PARTNERSHIP: A RADICAL APPROACH TO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 252 PARTNERSHIP: A RADICAL APPROACH TO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Thomas R. King, Providence College ABSTRACT The purpose of the session is to reconsider the notion of experiential learning by discussing a model which involves class members in almost all aspects of course development and decision making, that is, developing a partnership among the members of the class. The presenter will relate his philosophy and the rationale for this model. INTRODUCTION Having had experience as a manager prior to returning to academe, I have always approached my classes with the following question in mind: Given my experience, how can I create a class that simulates the learning process I achieved on the job? It took me a few years before I realized that the decisions I was making in developing the course—what we read and talk about in class (content), how we read it (to memorize or to distill lessons to be applied), when we read it, why we read it, what constitutes performance, how we evaluate that performance, who evaluates—were all managerial issues. Block (1993), in one of the texts I have used in my undergraduate introductory management course, says the following: “Setting goals for people, defining the measures of progress toward those goals, and then rewarding them for reaching them does not honor their capabilities.” (p.22) He’s talking about managers but, in effect, this is what we do as teachers. We make all of the critical managerial decisions before we ever set foot in the classroom, codify them in the syllabus, and then ask our students to join with us and learn about management/leadership. The further irony is, management/leadership is a very practical, hands-on area of study! I select resource materials, give the students my philosophy of learning, rather self-learning, and, in the most extreme situations, when they turn the page to Course Requirements, that’s all they see-just the title. After that, it’s an adventure with all of us participating in making those decisions. In effect, they apply what they learn in the texts, to making the critical operational decisions in the course. And best of all, they are directly impacted by the quality (or lack thereof) of their decisions. Exactly the way it is in most organizations. To me, this is a more realistic representation of experiential learning. In my experience, several things result: First, you can’t help but end up with a true learning community, where what is being learned is also being applied to real problems, i.e., problems that have significant and immediate consequences for the decision-makers. Second, you draw in even the most reticent, going-through-the-motions-type student. Most importantly, at the end of the process, when students look back at what they’ve done together, they have a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I’ve seen this breeding confidence and excitement far beyond what most teachers believe are possible with undergraduate students. As an example of the power of this model, in an introductory section, we spent three weeks learning this approach. During this time, there was no pressure-no tests, no forced attendance policy, no calling on them in class. I emphasized the dichotomy of trust and control. I could have easily controlled all of these things but I did not. They were to just do the reading assignment (the class had agreed upon) and come to class. If they did not speak in class, there was no way anybody knew if they had read it or not. On the third day of this, I thought it would facilitate class discussion if I gave them a three-minute paper. I gave them a contradiction from the readings and asked them to write for three minutes to organize their thoughts. First of all, they were all there as they had been every day. Second, through the papers (they decided they wanted me to read them; I told them I wouldn’t pick them up without their permission) I found that every person in the class had read it, and they demonstrated knowledge of the reading far beyond the standard. How many of us believe that, if you trust students and give them control, they can produce those kind of outcomes? The students noticed, however, that less than halt the class was talking. So they took that as an organizational problem to solve. They brainstormed a bit, tossed some ideas around, then one student said, “Wait a minute, these all bring external control into this. If we took the personal responsibility to come to class and do the readings, why can’t we just do the same thing when it comes to talking in class?” The number of students participating increased dramatically. This past semester (Spring 1994), another introductory class of all Freshmen, decided, as their final project, to Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 253 create a campus deli and delivery service. Their goal was to use the class concepts in post-heroic leadership to organize the deli. In only five nights of operation, the class raised $1800 for a local charity. Most important, the process the students go through during the semester directly parallels the experience people go through as they move from individual contributor to manager in the workplace. In an ethnographic study of people moving from individual contributors in their organizations to management positions, Hill (1992) describes this process: ‘The new managers described the transformation vividly, weaving tales of coping with the stresses of transformation, reluctantly letting go of deeply held attitudes and habits, and timidly experimenting with new ways of thinking and being. ..The managers began to make the psychological adjustment as they tried to make sense of and struggled with their new agenda- setting and network-building responsibilities.. As an outgrowth of taking action, they mastered four tasks of transformation: • Learning what it means to be a manager • Developing interpersonal judgment • Gaining self-knowledge • Coping with stress and emotion.” (p. 6) Overall, I would like people to think about what Bennis (1989) describes as the difference between managers and leaders and the way they are each taught (training vs. education), and perhaps resolve some of the major contradictions that exist between the content we teach and the way we go about teaching it. REFERENCES Bennis, W. (1989) On Becoming a Leader Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self- Interest. