Authenticating the learning environment

‘Lift off!’: Employing an integrated curriculum design to increase student, faculty, and community engagement

“…The aim of this paper was to explore the value of an Integrated Curriculum Design (ICD). Our findings join other tourism scholars who challenge traditional models of education (Belhassen & Caton, 2011;Boluk & Carnicelli, 2019;Carnicelli & Boluk, 2017;Paddison & Mortimer, 2016). As portrayed in the outset of this paper, our ICD was positioned as an opportunity to flip the roles of students as passive receivers, and instructors the purveyors of knowledge (Freire, 1970) in order to intentionally consider learning-teaching relationships, and increase student, faculty, and community engagement.…”

“…Tourism scholars have given considerable attention to authenticating learning environments, grounding business education and research in practice in order to engage with the tacit knowledge required by the sector (Albrecht, 2012;Paddison & Mortimer, 2016;Stregiou et al, 2008;Zahra, 2012); however, tourism research specifically related to the concept "integrated curriculum" is still quite limited. Notable exceptions include works like Bynum's (2011) who argues for the integration of sustainability into tourism and hospitality curriculum.…”

“…This is important As such, integrated curriculum can encourage and motivate students to seek alternative ways of knowing, and provide opportunities for students to fill the knowledge gap. Indeed, ICD changes the contexts of learning, contributing to a more authentic learning environmentone that is grounded in practice and resembles the complexity of the real-life application of knowledge (Paddison & Mortimer, 2016). At the same time, industry leaders and community members can be fundamental co-educators, narrowing the gap between practice and theoretical teachings.…”

“…Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire (1970) has long questioned the traditional dynamics between students, their teachers, and society. More recently, tourism and leisure pedagogues have expressed similar criticisms (Baldwin, Mainieri, & Brookover, 2013;Belhassen & Caton, 2011;Boluk & Carnicelli, 2019;Carnicelli & Boluk, 2017;Fenton & Gallant, 2016;Paddison & Mortimer, 2016). Baldwin et al (2013), faculty of a Recreation and Tourism Management Department, contend that the rigid structure of traditional classrooms "can become like a prison to innovation and a refuge for silos" (p. 65), which smothers students' passion, excitement, and desire to engage.…”

“…Undeniably, the types of jobs that students will encounter in modern workplaces cut across disciplines, asking students to engage and solve complex problems (Paddison & Mortimer, 2016). Anderson (2013) ironically points out that faculty often have limited experience working outside of academia; consequently, there remain "too many gaps between practice and teaching as a result of a lack of interaction between faculty and the business that they are preparing their students to enter" (p. 5).…”