Experiential Learning as a Game Event: Showcasing the Business Department by Means of the Business Bowl Competition Page 38 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 ABSTRACT Soft-skills, teamwork, networking, collaboration, and collegiality are required competencies for the college business student to be successful in their career. Urban community college students who commute to campus have a difficult time building these types of relationships due to not being able to spend significant time with one another. Experiential learning in a competitive and fun game is a useful method to teach these skills. On college campuses faculty and administration can be at odds with one another. This paper shows how over a six year period the Business Bowl Competition brings together college administration, faculty, and students (N=182) into a collaborative game activity with positive results in collaboration, networking, teamwork, and experiential learning. Key words: collaboration, networking, business, experiential learning, games, teams INTRODUCTION Learning can be a fun college experience despite what some students might say (Associated Press, 2009). These days, integrating fun into learning is becoming an increasingly important component to successful adult education and professional training (Fernandez, M. 2017, Growth Engineering, 2018). This paper shows how a competitive game event incorporates learning into a fun group activity in a community college business department. The purpose of the paper is to show how this experiential learning oriented game creates cross-cutting identities that gleans several benefits for faculty, administrators, and students. It uses qualitative research and participant observation in a game based case study. A recent study indicated how college administrators value individual skills over interpersonal ones in admissions policies (Reeves, 2018). Success in college is defined as “expressing oneself, being a leader, doing independent research, or solving problems on one’s own” (Pannapacker, 2012). Admirable as these qualities might be, they downgrade interdependent soft skills such as working, listening, talking with others, and asking for help suggesting these characteristics hinder college success. Group problem- solving is not a consideration in college admissions. Coupled with this push for individual success, the urban environment of the commuter campus further enhances an insular approach to education as students don’t work with or get to know their classmates outside of class, busy to beat traffic and get home or to work. In a diverse community like New York City, the social distance of culture, ethnicity, and race further resegregates students into social worlds where they congregate with people most like themselves. This is, of course, the way it has always been. When people are in diverse crowds of people, they will find those most like themselves. (LeBon, 1886/1992). Networking and work cohort collaboration are critically important in being a successful entrepreneur or business leader. Recently, colleges are reacting to this reality by increasing collaborative and experiential learning in building a more holistic approach to education. It is critical to find “cross-cutting identities” that bridge the social distance that the typical college environment magnifies and find group experiences that bring students, faculty, and administrative staff together in an integrated program (Putnam & Fieldstein, 2004) What is needed are cross-cutting identities that bring people together to solve a problem in a fun manner overcoming the diverse exclusive cultures and peer groups on the college campus. This paper demonstrates how the Business Bowl Competition (BBC) at a Northeastern urban community college campus, accomplishes this through an extracurricular event, using a group game competition. LITERATURE REVIEW Cultural, social, religious, and ethnic diversity is a growing feature of the American urban neighborhood (Fischer, 1992). A reflection of this American public schools are resegregating, especially in the inner city, and inner suburbs, reconstructing the social, racial, and economic boundaries breached in the past several decades through diversity policy (Edelman, 2011; Lutz, 2011; Reardon, Grewal, Kalogrides, & Greenberg, 2012). Parilla (2006), in his analysis of multi-cultural America, believes that for all the work that Experiential Learning as a Game Event: Showcasing the Business Department by Means of the Business Bowl Competition Cheryl Tokke Queensborough Community College: The City University of New York CTokke@qcc.cuny.edu Linda Meltzer Queensborough Community College: The City University of New York LMeltzer@qcc.cuny.edu mailto:CTokke@qcc.cuny.edu Page 39 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 has been done in attempting to build racial equality to eliminate segregation, that American neighborhoods still have pervasive racial tensions and immigrants have trouble integrating into the well-established communities. “The homogeneity of enclaves with respect to a dominant status translates into opportunities for people to establish their own identities and provides one explanation for why many people are reluctant to leave.” (Abrahamson, 2006, p. 12). What is necessary in the context of individualistic diversity on a community college campus, wherein students rarely interact in any significant way beyond the classroom is to build “cross-cutting identities” (Putnam & Feldstein, 2003, p. 282.) in “finding, emphasizing, or creating a new dimension of similarity within which bonding can occur” (Putnam & Feldstein, 2003, p. 282.) that bridge the gaps between them. Extra-curricular activities