Smeal Academy Special Superbowl Weekend Edition – Game Day Teaching Strategies
The goal of the Smeal Academy is to equip the Smeal community with best practices and strategies for teaching and learning with technology to support Smeal’s business education and research needs. This newsletter provides a few “game day” strategies for face-to-face teaching and live, synchronous sessions.
Image Source: ChatGPT. (2024). A group of business school faculty members in football gear in the classroom [Digital image]. OpenAI DALL-E.
A 6-Pack of Game-Day Teaching Strategies
Strategy 1: Incorporate interactive and hands-on activities into your lessons. This can include group discussions, collaborative projects, experiments, or interactive simulations. Engaging students in active learning captures their interest and helps them apply and internalize the concepts being taught. This approach fosters a dynamic and participatory classroom environment, making the learning experience more enjoyable and memorable for students.
Strategy 2: You can never go wrong with encouraging conversation and collaboration in the classroom! Give students a discussion prompt to talk about in pairs or small groups. This can ease students into adopting the right mindset for the class and even help students feel more comfortable sharing in the classroom over time. Topics that focus on personal perspectives, insights, or reactions to the topic create a supportive and inclusive environment where students feel comfortable expressing themselves. Need ideas for discussion prompts? Try using these free online cards.
Strategy 3: Consider “flipping” your classroom. Focus on creating purposeful pre-work that sets the stage for in-class engagement. Design relevant pre-class materials, such as pre-recorded videos or readings, and ensure they align with upcoming activities. During class time, use problem-solving or discussions rather than simply delivering content. Use technology tools for polling, collaboration, and feedback, and maintain flexibility in scheduling. The flipped classroom thrives on student participation and deeper understanding.
Strategy 4: How about problem-based learning (PBL)? PBL focuses on creating authentic and engaging experiences for students. Encourage students to apply your content while exploring real-world problems, collaborate, and apply their knowledge and skills to meaningful projects. PBL fosters critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork, preparing students for the complexities of the modern world.
Strategy 5: Consider collaborative notetaking! Encourage collaborative notetaking using tools like Google Docs or OneNote. Assign groups of students to take notes together during lectures, allowing them to collaborate in real-time and share their insights and questions.
Strategy 6: Use platforms like Poll Everywhere or Socrative to facilitate peer instruction during lectures. Pose multiple-choice questions or conceptual problems, and have students discuss their answers with their peers before voting on the correct response.
The eLDIG team is here for the Smeal community. If you want to discuss an idea or need for your course(s), please don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation at [email protected].
Upcoming Session
Smeal Academy Session: Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in Business Education and Research Reading and Discussion Group – Session Led by Ed Jenkins
Join us for the third session of a Smeal series on the role of artificial intelligence in our teaching and research, which will focus on our shared commitment to preparing leaders to leverage artificial intelligence responsibly in business. This session will be led by Professor Ed Jenkins, Professor of Practice in Accounting & Professor-In-Charge, in collaboration with the eLDIG team. Please join us on Thursday, February 29, 2024, 12-1 pm EST via Zoom.
NOTE: Recordings and resources from previous Smeal Academy sessions can be found on our eLDIG Website.
Contact Us
Email us at [email protected] or fill out the eLDIG Contact form and we will be in touch.