The Challenges and Enablers of Active Teaching Approaches to Achieve Critical Thinking Outcomes for Business School Students

This PDW will draw on a recent research study into how tutors learn active teaching approaches (in particular dialogic, or two-way, teaching) targeted at critical thinking outcomes for first year undergraduate students. The study was undertaken by workshop co-facilitators (from the Business School and the School of Education). The research context was an innovative reform of a core first year undergraduate course, including both curriculum and teaching approach, which aimed to achieve higher level thinking, engagement, satisfaction, and aspiration among the student body, primarily by explicitly teaching critical thinking fundamentals in lectures and deploying explicit dialogic teaching in tutorials. By sharing data from the research study, including video clips filmed of ‘active teaching moments’ and perspectives from students, workshop participants will be encouraged to reflect on and share their own challenges with, approaches to, and views on active teaching methods. In particular, the workshop will focus on participants developing (i) enhanced understanding of the benefits of active teaching approaches (ii) an opportunity to critically reflect on their own teaching practices and learn from other HE business educators (iii) and a ‘toolbox’ of support systems they can use to face challenges of active teaching approaches.