that incorporate gaming in a relaxed experience is one way to accomplish this. This reality is seen in a college lunchroom where a group of video gamers set up their equipment to compete with one another. Collaborative teams that are assembled for a specific competitive purpose are another way to bridge the diversity gaps. Experiential Learning is the key educational methodology incorporated into the Business Bowl. Students are not individually competing against one another, but working as a collaborative team to arrive at a best group solution. This requires cross pollination of skills and expertise of all the group members where on one question one student may take precedence but on another a different student takes the lead. This builds leadership character. Allendar (2006) argues that a core element of experiential learning is not the problem solving itself but the character built from the learning process. This “brings out the best” in the individual learner (Field, 2008). Breunig, M. (2011) integrates Paulo Freire’s pedagogy in that experiential education creates a critical reflection on life. Students who are engaged in their own learning, not from the banking of data from lecturers, are more able to define and determine solutions to their own problems. This is especially true for learners who did not grow up in a lecture to student context, but are enculturated to collective learning. Chapman, McPhee, and Proudman (1995) show how experiential learning goes beyond just “simple participation” in an activity – really, individualistic learned disguised as a group – to achieve and outcome, but a more inductive and circular way of learning. It results in principles to live by, rather than simple problem solving and answers for a test. Schwartz (n.d.) argues that experiential learning is a group activity but there is room for variance in the solutions based on an individual’s contribution. Indeed, the same group may have several different solutions to a problem. But experiential learning cannot be a haphazard methodology where students are left to their own outcomes, but and assessment must take place (Moon, 2004). No prescribed outcomes frustrates not only the student (especially the one who cannot creatively arrive at their own solutions) but also the team. Assessment of experiential learning must be in place to understand if learning actually takes place. A scoring system is one way to make this happen where students self-reflect on their responses (Wurdinger, 2005; Qualters, D. M., 2010). As has been shown above, there are different currents of how experiential learning is to be understood, such as critical reflection and learning passion from interaction with others, not just one simple way. The outcome of the different currents is a hope for the future. Experience that is positive learning in an interactive environment is ultimately motivational. This counters the idea that a simple one-time test is representative of learning (Andre, 2013; Roberts, 2012). Ewer & Sibhorp (2009) argue that effective experiential learning design follow a process of precursor (preparation or initiation), concomitant (natural association with others), post-experience (reflective life change). Effective experiential learning engages thus type of a process over time - not one-off events – which allows for the natural learning growth to take place. It “transforms” the learner not just solving problems (Slavich, G. M., & Zimbardo, P. G., 2012). Collaborative Learning and Teams are a principal element of the Business Bowl Competition learning theories. Becker (1982) in Art Worlds and Collective Activity argues, “all artistic work…involves the joint activity of a number, often a large number, of people” (p. 3). Every art form, including leadership arts, requires the collaborative efforts of a number of individuals. Using Becker’s metaphor, the painter, to the critic, to the marketer, to the audience, to the one whom makes the paintbrushes, to the purchaser who receives a tax break from the government are all a part of the making of art. These represent a “bundle of tasks”. This concept of bundling of tasks in a networked relationship is typical in today’s business world that requires specialists from various fields to work together to complete a project. In the classroom, working in teams builds the cross-building identities that are necessary to achieve cohesive and collegial teams in a diverse urban environment. Small Groups are a core of collective activity and effective group work. A small group goes beyond the dyad or triad but may be so large as to lost connection based on context (Macionis, 2018). For the purposes of the Business Bowl Competition this is about five members. Putnam & Fieldstein (2003) maintain that in the smaller social environment people find stronger relationships and build social capital that allows them to trust one another on project completion. “Researchers have repeatedly found that social capital is higher in smaller settings – smaller schools, smaller towns, smaller countries, and so on. Listening and trusting are easier in smaller settings” (Putnam & Feldstein, 2003, p. 275-276). The effect of small groups in the classroom builds trust amongst students that they are working together to achieve a common grade that is based on collaboration. Beyond learning together, they are achieving together. Commonalities in community are effective in building team solidarity and cohesion. Students relate to one another through a common set of ritual forms (Collins, 2005), assignments, or educational practices that hold them together based on certain values, beliefs, and ideologies it have about themselves. Network theory (Gilchrist, 2009) argues that