Purposeful Assessment Design: Aligning Course-Embedded Assessment with Program-Level Learning Goals

Rita Kumar, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, California, USA

Jun Myers, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, California, USA

Zeynep G. Aytug, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, California, USA

Larisa Preiser-Houy, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, California, USA

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the development and testing of two course-embedded instruments to assess written communication skills of undergraduate business majors at a large public university. This assessment was an integral part of a college-wide Assurance of Learning (AOL) system to ensure that students possess the desired level of competency upon the completion of business core courses.

Based on Gerretson and Golson’s (2004) model for course-embedded assessments, two different assignments adaptive to the specific course contents in marketing and management were developed and tested in two different courses, using a common scoring rubric with specific criteria and standards of performance. A total of 143 students participated in the assessment. Based on the results, faculty identified areas of improvement and made changes to the curriculum to strengthen students’ writing competencies.  The insights from the design and implementation of the course-embedded assessment will benefit future innovative outcomes-based assessment practices in higher education.

Keywords: Business Education, Course-Embedded Assessment, Written Communication Skills, AACSB

A Strategic Approach to the Implementation of the 2013 AACSB International Standards

Barry H Williams, King’s College, Pennsylvania, United States

Amy L. Parsons, King’s College, Pennsylvania, United States

Christopher Alexander, King’s College, Pennsylvania, United States

ABSTRACT

Colleges and universities have taken many approaches to handling the 2013 AACSB International standards and the update to the standards in 2017.  Smaller colleges and universities are challenged by the limited faculty resources that are available to meet the expectations of the standards as well as the other responsibilities they have in their organizations.  The strategic approach that was taken by King’s College was to group innovation, engagement, and impact with the stakeholder groups of the College to utilize micro tasks amongst multiple groups within the stakeholder groups to meet the expectations. 

Key Words: strategic management, 2013 AACSB international, standards, assurance of learning, student development, accreditation

The Amazing Race: London

An Innovative Active Learning Experience for Study Abroad

Dori Danko, Grand Valley State University - Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA,

Stephen R. Goldberg, Grand Valley State University -  Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, and Allyse Bachelder, Grand Valley State University -  Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

ABSTRACT

Study abroad programs are increasingly recognized as important for global business education. Faculty face challenges in designing study abroad curricula and implementing creative active learning experiences. This article outlines an experiential learning activity, known as The Amazing Race of London, which was implemented in a short term study abroad program to London, United Kingdom. It is a variation of a scavenger hunt designed for a first day activity. We discuss its objectives, basic structure, benefits, suggestions for implementation, and student comments.

Keywords: Study abroad, experiential learning, internationalization of curriculum

Designing Culture-Based Learning into a Management Course

Staci R. Lugar-Brettin, Indiana Institute of Technology - Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

Today’s university students learn within the context of their popular (“pop”) culture environments. Viewed through that lens, higher education is a “culture-based learning product” (Young & Taylor, 2010, p 76). For training and development aligned with career-focused education, Ketter promotes “… designing activities, not content. Content is abundantly available. Designing content is not our job” (2011, p 10). This article describes and operationalizes a culture-based instructional design strategy that creates “a platform for students’ voices” in a university introductory management course (Caramela, 2018). Establishing this platform positions students to move through the six stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy from “remembering-defining” the problem, to “understanding-associating” management-related challenges to that problem, to “applying-experimenting” with management concepts related to the problem, to “analyzing-mind mapping” real-world relationships in management, to “evaluating-assessing” opportunities and solutions that create measurable results (TeachThought, 2017).

Keywords: culture-based learning, management education, instructional design, higher education, popular culture

Making Your Degree Your Business: Using Individualized Degree Programs As a Curriculum Tool

Edgar A. Maldonado, The Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, USA

Vicky Seehusen, The Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, USA

ABSTRACT

In this article, we propose a new model for the development of university curriculum, particularly curriculum in business programs. Our framework introduces the idea of using Individualized Degree Programs as a liaison between arts and sciences, professional studies and business departments, to design new degrees, minors, or programs that satisfy today’s professional demands. This theoretical work also includes a research agenda for future work.