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Hill, L.A. (1992). Becoming a Manager. Boston: Harvard Business School. Table of Contents Volume 22, 1995 Simulation Performance, Learning and Struggle Are Good Simulation Performers Consistently Good? Cognitive and Behavioral Consistency in a Computer-Based Marketing-Simulation-Game Environment: An Empirical Investigation of the Decision-Making Process Chalk & Cheese: Executive Short-Course vs. Academic Simulations Revisiting Personality Bias in Total Enterprise Simulations Are Good Strategies Consistently Good? Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model The Problem of determining an Individualized Simulation's Validity as an Assessment Tool A Simulation Based Analysis of the Value of Information in the Hrebiniak Joyce Typology of Adaptation Relative to Porter's Generic Strategies The Impact of Sales and Income Growth on Profitability and Market Measures in Actual and Simulated Industries A Comparison of a Stand Alone Version of a Simulation with the Traditional Competitive Version Computer-Assisted Gaming of International Business Analyzing Simulations with Computer-Based Programs and Applying the Experience to a Real-World Business A Preliminary Investigation of the Use of a Bankruptcy Indicator in a Simulation Environment Graduates' Views on the Use of Computer Simulation Games Versus Cases as Pedagogical Tools An Analytical Advertising Model Approach to the Determination of Market Demand Dealing with the Complexity Paradox in Business Simulation Games A Prototyping Approach for Incorporating Large Data Bases into Media Planning Simulations: An Example Using Magazine Media Through the Looking Glass, Inc: Superior-Subordinate Personality Type and the Leniency effect Evaluating the Effectiveness of Role Playing Simulation and Other Methods in Teaching Managerial Skills Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Management Simulation Course Performance Evaluation: The Effect on the Propensity to Create Budgetary Slack Management Team Formation for Large Scale Simulations Comparative Static Analysis with the Complete PPA Package: A Strategic Market Planning Tool Consistency in Intent: Learning Objectives at the 1994 Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition A New Twist on an Old Game: The Business Strategy Game: A Global Industry Simulation 3ed Evaluation of Performance in Management Simulation: A Management Coefficients Model Building SimuWorlds: Strategic Management Games of the Future Bulls and Bears: A Stock Market Simulation A Systems Thinking Paradigm and Think Computer Simulation Model of Broadcast and Cable Television Industry Competition Jacket Factory The Sales Management Simulation The Marketing Management Simulation A Demonstration of Promodel Demonstrating A New, Cross-Functional Business Simulation: Vision+ A Cost Chain For The Business Strategy Game Simulation Special Session On Experiential Teaching Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making Organizational Storytelling: Telling Tales In The Business Classroom Evaluating Experiential Training: Case Study And Recommendations The Internship Portfolio: An Innovative Tool For Experiential Learning, Critical Thinking, And Communication An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Pedagogical Impact Of Cooperative Communicating Consumer Behavior: A Long-Term Integrated Exercise Using Personal Consumption Journals And Consumer Analysis Papers An Experiential Paradigm For Teaching Business Problem Solving Developing Leadership Skills The Spss® Student Assistant: The Integration of A Statistical Analysis Program Into A Marketing Research Textbook Negotiating With Your Students Using TQM Principles To Transform Accounting Systems Into An Experiential Exercise Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Outdoor-Based Experiential Training Using Virtual Reality Concepts Case Writing In A Developing Country: An Indonesian Example Experiential Learning Using Focus Groups How Real Should Experiential Pedagogy Be? A Viewpoint From Our Students Reengineering The Internship: A New Approach To Experiential Learning Utilizing The Cosmopolitan/Local And Marginal Man Constructs To Measure Students' Propensity For Creativity Developing Experiential Processes For Teaching Quantitative Techniques For Business Team Learning Roles: A Cooperative Learning Technique Creating the Ultimate Small Business Student Experience: Melding Score/Ace with SBI The Development of Trust in Work Teams: The Impact of Touch Some Outcomes of Experiential Learning: How the Cultural Dynamics of Different Countries are reflected in Workplace Norms & Values Incorporation of Job Analysis Results in Various Forms of Selection Interviews Chudesno, Inc.: An Evaluation of an Experiential Training and Development Simulation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Dynamics Partnership: A Radical Approach to Experiential Learning Partnership: A Nice Idea, But How Do I Get Started? Recognizing Discrimination at Work Using Critical Incident Skills Questions to Help Students Become More Successful at Job Interviewing The Video Project Introduction to Psychological Type Theory Come On Down Understanding Facilitation for Development and Continuous Learning: A Micro-Workshop Leadership and Empowerment: An Experiential Exercise in Decision Making Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Selecting a Manager for Maquiladora, Inc. Experiential Training In Multi-Cultural Corporate Settings The Role of Facilitation as an Aid to Complete Learning An Experiential Exercise to Illustrate Difference in Information Processing Behaviors and Styles How to Deliver Accessible Survey Results Age Diversity in the Workplace- Family Feud Style Nafta Standoff: A Cross-Cultural negotiating Role-Play Three Strikes and You're Out!: A Downsizing Experiential Exercise