individuals do not hold all the answers to a problem solving question, but in bringing their responses to a group, the response becomes stronger. The network is a series of structured relationships of interconnectedness essential to successful problem solving. Gilchrist (2009) goes on to argue that Complexity Theory is the ensuing result in a network built towards solving problems in that a more intricate result that blends the responses of all the individuals in the problem solving increases the complexity of the result. This creates openness for critique and building on mistakes of the previous response. In the Business Bowl this is what takes place in the teams as they grapple during the lead up preparation time prior to the competition in crafting ever more increasingly complex and better responses to the questions. Thus, the learning about a topic is much stronger than what is possible in the traditional classroom, especially for elite and ambitious students who want to move Page 40 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 beyond what the average student would do. All of these principles are integrated or experienced in the Business Bowl Competition as will be shown below. RESEARCH FIELD AND METHODOLOGY The research field for this study was on an urban community college campus with no dormitory or residential housing. The overall demographics of the college, that is also reflected in the student teams is as follows. All students are commuters. The immediate neighborhood has the fastest growing Asian community in New York City. Though many of the students are born in the United States (approx. 70%), a significant immigrant population (approx. 30%) attend the university alongside a smaller cache of international students. 78 different languages are spoken by students who come from 129 countries of birth. 34% of fall 2016 students speak a language other than English at home. The ethnicity of students by percentages for fall 2017 were African American 25%, American Indian, Native Alaskan, or Other 1%, Asian or Pacific Islander 29%, Caucasian 15%, Hispanic/Latino 30% 78 different languages spoken by students who come from 129 countries of birth with 34% students speak a language other than English at home. (QCC, 2017). The time period of this study is six years (2012 – 2017) and findings are based on the completion and assessment of six competitions. The assessment is qualitative, predominantly through researcher ethnography, informal faculty interviews, participant observation, and observed field evidence. Students were informally interviewed and their comments were used in understanding the student reactions to the process and learning that actually took place. Some submitted reflection papers and comments. As the competition was linked to the larger Business Academy for higher achieving students, Business Academy faculty provided insight and content details. Qualitative methods were the preferred means of data collection as what was being measured was predominantly soft-skills such as group relationships, partnering, networking, leisure and entertainment quotients, faculty and administration engagement, and student emotional responses to the activities. Using a case study approach, the researchers collected archives and documents profiling the six years the program has operated. Blackboard evidence was available for the most recent three years of the study that contained program documents, student submissions, and faculty interaction. All of this source data was integrated into the description of the program, coding and themes, and analysis. The BBC is housed in the business department of the university with accounting, management, law, marketing, and computer technology majors. The faculty participants were drawn from across the business department majors under the guidance of the director selected from the overall business faculty. Over the past 6 years (N=182) students have been a part of a team. About 6 teams of 5 students per team register each year. About 60 spectators attend each time, making it a good promotional event for the department. OVERVIEW The BBC is an annual event organized by the Business Department. The competition involves the presentation of real world questions on major aspects of small business. Teams are formed to increase study from the small business association website (SBA). The program develops analytical thinking skills that allow for critical thinking in order to make the best business decision offering a rewarding experience for the students and faculty members. There is a sense of pride in representing the college that creates a high level of enthusiasm in students, faculty, and administration alike. It has become the signature event for the Business Department as a way to bring together students, faculty, and administration together in a leisure oriented relaxed extra-curricular environment that still has strong educational value. To be successful it requires basic ground rules for the competition. These are read out loud at the mandatory meeting with the teams and then a shorter version is read at the beginning of the competition by one of our business faculty lawyers. This list of rules is available in Appendix 5. To make the BBC a special event a large well-appointed lecture hall is used. The business chair and VPs of various departments attend. Interested faculty and students watch the teams performed. It is held on Wednesdays from noon to 2PM during the designated club hours on campus, ensuring there are no classes that conflict with the schedule. Questions are projected onto a large video screen so everyone can follow along, so they not only hear but see the question. Event participants