Keywords: Curriculum Development, Business Programs, Business Degrees, Individualized Degree Programs, Student Course Choices

Picking Pedagogical Practices Students Prefer: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Teaching Tools in Face-to-Face Versus Online Delivery

Kenneth Henderson, Morehead State University - Morehead, Kentucky, USA 

Barbara Lyons, Morehead State University - Morehead, Kentucky, USA 

Bruce Grace, Morehead State University - Morehead, Kentucky, USA 

ABSTRACT

This study explores graduate student perceptions of fourteen commonly used teaching methods.  Convenience samples were drawn from a university exclusively delivering its MBA program via the Internet and a university providing traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. Overall, no significant preference differences were found for nine of the fourteen pedagogical methods.  Students enrolled in online classes perceive textbooks, tutorials, and Internet activities as significantly more effective in helping them achieve their educational goals than students enrolled in face-to-face classes.  Students enrolled in face-to-face classes rated guest speakers and team presentations as more effective learning tools than their online counterparts.  The perceived comparative effectiveness rankings of the alternative teaching tools in assisting higher learning is discussed.

Keyword: learning tools

Why Gender Diversity Is Both a Challenge and an Impending Financial Growth Opportunity for the Global Technology Industry

Kristin Holmberg-Wright, Distinguished Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Parkside USA

David J. Wright, Professor of Finance, University of Wisconsin-Parkside USA

ABSTRACT

Although technology ranks among the lowest industries in terms of gender diversity, recent research indicates that those companies within the tech industry that are more highly gender-diverse yield greater financial value. The paper describes the reasons why women perceive technology degrees to be less attractive than other fields. Finally, the paper presents solutions that universities and employers are using to improve gender diversity and thus, add substantially more value to the global technology industry.

Keywords: gender diversity, tech industry, computer science degrees

How an independent studies project can help prepare students for graduate school

Marc Beck, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky USA

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a directed research course in which a group of senior level college students conducted a research project and documented their findings. The goal of this project was to better prepare undergraduate students who are planning to continue their education in graduate school. This project resulted in a professional survey paper and helped the students develop valuable research, writing, and presentation skills. A group of selected students was tasked with analyzing and comparing different 3d file formats and 3d graphic programs and summarized their findings in a survey paper. As part of the project the students developed an algorithm that ranked the different items by taking into account factors, including cost, user friendliness, and compatibility.

Keywords: student career success, Higher Education, student driven research

An Exploration of Marketing Students’ Perceptions of Twitter as a Pedagogical Tool

Khaled Aboulnasr, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida, USA

ABSTRACT

A challenge that instructors face in using social media platforms as teaching tools is students’ acceptance of such technology in an educational context. Using the Technology Acceptance Model as a theoretical foundation, this study explores students’ perceptions of the use of Twitter as a pedagogical tool in the marketing classroom. Findings show that its perceived usefulness as an educational instrument and its perceived enjoyment are the two strongest predictors of students’ attitude towards Twitter. Furthermore, perceived ease of use, self-efficacy and Twitter anxiety were important predictors of students’ acceptance of the technology. Implications for marketing educators interested in incorporating innovative ideas, and particularly social media platforms such as Twitter, into their pedagogy are discussed

Keywords: Technology, Social Media, Twitter, Pedagogy

Sneaky Packets: Packet Switching Concepts for the Technologically Disinterested

Kevin P. Pauli, School of Business, Mississippi College, MS, USA

Tammy Y. Arthur, School of Business, Mississippi College, MS, USA

ABSTRACT

This paper proposes an in-class exercise that makes the arcane and abstract concepts associated with packet switching, more interesting, relevant, and generally fun.  Using self-efficacy enhancing activities students are exposed to fundamental Internet concepts like encapsulation, packet switching, DNS, addressing, etc. through an in-class variation on the old activity of passing notes. Students have found the exercise fun. They also generally retained a better conceptual understanding of how packet switching systems work than those just reviewing the concepts, based on their performance in course assessment.

Keywords: Internet, packet switching, encapsulation, teaching, in-class exercise, fun, game

Prevention and Resolution for Identity Theft: Practical Advice for Individuals, Business Owners, and Tax Professionals

V. Brooks Poole, Mississippi College, MS, USA

Sheree Corkern, Mississippi College, MS, USA

Hannah Hoffman, Mississippi College, MS, USA

ABSTRACT

Identity theft has become widespread and is rapidly increasing. The Bureau of Justice estimates that 7 percent of U. S. residents over the age of 16 were victims in 2014, and direct financial losses were reported by two-thirds of these victims. Virtually anyone is susceptible and should take measures to ensure their data such as social security numbers, personal information, credit and debit cards, and passwords are protected. Often, financial and emotional distress occurs when confronted with identity theft. Educating students on the seriousness and pervasiveness of this crime is essential. Such information would be valuable for all students and particularly those planning to work in an accounting firm or financial institution. After all, tax preparers attempting to file a tax return may be the first to discover that a client's identity has been compromised. This article reviews prevention, warning signs, and resolution should identity theft occur. Business related course instructors should find this information to be an extremely useful resource to share with their students.

