Business & Economics Collected Works - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/411

Filters

2022 2
2
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Start date: 2020 × End date: 2022 × Type: Abstract ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Sense and sensibility: measuring and evaluating the impact and value of aesthetic experience in teaching and learning
    Wear, A (British Educational Research Association, 2022)
    BERA Conference abstract Sense and sensibility: measuring and evaluating the impact and value of aesthetic experience in teaching and learning In its unholy trinity with climate change and political extremism, COVID19 continues to shape a period of unparalleled existential crisis, leaving Higher Education to navigate the challenging terrain between transformation and survival. Educators, rising to the challenge, are engaging motifs of humanism, sustainability and inclusivity to protect the learning experience, sometimes uncomfortably shoehorning them into the dominant neo-liberal imperative of measurable growth and scalability (Riemer, 2021; Spector, Shreve & Daniels, 2021). As educators seek deeper insight into how best to navigate this terrain, an increasing focus on the experiential dimension is notable (Lizzio, Wilson & Simons, 2002; Baeten, et. al., 2010). Starting from the fundamental question of if (or to what extent) this experience itself affects outcomes and graduate attributes, this paper presents the aesthetic (and associated emotional) experience of teaching and learning as a topic of significance. In doing so, it seeks to address the lack of attention to aesthetic experience in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL); more specifically, the paucity of literature contextualised for HE. Currently, any scholarship around aesthetic experience in teaching and learning is almost exclusively focused on K-12 and/or arts-based pedagogies and curricula (Hinchcliffe, 2011; Webster & Wolfe, 2013; Lewis, 2009, Thyssen, Doull & Olusoga, 2021). Beyond presenting the definitional and theoretical foundations of aesthetic experience, this paper maps the development of a methodological framework designed to measure the impact and value of this experience in teaching and learning. Metanalyses have identified upwards of 30 such measures (Schindler, et. al., 2017), however, this is the first categorised as a pedagogical measure. The participants in this study are academic teaching staff and students from a Faculty of Business and Economics at a large public university in Melbourne, Australia. Using a simple, four-quadrant matrix to determine which course ‘experience’ and student cohort to engage, it was concluded that mapping the experience of a single cohort of students within a single course would be the best means by which to evaluate the impact and value of aesthetic experience in teaching and learning (see Diagram 1). This paper describes the conditions determining the need for intervention, and the engagement with course facilitators or coordinators to support and stage the intervention. The preliminary review of the pre-intervention conditions considers three dimensions of the learning experience: 1. Teaching delivery: • What is the approach and/or mode of teaching? Is it a traditional lecture/tutorial format, workshop based or external WiL? Is it delivered as a located, online or hybrid course? 2. Learning environment: • What is the nature of the learning environment? In most respects this will be in alignment with the approaches/modes; is it a large lecture hall, a small tutorial setting, a clinic or studio or an external business? What roles do the Learning Management System or other virtual environments play? 3. Curriculum design and course content: • How thoughtfully has the curriculum been designed and content curated? Is it well-structured and paced? Is it manageable and does it ‘make sense’? What is its relation to other courses? Is there a large amount of reading material or does it incorporate multimedia-driven content? Does it provide active or authentic learning opportunities? The paper then describes how, in response to this review and these questions, certain aesthetic interventions or devices can be applied to address any unsatisfactory or disengaging experiences identified. Moreover, it considers how these extend beyond merely enhancing the transmission of knowledge, to how they develop experiences that enhance graduate outcomes and attributes. Finally, the paper explains how this impact and value might be measured and evaluated, describing the data collection and analysis by way of participant observation, interviews and a written response survey to determine what, if any, benefits the changed approaches and conditions elicit. The associated conference session will engage attendees in an activity that applies some of the experiential interventions and devices proposed and provide a ‘snapshot’ of the value of aesthetic experience to teaching and learning. The session will then conclude with a discussion about contingencies, alternatives and potential risks or hurdles.
  • Item