are asked to sign up to become part of a team. They are recruited by business faculty who actively solicit interest among the students. Some groups are formed right in the classroom for class activities and carry on that team to the extracurricular BBC. There is a fillable form on the Blackboard site where students are to sign up. The competition requires that each team competes against the other teams to determine a winner. The team with the highest total points is the winner. The scoring system is as follows. Each team will receive two (2) points for each correct answer. Each team will lose one (1) point for any incorrect answer or if the team does not give any answer within five (5) seconds of pressing the buzzer to indicate its intention to answer. At the end of the round, there will be no negative scores assigned to any team. The lowest possible score to be assigned to any team will be zero. The calculation of points for each team are in Article IV section 11 of the rules (Appendix 5). A team is penalized one point (+1 point) for either an incorrect answer or if a team hits the buzzer but doesn't answer the question, the latter encouraging students to not hit the answer recklessly. The scoring is designed so no team has a negative score. The director of the BBC selects judges 6 to 8 weeks before the event, usually of VP status in the administration (example: Student Affairs). This makes for an excellent collegial environment wherein the faculty and administration work together with the students. This has proven to be refreshing for the administrative people to be included in the educational process, getting out of the office and being with students. It forges working relationships between the business department faculty and the administrative faculty that moves beyond the regular day to day tasks. Preparation begins at least 6 to 8 weeks before the event. The mandatory meeting of the teams is at the end of November where one person from each team has to show a week before the actual competition. In our experience, most students come as teams. Page 41 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 Promotion of event begins in October. Registration begins in the middle of October. There is an online fillable form that opens in the middle of October with the Blackboard site being available for students to view and prepare. Students form their teams in October and use the next month to prepare for the even. Recruitment of judges begins in mid-September with an official letter sent via email in early October (Appendix 1), and are in place by the end of the month. It is important to ask the VPs to make them commit since they have a busy schedule. A faculty letter similar to the administration one is sent out in early October to encourage faculty to recruit students from their classes and to commit to participating in this event. Before the competition, a group of business faculty randomly select business questions in their field of expertise. For instance, an accounting professor would choose accounting questions; computer information systems would create computer and technology questions; marketing professors decide on appropriate questions from their field. The benefit of this is business students are challenged to be ready to compete in several topics that present an extensive overview of the small business field. These questions are gleaned from learning that has taken place in the classroom. Judges also have an answer sheet. After three or four rounds, they judge the answers and declare a winner. As a game, there is a buzzer to “buzz in” the answer as fast as the team can answer. TEAMS Registration to this event is required for the students. The registrants are assembled into teams that will compete as a group. Often these groups are formed ahead of time in classes. They must complete a registration form and one team member must attend a mandatory information session before they can join the competition. This team member often becomes an informal captain of the team, though official lead positions are not declared as it is required that all members participate equally and contribute to the answers teaching student collaboration and soft-skills of networking, interaction, collegiality, and deference. Students may come together as groups of four, or individual members may apply and they are designated to a team. Identities are created to distinguish one team from another. They are named and color coded to aligns with the colors of the buzzer system, a Beat The Clock game system. The teams make up their own names at the Mandatory Meeting, and chose their colors. Many teams go beyond just the color and create a name and a logo. To prepare for the competition, students study a collection of reference materials compiled from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Once they are registered, students will be given access to the Business Bowl Blackboard Competition site that contains the materials they will need to prepare and be successful in the competition. Strong academic proficiency and interpersonal skills are preferred and the competition tends to draw out those students from within the broader student population. The teams are supposed to get together on their own, so it enhances the group study skills in business another important experiential learning skill: collaborative study. Blackboard site The Blackboard site contains several important documents that are required for students and faculty. It is an open login for students with registered accounts. The detailed materials are presented in the Appendices: rules of the competition, online fillable registration, study documents, sample questions, promotional video, printable