Keywords: identity theft, security, business education 

Case Study Comparing Accounting Knowledge of Undergraduate and Graduate Students: Practice Innovation in the Consistent Placement of Faculty Over Time

John Tan, California State University, East Bay, CA., USA.

Micah Frankel, California State University, East Bay, CA., USA.

Glen Taylor, California State University, East Bay, CA., USA.

Sandy Luong, California State University, East Bay, CA., USA.

ABSTRACT

A College of Business and Economics, accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), uses Capsim’s Comp-XM simulation exam to assess student achievement of program learning goals: integration and critical thinking across disciplines when making business decisions. Multiple factors contribute to students’ achievement of program learning goals. This paper reports one possible contributing factor: the best practices of assigning the same tenured faculty to continuously teach the same accounting course. Beginning in the fall quarter of 2009, a deliberate decision was made to have two tenured faculty teach the majority of sections for the first two introductory accounting courses of the BSBA program: Introduction to Financial Accounting and Introduction to Managerial Accounting. This decision did not apply to the MBA program.  As a result, between 2013 and 2016, five different faculty members taught the two graduate MBA courses of Financial and Managerial Accounting. Scores were examined from Capsim’s Comp-XM simulation exam from calendar years 2013 through 2016. We find significant differences exist in the accounting knowledge assessment results between the undergraduate and the graduate business students. It is not the intent of this paper to provide any direct causal factor of improvement in students’ Capsim scores. This paper contributes to the literature by suggesting the benefits and best practices of assigning the same tenured faculty to continuously and consistently teach the majority of the same accounting course especially the first two undergraduate introductory accounting courses. 

Key words

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB, Capsim, Business Simulation, Comp-XM,, Program Learning Goals, Program Learning Objectives, Assessment, Assurance of Learning, Closing the Loop, Introductory Accounting Courses, Best Practices, Tenured Faculty.

The Money Multiplier and Interest on Reserves in the Principles of Macroeconomics Course

David W. Brasfield, Murray State University, Kentucky, USA

 Eran Guse, Murray State University, Kentucky, USA

ABSTRACT

Standard principles textbooks continue to present the money multiplier within a framework where the central bank is mainly conducting open market operations in an environment where banks remain “fully loaned up.” The standard result is that the change in the money supply is equal to the change in reserves times the so-called money multiplier (1/r where r is the required reserve ratio). Since the Great Recession, however, this presentation is flawed as the Fed is currently using interest on reserves (IOR) as the most important policy tool, and in addition, banks are holding large amounts of excess reserves created by the Federal Reserve. We show that open market operations today may not lead to the multiple changes in the money supply as typically taught in the Principles course. We provide some suggestions as to how to approach teaching current monetary policy, but the proximate purpose of this study is to encourage thought and discussion of how Principles of Macroeconomics instructors should approach the pedagogy of the outdated money multiplier concept and/or interest on reserves when discussing monetary policy.

Keywords: Money multiplier, interest on reserves, open market operations, monetary policy

An Interactive Tool to Teach Monte-Carlo Simulation and VBA

Roger B. Grinde, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire (USA)

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an author-developed interactive tool that can be used to help students develop and run spreadsheet-based Monte-Carlo Simulation models, with output statistics automatically calculated. The software also provides the instructor the ability to help students learn some aspects of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Unlike commercial alternatives, it requires no special installation, and runs on both Windows and OS X versions of Excel. Students can quickly use it productively. The simple results screen and its interactive nature give it some advantages over commercial and native Excel simulation approaches for the classroom environment. Download links for the tool and an example file are provided.

Keywords: Monte-Carlo Simulation, VBA, Analytics, Spreadsheet Modeling

The Government Calls: A Municipal Zoning Simulation

© 2016-18 Peter Geoffrey Bowen, Ph.D.

Daniels College of Business, The University of Denver, Denver, CO

ABSTRACT

There are two areas in the study of undergraduate business education which have not been high priority teaching subjects:  the first is negotiation by a business to successfully operate within the regulatory environment and second, resolving internal, inter-company and external conflicts, using the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes.  These are the focus of a course at Daniels College of Business.   This simulation requires strategic negotiation in a heavily contested municipal (therefore regulatory) re-zoning hearing.  

Key Words:  Simulation, Negotiation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, strategy, zoning, zoning designations, municipal hearings, conflict, disputes.