22
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 14 MAY, 2017
EDUCATION MATTERS
The increasing demands
of today’s business environment
are propelling The UWI to find innovative approaches
to teaching. Educators are calling for a more active and
student-centred approach in the classroom.
From a personal level, our experiences indicate that
learners retain more when they perform activities in the
classroom, as opposed to hearing, reading or observing.
But despite the mounting evidence for implementing
active learning in the classroom, some educators doubt
the effectiveness of student engagement, especially when
students are unfamiliar with the subject matter or are less
self-regulated in their learning styles.
Similarly, we note that students may have a strong
preference for the traditional teacher-centred approach
in a classroom environment because it is familiar and
requires little engagement.
Given the debate that surrounds teaching and learning,
the question remains: can interactive teaching strategies
improve academic performance? Our research compares
the effectiveness of two teaching strategies (traditional
lectures and contemporary interactive lectures) on the
academic performance of Electrical and Computer
Engineering students at The UWI. We also investigated the
students’ perception of their learning experiences when
interactive lectures were used.
Research Design
In terms of research design, the researchers selected
a compulsory business management course (ECNG 6709)
that provides postgraduate students of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering degree programme with theoretical
and practical knowledge of the main managerial concepts
and practices.
It is important to note that business management is
not a familiar discipline to most engineering students,
and the students may not have a keen appreciation for this
course, as opposed to other more technical courses.
Interactive Academics
Students retain more through doing
B Y M E E N A R A M B O C A S A N D M U S T I S A S T R Y
A two-group experiment was designed. Group 1
consisted of students exposed to the traditional lecture
teaching strategy and Group 2 consisted of students
exposed to the interactive teaching strategy. Students self-
selected their group based on their personal schedule and
work demands.
The interactive lectures were based on an active,
inquiry-based approach built on three pillars:
1) open-ended engaging questions;
2) a student-centred approach to teaching and learning;
and
3) hands-on classroom activities with discussions.
The two groups were exposed to the same content
by the same teacher, in the same classroom. The effects of
interactive lectures were evaluated through students’ final
test scores and responses to a structured questionnaire
administered at the end of the lecture period.
In addition, students in Group 2 (interactive lectures)
were asked to prepare anonymous notes about their
experiences. These anonymous notes served to improve
our understanding the nature of students’ perception
of the interactive classroom environment and augment
the quantitative results collected by the standardized
instrument.
The Findings
The findings make a compelling case. The result
shows that academic performance is higher when
interactive lectures are used. These results contradict
the traditionalist perspective and make a strong case
for implementing interactive teaching strategies in the
classroom environment. The results show that student
perceptions of business management improved when
interactive lectures were used. The interactive learning
approach fosters a community learning environment and
encourages learning through the integration of academic
content with social experiences. Students demonstrated a
clear preference for an engaged learning environment and
were satisfied with the interactive classroom experience.
However, although interactive lecturing can be effective,
some caveats emerged, including personal intimidation,
isolation, and general fear of public speaking.
It is also important to match the learning objectives
with the teaching strategies. Shifting to a new style may be
uncomfortable and uncertain for some students, and some
may need time to adjust to the new teaching methods. It
is highly recommended that instructors consider a staged
approach in moving from a teacher-centred to a student-
centred learning environment where they begin with
simple cooperative learning strategies (such as think-pair-
share).
UWI Arts Sinfonia
The UWI Department
of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA)
hosted an evening of orchestral dancemusic to a packed venue,
the UWI Arts Sinfonia “Symphonic Dances,” conducted by
Sameer Alladin.
This programme drew on some of the most delightful and
popular dance inspired music, including Bizet’s energetic and
light-hearted Farandole, Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz (only
the most famous Waltz ever written!), and Mussorgsky’s
menacing Night on Bald Mountain. The centrepiece of this
concert, Grieg’s Symphonic Dances, took us on a journey to
Norway, and captivated us with its beautiful folk melodies.
Dr. Meena Rambocas lectures in Marketing at the Department of Management Studies, The UWI, St. Augustine Campus.
Dr. Musti K.S. Sastry received a B.Tech Degree in electrical engineering from JNT University, Hyderabad, India in 1990,
and Ph.D and M.Tech. degrees from NIT Warangal, India in 2002 and 1996 respectively.
This article is based on the authors’ recent publication
entitled
“Teaching Business Management to
Engineers: The Impact of Interactive Lectures”
published in the
IEEE Transactions on Education
.
The article is available from the publishers website
/
Dr. Meena Rambocas
Dr. Musti K.S. Sastry