invitations and promotional flyers. Following are key roles that must be filled. Program director: All the advance planning, booking the room a semester ahead; save the date promotions; recruiting and registering faculty; designate other roles (i.e. Blackboard site administration); supervise the operations team that works with the Business Bowl; judge recruitment; invitation to the Department Chair and reporting of necessary details to her/him; recruit the other roles; mentors the teams; welcome and conclusion at the event and introductions; purchasing the prizes (often is delegated to another faculty member). Blackboard Site Manager: Input the material to the Blackboard site and makes it available; organize the teams; update the site; preparation for the questions to be projected at the end in concert with the Audio Audio Visual Technologist: Sets up the video projection and Blackboard questions, audio, buzzer system for the event. Referee: A faculty member reviews the rules, posts to the Blackboard site, describes them at the Mandatory meeting, and is at the event to make sure the judges and students are aware of the rules, and mediates any rule violations. Moderator: Reads the questions aloud, sets the pace for the completion; has a clear strong voice. Coach: Faculty members volunteer to work with the individual teams, meet together as preparation for the event, meet with them at the mandatory meeting, work with the teams in creating responses to the questions ahead of time, and bring the team together. The faculty member who had a team from their own classes become invested in their own students, comes to the event and cheers them on. It creates a collegial competition between the faculty as well as they want their own students to “win”. Further, it builds a strong involvement across the disciplines with faculty motivating their students. This coach position can serve as a student mentor participation on their CV. Faculty Judge Manager: A faculty member is designated to work with the judges in helping them with their scoring. Other Staff: Various faculty from the Business Academy fill a variety of other roles such as greeters, ushers, attendance takers, crowd monitoring. Page 42 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 RESULTS The following seven significant outcomes are derived from this project based on coding and themes from participant observation by the researchers, interviews with teaching faculty, student reviews and reflection papers, and student evaluations. TEACHING COLLABORATION THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING The experience of collaborating through the experience of a competition that is fun, teaches one how to communicate, defer to another opinion, state one’s own opinion, challenge each other to articulate a singular response they can all agree on, and accept the results of their answers from the judges. Doing it as a game takes off some of the pressure to collaborate that exists in the classroom environment where an individual grade is at stake. Long-term students have acquired and experience they can call upon when they are placed into work cohorts at a job or contract once in the business career. BRINGING THE FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION TOGETHER. At many colleges the administration and faculty are at odds with one another, sometimes with a competitive spirit of their own. The Business Bowl Competition intentionally attempts to bridge this gap by using VP level administrators as the judges, and requesting they adjudicate the questions that were posed by the faculty. This accomplishes a few things. Faculty and students recognize the knowledge and wisdom of the administration. The administrators recognize the responsibility of knowing the correct answers to the faculty questions, making some of them do “homework” just to be sure they can judge correctly. The Vice presidents’ are exposed to the work of the business department in more intimate detail than an assessment report, student complaint, faculty contract, legal issues, or human resources challenge. Administrators get away from their cubicles and offices and engage directly with students in a learning experience. As judges they are a collaborative team of their own which requires them to use soft skills leadership to agree on who the winners are. STUDENTS COLLABORATE IN TEAMS WHERE THEIR INDIVIDUAL EXPERTISE CAN BE INCLUDED. The competition requires that students join together in a team to work alongside one another in making sure they can come up with the most successful responses to the competition questions. This requires critical thinking, analysis, and response predicated on having background knowledge from their business courses. A successful team has participants with different business skills that cover the breadth of the courses. Chrislip & Larson (1994) in considering the role of teamwork conclude that “if you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies”. The Business Bowl is embedded with partnerships with the school between students, faculty, administrators, and community members who join in. This networking element of student mentoring fits well with the trends of networked relationships in business and organizations. Huxham & Vangen (2000) in describing group dynamics found “that social issues necessarily sit within the interorganizational domain and cannot be tackled by any one organization acting alone” and “power remains shared in this way.” (pg. 1159). This concept of power sharing empowers students in the business department programs to take action, embrace responsibility, serve humbly, lead courageously, and care sacrificially for one another. This is not possible to the