Educational Methods Commons^™

What Must A Lecturer/Instructor (Teacher) Be Able To Do To Inspire Entrepreneurship And Business Students?, Hely Westerholm, Ph.D., Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper discusses what a lecturer/instructor (teacher) must be able to do to inspire entrepreneurship and business students. Entrepreneurship, particularly start‐up business, has become a top priority in national government policies due to its ability to drive creativity, innovation, competitiveness,
employment and growth. The goal is not to make the students rush to become entrepreneurs or business‐oriented professionals but rather provide them with tools that enable realistic self‐evaluations and learn to recognize different opportunities around them. The study seeks to define the skill sets that the inspiring entrepreneurship and business teachers consider essential to their work. Teachers expressed their views …

2018 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Learning Competence: The Ability To Develop Competences Independently As Success Factors For Employees, Sabrina Romina Sorko, Ph.D., Christian Trattner

International Journal for Business Education

Continuous improvement are important for every company and hence also for employees. Depending on the field, being state of the art is an important issue (f.e. due to security reasons and regulations). In such cases, it is necessary that employees are proactive in training their competences and therefore ideally act independently. Not only regarding those sectors, continuous improvement is important, but also regarding personal development and career opportunities, the ability to learn and qualify one’s self independently is a key factor.

This paper deals with the question of how learning competence could be defined and what advantages it entail for …

Designing A Mooc To Foster Critical Thinking And Its Application In Business Education, Claudia Zimmermann, Gernot Dreisiebner, Ph.D., Elke Höfler

International Journal for Business Education

This paper provides a didactical model for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to support the acquisition of 21st century skills such as critical thinking. For this purpose, the didactic triangle as a model of teaching and learning is extended to allow for the consideration of experts, resources, literacy and an all-encompassing learning space when designing digital learning settings. The “Dr. Internet” MOOC is presented as a case study for the proposed didactic model. Preliminary results from the evaluation of this MOOC indicated that the setting had met with reasonable acceptance from the participants. Based on these findings, we argue for …

2017 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

The Relationship Between Classified Difficulty And Implausible Distractors In Multiple-Choice Questions, J Alexander Smith, John R. Dickinson

International Journal for Business Education

Published banks of multiple-choice questions are ubiquitous, the questions in those banks often being classified into levels of difficulty. The specific level of difficulty into which a question is classified might or should be a function of the question’s substance. Possibly, though, insubstantive aspects of the question, such as the incidence of incorrect answers that are readily dismissed, also affect the difficulty level into which a question is classified. The present research investigates the relationship between classified question difficulty and the incidence of implausible incorrect answer options.

Promote Interculturalism, Leadership Communication, And Professionalism In Your Students: Success With A Corporate Communication Certificate, Lana W. Carnes, Marcel Robles, Faridah Awang

International Journal for Business Education

Business educators share a common interest in encouraging their students to improve intercultural, leadership communication, and professionalism skills to enable and promote increased fulfilment, character development, and advancement toward graduation, in addition to improving student employability after graduation. While career success depends on the standards and knowledge of character and behavioral traits, much more than on technical knowledge, these attributes define the qualities desired across various professions (Barnhart, 2013) in these three areas. For example, Holmes (2015) found that the values and communication rules of discourse systems may be different from that which is expected in the international workplace.
A …

2016 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Competence-Oriented Instruction In Vocational Education In Austria: An Empirical Comparison Between Two Instructional Approaches, Peter Slepcevic-Zach, Ph.D., Sigrid Wimmer, Michaela Stock, Manuela Paechter

International Journal for Business Education

A distinct feature of the Austrian education system is its differentiation of programs in vocational education. Among these programs, the dual education system has a long tradition: Students undergo an apprenticeship in a company while also attending a vocational school in part-time. More than other forms of education, this combination of on-the-job training at the work place and instruction in vocational school requires constant adaptation to economic requirements.
Against this background, a new instructional approach, so called areas of learning with a focus on competence were introduced in the vocational school Eisenstadt in the year 2010. The introduction of this …

Service Learning In Business Education: What Perceptions And Expectations Do Undergraduate And Graduate Students Have Of Service-Learning Courses?, Karl-Heinz Gerholz, Ph.D., Peter Slepcevic-Zach, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Service Learning is a modern teaching-learning concept, which combines curricular content with supporting charitable organizations. The effects of courses using this concept on the students’ competences development has already been described in empirical studies. Within these studies the aspects regarding the instructional design were less emphasized unlike in this paper in which they are focused on. In addition to a conceptual foundation of service-learning and a literature review on the impact of service-learning, two didactic prototypes will be presented in the form of empirical case studies. The focus of this research is to describe the attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate …

