students create their own washoku bento, upload an Instagram-ready photo of their creation, and write their recipe for assessment. In progress photo can serve as proof of authorship. OR Do a video tasting or narrated video presentation of their creation. They can review the results and offer what they would do differently or what made it work well.
  
  Students write a process report and how it supports washoku principles. Scaffolding: Students will begin with basic rice preparation and onigiri (rice ball) and miso soup preparation and work their way through more complex techniques.

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Discussion: Peer review example

• Peer review is intended to foster student social presence and ultimately group cohesion in building community. Through the reviews that culminate in a final group project, students gain the benefit of learning from other's discoveries and mistakes, and for inspiration.
  
  Students first summarize washoku principles as a navigation point. The learner can first recreate the same recipe from the demo. They can then add their variation on it. For example, students can recreate onigiri from a video demo, choosing a traditional or more contemporary seasoning/flavor profile. They can provide background on the ingredient, its origins, nutritional value, and flavor profile, as well as how it achieves umami. This can then be peer reviewed by classmates creating dishes in the same category. Peers can assess according to a rubric based on inclusion of: nutritional value of 2-3 key ingredients, cooking technique chosen, and seasoning. Students can rotate on different dish categories each week.

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SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT: Peer teaching –

• Final project with rubric: instructional cooking video employing washoku techniques and/or ingredients. This could potentially be a group project where students pick a dish to assemble as a group into a bento meal. Each person would specialize in a dish, investigating ingredients and health benefits and origins. Student would then conduct a learning video demo for a final peer critique. This would foster social presence for better engagement and accommodate student’s limited time and resources.

Works cited, Week 5

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Subject Matter Expert(SME)/Resources

Subject matter expert will be my mother, Takako Ichikawa, a Japanese language instructor, tea ceremony and washoku practitioner. After studying the resources below and consulting my mother, I will also become a subject matter expert, writing the objectives, content, and assessments for the minicourse. I will consult the following books as stand ins for actual SMEs:

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Abramson, Ashley. “Understanding the Microbiome.” Eating Well, 6 Oct. 2023, eatingwell.com. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023. 

Andoh, Elizabeth. Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen. Ten Speed Press, 2005. 

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Omote, Yoko. Onigiri to Misoshiru Dake [Only Onigiri and Miso Soup]. Wani Books Corporation, 1 Feb. 2023.

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Otowa, Kazunori. Yasai Ga Oishii Deli no Aidea 191 [The Deli with Delicious Vegetables' 191 Ideas]. Maruyamaken, 25 Apr. 2023. 

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Shufu-no-tomo ed. Effortless Bento: 300 Japanese Box Lunch Recipes. Vertical, 27 May 2014.

Instructional
Design Model

ADDIE/Rapid Instructional Design hybrid would be the model I choose for my minicourse. This is due to the fact that I am mostly working alone with a subject matter expert and consulting cooking manuals. I am also a newbie so I want to understand firsthand the "grammar" of instructional design models by starting with ADDIE and modifying it with Rapid, which is more of an approach than a model.

Once I get my hands on Adobe Captivate or Articulate 360, it might make sense to switch to a rapid prototyping model using the linear content that Bento Journey will be. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end to cooking and preparing for cooking. As I do see the project becoming iterative with user testing, there will need to be simultaneous stages and definitely some prototyping to present my work to my SME. But for now, I am working with my own experience as an online learner and online course writer while applying Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction.​

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My Bento journey has a few constraints. Cooking is linear in nature and terminology is something that needs to be presented first. It will have to be visually rich to show what the tools and ingredients look like. It will use demo videos, as that is what cooking learners are accustomed to viewing. Students should be able to pause and rewind steps.

Because it's step by step, I intend to include recipes written in order with more explanation of the why in between. So there will be video with close captions, audio, and text options for different learners. The course is hands on so my kitchen would model the learner's kitchen, where they may be cooking and viewing the video. 

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The timeline for production would be between 8-16 weeks (not sure how integrated its production is with the learning), which is a narrow timeframe to achieve the stages below, so blending Rapid Instructional Design with ADDIE will be a way to learn as I go. 

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Analyze – Knowledge gap: Assessing the needs of various target groups listed above, through designing a learner feedback mechanism in assessments. Determine scope of course, resources, and learning objective

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ITERATIVE CYCLE STAGE ONE: DESIGN -> PROTOTYPE -> REVIEW

APPROVAL LEADS TO POPULATING WITH ACTUAL CONTENT

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ITERATIVE CYCLE STAGE TWO: DEVELOP -> IMPLEMENTATION LEADS TO TESTING + LEARNER FEEDBACK -> REVIEW FEEDBACK LEADS TO UPDATING CONTENT

See information graphic below.

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DESIGN – (1. preliminary motivating activity, 2. course presentation, 3. practice (cooking), 4. post-activity assessment, summary)

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PROTOTYPE/DEVELOP – Prototype of all components (stage this rather than final for SME approval) then rinse and repeat between design/prototype/review and develop/implement/review

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IMPLEMENT/TEST – Once the iterative prototype has been swapped with actual content, development cycle would kick in. In the development cycle, testing can take place in-house for review. Once implemented, learners can evaluate and provide feedback on effectiveness of learning experience. This could then be integrated into future development.

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REVIEW/EVALUATE – Review indicates in-house testing and corrections; evaluate indicates learner input. Surveys can be embedded in course for formative feedback (clarity, impact, feasibility) and "smile sheets" can prompt summative feedback at the end on learner satisfaction. Both enable further developmen

Works cited, Week 6

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