same degree in the traditional classroom. COMPETITION BREEDS EXCELLENCE THROUGH PEER PRESSURE. Unlike the talent, cooking and fashion shows they’ve watched on television with individual performances being judged, here they have to accept their fate together. Wanting to win the competition creates a peer pressure between the individuals with each team to make sure they are individually prepared to contribute the best possible response to the group conclusion. With each student having various individual skills, this requires the accountants to study their finance, the HR students to study the ethics rules, and marketing people to study on advertising and promotions as the team depends on them leading with their expertise. The response answers of the student groups are weighed against one another and determines what is the best of possible responses as a self- reflective assessment of learning The well-organized team learns through experience that individualistic skill must integrate with the others (Wurdinger, 2005). This results in a push towards excellence as each team does not want to be shamed by not having a good answer. CONNECTS THE CLASSROOM TO EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY. Many of the teams that register originally started working together in a class doing group work. Having built positive relationships in the classroom, the Business Bowl Competition is a vehicle for them to continue that relationship outside of class in a formalized way that still has a casual and fun aspect to it as there is no formal grade given. Since the questions are formed by faculty members in their field of expertise, they are to highlight key learning topics from their courses. BRINGS THE DEPARTMENT TOGETHER WITH AN ANNUAL REGULAR SPECIAL EVENT. The fun aspect to the competition, while bringing students, faculty, and administrators together provides a centering event each year for the department increases social interaction across ethnic and racial distance. “Networking can be conceived at one level as a method of opening up and shaping communal space and places in order to facilitate integration and cohabitation while promoting equality and diversity” (Gilchrist, 2009 p. 131). The Business Bowl team structure forms this solidarity around a Page 43 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 Abrahamson, Mark (2006). Urban Enclaves: Identity and Place in the World Second Edition New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Albertson, D. & Peterson, R. (2006). Running a Micro Business in a Marketing Class: Experiential Learning Right Out of the Gate Marketing Education Review, Volume 16, Number 1 (Spring). Andre, E. (2013). 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Creating Outcomes through Experiential Education: The Challenge of Confounding Variables. Journal of Experiential Education, 31(3), REFERENCES competition game that teaches the core values of collaboration, creativity, literacy on a subject, knowledge, and cultural awareness of one another. It’s an opportunity for people to bring their best ideas and marry them with somebody else’s best ideas and see how a stronger answer to the quiz questions can be created. Students see and experience what happens when they mix it all their expertise and knowledge together with the variations, foibles, differences, cultures, ages, and genders of the students, teachers, administration, and community members. The diversity pot gets stirred in a positive that way the births seeds to a fresh sense of community. One can have a community without collaboration, so a primary role for the faculty and administration is getting students to understand that whatever path they are on, to whatever to be pursuing in the future they will need to collaborate across cultures. A student is most likely to be more successful the better they can partner with and work with people around them and the mentors. INCREASED SOCIAL CAPITAL Some shy students have gained greater confidence in participating in such an event. International students who refrain from speaking in class fretting over their English speaking ability, often have excelled in the comradery of a group. This is enhanced by being able to practice their responses ahead of time as the questions are presented ahead of time. Many students have reported close relationships with their teammates, enhancing their ability to network with more business students. CONCLUSION The Business Bowl Competition is an experiential learning activity that combines collaborative learning, networking and teamwork to answer a series of questions on business principles. It is an excellent method for building cross-cutting identities in an urban college setting where students are diverse ethnically, racially, and geographically and often do not associate with one another beyond the classroom, not build friendships. The commuter based campus is a difficult place for students to gain positive relationships that integrate academics, friendship, collegiality, and partnership. This paper has shown how the Business Bowl Competition has successfully accomplished this through a fun environment wherein social difference can be overcome and students build friendships with one another. Beyond this, faculty and administrators who at times can be at odds with one another are brought together in a collegial environment where the administrators are empowered to participate in the educational process. This raises the profile of the Business Department amongst the college leadership team in a positive and engaging way. This model is transferable to other academic fields using the same format and materials, adapting the content and questions to fit the specifics of the