2015 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Analysis Of Learning Assignments Applying Erp-Systems In Textbooks For Commercial Colleges In Austria, Daniel Kombacher

International Journal for Business Education

Enterprise-Resource-Planning-Systems (ERP-Systems) – such as SAP, BaaN, Infor LN, MS Dynamics, WinLine and BMD – are becoming increasingly important for private and public enterprises and NGOs around the globe. The use of ERP-Systems leads to changing (vocational) working routines. ERP-Systems are therefore an important subject for vocational education and – from a scientific viewpoint – a research topic of high interest. However, only a very limited number of journal articles are available that address the use of ERP-systems in the context of business education. This article contributes to this field of research with an analysis of learning assignments applying ERP-Systems. …

Using Games In Business Education: An Evaluation Experiment Comparing Games To Other Selected Methods In Teaching Sustainable Development Concepts, Anna Dubel, D.Sc.

International Journal for Business Education

Simulation games are recognized as useful and effective learning tools in the business world, as they create conditions within micro-worlds where participants can experience results of different strategies, which they want to undertake. This use of strategies enables game participants to explore multi-party decision rules and analyse factors that stimulate or hinder the personally desired decision outcomes.

Within this context the purpose of the paper is to present the outcomes of an experiment evaluating and comparing an application of a serious game with other teaching methods in the academic study of sustainable development concepts as a part of bachelor’s and …

Design Is Our Success--The Importance Of Modeling A Virtual Enterprise, Elisabeth Riebenbauer, Michaela Stock

International Journal for Business Education

Virtual Enterprise is a multidimensional teaching method based on a business simulation for learning purposes. In a Virtual Enterprise, students execute procedures similar to real-life companies in a virtual market economy. To enable that students can act according to existing business principles, teachers must design this Virtual Enterprise as an economically valid business model. This paper discusses the importance and the process of modeling and introduces several ways of designing a Virtual Enterprise for different learning objectives.

Personalized Learning Instruction In Vocational Education And Training: A Design-Based Case Study On Challenges And Approaches, Andrea Zoyke

International Journal for Business Education

There are many calls for personalized learning (instruction) (in Germany ‘Individuelle Förderung’), especially for persons with special educational needs in the transition to vocational training or retraining. Teachers can find a variety of concepts and instruments to construct personalized learning. The challenge is to combine and to connect several concepts and instruments (e.g. for competence diagnosis or for transferring results of the competence diagnosis to support competence development) as we do not have the one unique instrument that guarantees personalized learning instruction. Furthermore, teachers and students have problems with the implementation of some concepts and instruments, considering the conditions, resources, …

2014 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Students' Competency -- The Intersection Of Didactics And Organisation Of Higher Education, Peter Slepcevic-Zach, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Output orientation in the realm of education has become a requirement for higher education that is now slowly starting to be manifested in its curricula. This raises the question: what competences students are supposed to develop in the course of their studies and how these competences can be developed. In a first step, this article will therefore deal with the notion of competence. The next step involves an analysis of the various approaches to didactics in higher education, which plays an important role in the promotion of students' competency as well as in the design of individual lesson plans and …

2013 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Happiness And Well-Being On A Global Scale: Implications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This article presents information about happiness and well-being and their implications on business education. Focus is placed upon the workplace, social connections, blue zones, and well-being.

Playing Stakeholders: Experiencing Decision Making Procedures On National And Supranational Levels, Georg Tafner, Ph.D., Verena Liszt-Rohlf, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

The European Union is a unique “postnational construction” (Habermas 1998) which is much more integrated than other international institutions. Nevertheless, it is not a country with some sort of nation-wide history or culture. In its core, it is a union of different member states serving as a platform for common decisions. Citizens of the EU are both citizens of the national state and of the European Union. Its uniqueness and complexity makes the EU to a didactic and pedagogical challenge (Tafner 2012): Firstly, introductory lessons usually present the topic EU from a legal perspective. But legal topics can be boring …

Fostering Team Building: An Example For Business Educators, Elisabeth Riebenbauer, Peter Slepcevic-Zach, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

The rising importance of teamwork is indisputable in any kind of business field. Developing students’ ability to work in a team as well as their leadership skills is therefore a persistent challenge in business education. This paper analyses different theories for team development processes and introduces possibilities for integrating team building in business education programs. The method “Teams in Maze” will then be presented and discussed concerning its planning, instruction, realization, reflection and its benefit for teamwork.

