Hands-on

Business students to see effects of active learning

The University's new general education recommendations require active learning in the classroom, and business students will see the difference in their classes soon.

In December, the University's general education curriculum changed, and now the Smeal College of Business Administration's curriculum for its four required junior-year classes has too.

One of the 10 recommendations from the University Faculty Senate states that as often as possible, collaborative learning and active learning should be integrated into the classroom. The Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning has provided learning-theory training and instruction to more than 90 interested faculty members, said Spiro Stefanou, the associate director of the institute.

- Spiro Stefanou, the associate director of The Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning

Collaborative learning means involving students directly in the academic process, Stefanou said. Techniques include groupwork, increased student interactions and a focus on information use instead of information regurgitation, he said.

The best way for all students to learn may not always be the traditional lecture format, Stefanou said.

"It's one thing to understand the theory, it's another thing to apply it," Thomas said.

The changes in the business school's core curriculum reflect the new general education mandates by incorporating collaborative learning techniques, Stefanou said.

"We really want students to get out of their Penn State experience the ability to make decisions and not to repeat what someone's told them is the right answer," he said.

That means students should expect to see the business program change to a technology-intensive, collaborative model, he said.

An example of the altered class model is Business Administration 304 (Management and Organization), he said.

Students will work with four other people on "company teams," Thomas said. Each team will create a plan for the management of a local water company.

Teamwork in classes of such a large scale is unprecedented, Thomas said. But business graduates will find themselves in similar situations on the job, he said.

"Big lectures are not going to go away," Thomas said. "But we think we can add action and collaborative learning techniques to that to make it a great learning experience."