department hosting the event. Further research may investigate to what degree the model is applicable in other departments and how adaptations are made. Additionally, using more quantitative data collection would be useful to know how game models serve as cross-cutting identities and to what degree they initiate a collective approach to learning amongst students and college staff. This might include a pre and post survey to determine quantifiable program effectiveness, though it may prove to be difficult as the soft-skills gained are highly qualitative in nature. Finally, further research would be useful to understand the contrast between gaming methodology in experiential and collaborative learning is uniquely different in a more homogenous student culture where diversity does not create the social distance on a commuter campus. http://www.ehow.com/list_7660845_advantages-culturally-diverse-classroom.html http://www.ehow.com/list_7660845_advantages-culturally-diverse-classroom.html http://www.ehow.com/list_7660845_advantages-culturally-diverse-classroom.html https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-03-2016-0026 https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-03-2016-0026 Page 44 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 376-389. https:// doi.org/10.1177/105382590803100305 Fischer, Claude S. (2011). 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A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Page, S. E. (2008). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Princeton University Press Parilla, V. (2011). Strangers to these Shores.11th Edition Pearson Putnam, R. D. and L. M. Feldstein. (2003). Better Together: Restoring American Community New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. QCC. (2017). Fast Facts and Economic Value http:// www.qcc.cuny.edu/about/fast-facts.html Qualters, D. M. (2010). Bringing the Outside in: Assessing Experiential Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, (124), 55-62.Retrieved from http:// ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ912853&site=ehost-live Roberts, J.W. (2012). Beyond learning by doing: Theoretical currents in experiential education. New York: Routledge. Slavich, G. M., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2012). Transformational teaching: Theoretical underpin-nings, basic principles, and core methods. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 569-608. doi:10.1007/s10648-012-9199-6Stark, D. 2011. The Sense of Dissonance: Accounts of Worth in Economic Life Princeton University Press. Swartz, M. (n.d.). Best practices in experiential learning Ryerson University Learning and Teaching Office https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/ handouts/ExperientialLearningReport.pdf downloaded 9/28/2018 Wurdinger, S.D. (2005). Using Experiential Learning in the Classroom. Lanham: Scarecrow Education https://doi.org/10.1177%2F105382590803100305 https://doi.org/10.1177%2F105382590803100305 https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/ExperientialLearningReport.pdf https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/ExperientialLearningReport.pdf Page 45 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 APPENDIX 1: JUDGE RECRUITMENT LETTER Dear Prospective Business Bowl Judge I’m writing to invite you to serve as a judge at the Annual Business Bowl Challenge which will take place on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Room _____ 12:00-2:10 p.m. The central theme of the Business Bowl competition is small business. Six teams of five students each are asked questions related to operating and/or managing a business. The subjects include accounting, health care management, marketing, business law and computer information systems, among others. Prizes are awarded to the teams finishing first and second. One of the goals of the bowl is to include people from many different professions and walks of life since business is of concern to all of us. If you’re at all interested in joining us, I’d be happy to send you more detailed information about the event and the role of a judge, or to speak with you to answer any questions you may have. I have a feeling that this event will leave a lasting impression on you. With all best wishes and thanks for your consideration, ________Faculty Advisor, Business Dept. APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE OF TEST QUESTIONS All of the following are marketing management philosophies EXCEPT: A. Sales orientation B. Societal marketing orientation C. Market orientation D. Profitability orientation E. Production orientation A firm with a production orientation is most likely to survive if: A. There are many small competitors in the marketplace B. Demand for the product it produces exceeds supply C. The needs of the marketplace are constantly shifting D. Supply for the product it produces exceeds demand E. Any of these conditions exists The Geek Squad is a tech support station located inside every Best Buy electronics retail store. Best Buy gives intensive training to the Geeks. The purpose of this training is to: A. Improve customer service B. Give higher education benefits to employees C. Promote the company image by increasing public awareness D. Reduce the need of empowerment E. Increase employment levels __ is the collaborative efforts of people to achieve common objectives. A. Effort training B. Teamwork C. Empowerment D. OJT training E. Mediation Page 46 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 APPENDIX 3: PROMOTIONS LETTER TO STUDENTS Business Academy is hosting “Business Bowl Challenge” December 7, 2016 Start Date: Registration: November 7th Through November 11th * Information And Registration