Teaching+Strategies

1) [|Interdisciplinary Learning Prezi] Ally Rock and I made a prezi for an inquiry project on interdisciplinary learning in business education. The prezi highlights the information we discovered including the definition, benefits, resources, and methods of implementation. I would use this as a teacher resource while planning to use an interdisciplinary approach to teaching. Rather than just focusing on the content in one business course I would like to draw in connections from other courses so that students can see the relevance and meaning behind business education. By not restricting a course to just one subject matter students will be more engaged in the class and will be able to see the how business effects the world that they live in. If I decided to create an interdisciplinary course I could use this prezi as a resource to help plan my presentation to the school administrators. If I decided to just use interdisciplinary learning as a teaching strategy I could use this prezi to help me justify my rational for using the approach. This is a teacher resource.

2) Active Learning Article - “Creating Classroom Excitement and Engagement through Active Learning” by Karl L. Smart and Nancy Hicks in Business Education Forum Vol 63 Number 1 October 2008 This article explained that teachers are looking for ways to involve students actively in the learning process. Teachers are doing this by trying to replace passive traditional teaching approaches such as lecturing or having students listen, watch, and work to grasp content. One method of replacing these approaches is through active learning, which is a more student-centred instructional approach. I would use this article as a teacher resource when trying to find engaging ways to present a set during a lesson. Active learning provides students with opportunities to interact with subject matter rather than just receive it. Davis (1993) explains that students learn best when they take an active role in the education process by discussing, practising, and applying content; therefore, students can remember content better and longer. I believe active learning would fit well in business education courses since our goal is to educate our students so that they are prepared for the working world. By challenging our students to think for themselves, rather than provide them with factual information, we will allow them to tap into knew knowledge and also keep the classroom exciting and new. Active learning allows students to interact with subject matter rather than just receive it (Bonwell and Eison, 1991). Active learning will help grab students attention and get them interested in the world of business education. This article is a teacher resource.