Skill Level Of Web 2.0 Technology Applications Of Certified Educators And The Link To Iste/Nets Standards, Elisha C. Wohleb, Chistal C. Pritchett

International Journal for Business Education

The research study was designed to examine the degree of perceived skill level of utilizing Web 2.0 technology applications among certified education professionals. In addition, this research study was designed to examine differences among various groups as well as reasons for these differences. Furthermore, the Web 2.0 applications presented in the survey were linked to the International Society for Technology in Education’s National Educational Technology Standards and presented to participants to increase knowledge of Web 2.0 technology applications. The population included all certified education personnel at 34 schools. The perceived skill level of business educators as compared to all educators …

Eportfolio Implementation In The Master's Program Of Business Educaiton And Development, Michaela Stock, Anna Winkelbauer

International Journal for Business Education

The introduction of the new Master’s Program of Business Education and Development in the winter term of 2009/10 also marked the ePortfolio-initiative’s kick-off. At the same time the companion research was started to accompany the initiative for a period of at least six terms. This article gives insights into the initial results of the companion research, which has the purpose to examine the ePortfolio-initiative’s effectiveness.

2012 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

How To Become A Good Business Teacher: Developing Competences Of Prospective Business Education Teachers, Elisabeth Riebenbauer, Michaela Stock

International Journal for Business Education

The mission of teacher education is to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour they need to deliver their best performance in the classroom and at school. This paper presents ideas for optimizing teacher education using the example of the master's program of Business Education and Development at the University of Graz, placing a special focus on the acquisition of teacher competences. The biggest milestone in the curriculum is the teaching practice, the success of which strongly depends on good cooperation among students, teachers, schools, university, and school authorities. The second part of this article will be …

2011 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Get A Life Project: Dynamic Career And Entrepreneurship Counselling For University Students, Tarja Römer-Paakkanen, Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper is based on an ongoing project that aims to promote future-oriented thinking and pro-activity among university students. The students, as well as the career counsellors in universities, need tools for career planning in order to anticipate and assess the future direction of their work life and their role in society. This project provides a future-oriented simulation tool for students as well as guidance tools for counselling personnel. The scientific outcome of our studies and the project will be a pedagogical model, whilst the practical outcome will be a virtual handbook for career counsellors. The project also predicts some …

Using Podcasting For Blended Learning, Sherry Robinson, Hans-Anton Stubberud, Carsten Blom-Ruud

International Journal for Business Education

Blended learning is a hybrid learning format combining some of the best features of distance learning and traditional face-to-face classes. Through the use of online course management sites and other media, students can access material at their convenience and attend a reduced number of classes that then emphasize interaction. This educational opportunity is especially valuable for working adults who cannot attend traditional classes. However, the lack of lectures can be a challenge for students who learn best by hearing. Podcasting, which involves the creation and distribution of audio and/or video files, is one tool that can help students to learn …

The Core Competence And Attitude Of The Small Business Owner-Manager: A Combination Of Cognitive, Affective And Psychomotor Competences And Attitudes, Hely Westerholm, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Over the coming decade, up to 2015, nearly 80,000 Finnish small and medium-sized individual enterprises possibly with a tradition as a family business will have to find successors for their current owner-managers. The current teaching and learning of entrepreneurship do not deliver enough entrepreneurs. The curriculum at all school levels should be refreshed to meet the challenges that the future entrepreneurs have to face. The study examines the occupational competence and attitudes that small business owner-managers themselves consider essential to their work. They were given an opportunity to express their views in small focus groups of peer small business owner-managers. …

Orientation On Learning Outcomes With Multidimensional Student Assessment, Michaela Stock, Elisabeth Riebenbauer, Anna Winkelbauer

International Journal for Business Education

The orientation towards learning outcomes implies the need for competence-based learning as well as a competence-based student assessment. The ideas for innovative self and peer assessment presented in this paper enable individualized business education. Furthermore, various methods and instruments for a multidimensional design of students assessment are introduced, such as assessment circle (360°feedback), portfolio, learning diary, skills demonstration, and appraisal interview.