HOW TO HAVE STUDENTS LEARN MORE FROM THEIR TERM PROJECTS Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 208 HOW TO HAVE STUDENTS LEARN MORE FROM THEIR TERM PROJECTS John F. Pfaff, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona ABSTRACT This paper describes a course format that exposes students to a process which closely simulates that used in the business world to develop and evaluate projects. The students develop skills and competencies in the areas of report writing, critiquing reports, functioning as constructive evaluators, and incorporating peer input into project reports. INTRODUCTION As class sizes increase and the complexity of business topics grows greater, more faculty members are assigning team projects to their students. Generally, the standard format is for students to turn in a finished copy of the project paper and, possibly, give a group presentation to the class, Interaction among the project group members is seen as helping to develop the communication and interpersonal skills that will be required in the real world of business, If one looks at the project development and evaluation process in the business world, one will, see that the steps used in that standard classroom format for projects only duplicate part of that process and, develop only some of the skills required to successfully deal with this process in a real business environment. The elements of the business world project report process which appear to be missing from the standard classroom format are: (1) the submission of the draft copy to ones manager/boss and the subsequent revision based on his or her comments; (2) the exposure of ones ideas to other outside the group and the incorporation, modification or tactful rejection of their input.; and (3) the assumption of the role of the outside evaluator of the report who is on the corporate team but not assigned directly to the project team. These three steps require many diverse communication and organizational skills not usually dealt with in the classroom. Different skills are required because the project process shifts from being focused on an individual decision-maker (the instructor and his grading) to a more open, public process within an organization. It becomes a process exposed to decision-makers with diverse intraorganizational interests rather than an exercise aimed at satisfying the standards of the professor. Each of the missing elements can, to some degree, be incorporated into the classroom project. By changing the timing of assignments, accepting that a good deal of learning will occur on an ad hoc basis, reducing the freedom of choice in project assignments increasing library reserve support and improving the professors ability to role play rather than simply provide facts and correct errors. COURSE FORMAT In order to emulate the employee/manager relationship, a draft of the project paper has to be submitted during the early part of the semester. The instructor then provides comments which should raise issues which require investigation, identify sources for further information, point out inconsistencies between the various sections if the paper and express options referred to in the popular literature which may be in conflict with the draft. The next step is for a second draft to be submitted a week or two after the first draft is returned to the students. A group meeting with the instructor during this period is highly advisable. For some students this will he the final draft hut most teams will opt for a third draft after the class presentation. A copy of this second draft of the project report is placed on reserve in the library and the rest of the class is required to read it prior to the presentation of the project in class. This “public” exposure of the group’s work serves several purposes. It obviously creates peer pressure not unlike that which exists Ln the business world. It also provides the class with the opportunity to become familiar with the project prior to its presentation and permits them to compare its substance and conclusions to their own work and the course readings. An open question format is used during the presentation and students class participation is a significant part of their grades. The project team at this point has been exposed to the input and opinions of their fellow students and the instructor (who should actively participate in the discussion during the class presentation) The team now has the option to rewrite the paper and incorporate the suggestions offered or develop justifications for their positions which differ from the class input. Rather than require the third version of the paper, I tell the student team what the grade on the project is and the individual grades will be for the project as is. Usually a rewrite will enhance their grade. For the third element in the project process, the role of outside evaluator of the project, to work it is very important to make clear to the class that their goal is to improve the project not to simply shoot down the presenters All negative comments must be provided with a suggestion for correcting the problem identified or a statement pointing Out new opportunities indicated by any criticism offered. This type of evaluation serves several purposes: it removes the adversarial element from the presenter/class interaction, it creates a win/win situation since the final grade can be improved for the project team and the class participation grade can be helped by the individual's contributions to another teams project. This approach develops skills needed to provide constructive criticism and to find opportunities where one might only see problems. The students also develop he social skills needed to effectively make their point in a polite context and accept modification of their ideas in the presence of others. The final reinforcement of the need to develop the skill of critiquing a presentation comes during the final exam. One third of the final exam grade is based on the student’s critique of another teams project report. A selection of final reports are provided and the students are asked to select the project other than their own which has the best chance for success as defined in the report and justify their selection. Once again, the emphasis is on the positive. This exercise forces the students to construct a reasoned approach to their evaluation of the projects and has them commit it to writing. The final drafts of the reports are on reserve in the library prior to the final exam. The students know beforehand that this exercise will be part the final exam. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's