Ropes, Poles, and Space

Abstract

A B S T R AC T As business students graduate and obtain jobs in the global market, corporations are complaining that students employed in entrylevel management positions lack critical thinking or creativity skills. Creativity involves the ability to break out of established patterns and try new approaches. A truly creative individual is not lost in his or her own world, oblivious to all that goes on around them; rather, they combine broad knowledge and imagination to stimulate adventurous (and very likely unconventional) thinking versus merely generating a taxonomy of ideas leading to only one conclusion. How can a university business faculty incorporate 'critical thinking' and 'creativity' into their courseware? This article discusses an encompassing active learning matrix with examples of exercises, projects, and simulations to foster critical and creative thinking skills in business courses. K E Y WO R D S : active lear ning, active lear ning matrix, business courses, creativity skills, critical thinking active learning in higher education

Extending the constructs of active learning: implications for teachers' pedagogy and practice

“…Some believe that teachers' lack of understanding of the range of skills needed for effective group work and the time and skill required to enable students to develop appropriate cooperative learning skills can act as a barrier to initiating this work effectively (Snyder 2003), whilst Kimonen and Nevalainen (2005, 627) imply that the demands on pupils to develop social skills concurrently with knowledge and understanding can be problematic. According to Machemer and Crawford (2007) cooperative learning is not always popular with students in the first place.…”

“…This can result in teachers employing techniques less effectively to improve short term results rather than developing longer term skills in metacognition. Another issue is an apparent lack of confidence in educators who feel that engaging in less familiar forms of pedagogy may leave them feeling vulnerable or exposed to criticism from students, peers, managers or superiors (Bonwell and Eison 1991;Niemi 2002;Pundak and Rozner 2008;Snyder 2003). In this type of environment educators may be uncomfortable with the notion of pupils controlling classroom discussion (Wang 2009, 483).…”

“…Exceptions are Finlay and Falconer (2005) who suggest assessment is an important issue for consideration in relation to active learning, and Snyder (2003) who suggests there is a need for assessment to change in line with new forms of curriculum and pedagogy. However a number of aspects of active learning are clearly aligned to those promoted through formative assessment or 'assessment for learning' (Black and Wiliam 1998).…”

Examining the Effects of an Electronic Classroom Response System on Student Engagement and Performance

“…It would be very difficult to control for student engagement because the simple use of an ECRS can lead to increased engagement (Snyder, 2003). Therefore, in this study we will attempt to manipulate student engagement while holding student feedback and instructor feedback constant.…”

“…An ECRS allows all students to engage actively with the subject matter during the lecture time, preventing a passive learning approach often typical of the lecture setting (Snyder, 2003). In addition, since they know a question might be asked, students tend to listen more attentively (Ulrich, 2006).…”