Sessions Below: Room Day Date Time A314 Mon 11/07 11:10 H447 Wed 11/09 2:10 A310 Fri 11/11 2:10 (Deadline) A311 Tue 11/15 4:10 (*If needed) Mandatory Information Session for Participating Students on November 30 @ 2:10- 4 00 H447 Description: The Business Bowl Challenge is a competition among 16 teams of four students each. They will be asked questions related to business topics using a buzzer system. Subjects vary and include accounting, business ethics business law, computer information systems, finance, marketing etc. Team up with your fellow classmates or opt for being matched with other classmates for your team. Sharpen your academic and collaborative skills. Each member of the winning team receives a $50 gift card. Each member of the runner up teams receive a $25 gift card. Registration will provide you access to the Blackboard articles compiled from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and case studies on Business Ethics and you can get started! Faculty Advisors: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Qualifications: 1) The competition is open to all business students. 2) Participants must attend one registration meeting and complete a registration form. 3) One member from each teach team must attend the November 30th mandatory information session. Contact Information: ________ Page 47 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 APPENDIX 4: REGISTRATION FORM Academy is hosting the Fourth Annual Business Bowl Challenge December 6, 2017 – room m136 registration opens October 10 and continues through November 11 Description: The central theme of the Business Bowl competition is small business. Four students per team are asked questions related to operating and/or managing a business. The subjects include accounting, health care management, marketing, business law and computer information systems, among others. Prizes are awarded to the teams finishing first and second. This is a great opportunity to add an extracurricular activity to your resume. Extracurricular activities allow you to sharpen your academic and collaborative skills and demonstrate to employers and transfer schools that you possess leadership skills, organizational ability, and team-based cooperation. Build your own team with fellow classmates or opt for being matched with other classmates wishing to join in. Each member of the winning team receives a $50 gift card. Each member of the runner up teams receive a $25 gift card. Preparation: To prepare for the competition, students study a collection of reference articles compiled from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other sources.* Students will have access to the information on Blackboard upon registration for the event. Faculty Advisors: ________, Senior College Lab Technician. Qualifications: Strong academic and interpersonal skills preferred, as well as a strong interest in one or more of the various subjects taught in the Business Department. Referral Information: Students may be referred by faculty during the first months of the fall semester. The competition is open to full -time and part-time students as well as day or evening students. Requirements: 1. Register online – stop by the Business Academy Office A-405 and ask for details about completing the digital registration form by Friday, November XXXXX 2. Participate in an online team meeting on the Blackboard Business Bowl site 3. One team member must attend a mandatory information session on Wednesday, XXXXX from 12:30 – 1:30 in Room A414. For more information: Please contact the Business Academy, Administration Room, M/Th/F 9 am - 5 pm, T/W 9 am – 7 pm *Note: Additional time is required to read and study material that includes questions that will help participants prepare to compete. There is a Business Bowl Fillable Form created onto the Blackboard site that includes the following: Name: ________ Photo: Upload an image of yourself here: Phone number: ______ ID: ________ Blackboard ID: ________ College email Address: ________ Major/Concentration: I am registering as a member of a team. (Yes) (No) If yes, the other members of my team are: Commitment Clause: (Click this box) I am aware that by completing this form I am registering for participation in the (name of college) Business Bowl Challenge. I understand that I will be responsible for working with the other members of my team to prepare for the competition. I understand that if I do not participate in the event my role on the team will be replaced by another student. Type your Digital Signature here: Today’s Date: For more information, contact the (give details of the office, email, dates office is open information). A limited number of team slots are available in the challenge, therefore, it is very important that this form be submitted promptly to the above indicated email address. Page 48 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 APPENDIX 5: RULES Xxx Community College Business Department Fourth Annual Business Bowl Challenge The Rules Article I: Participation Participation in the Fourth Annual XXX Business Department Entrepreneurial Business Bowl Challenge (“the Challenge”) is limited to students who are registered at XXX Community College (“QCC”) for the Fall semester. Participants may be day or evening students and may be full-time or part-time students. Participants in the Challenge are required to have pre-registered on teams for the Challenge. Article II: Structure of the Challenge 1. There will be two (2) to five (5) Opening Rounds in the Challenge depending on enrollment. In each of the Opening Rounds, there will be four to six teams participating. A team will consist of three to six students. 2. At the end of each of the Opening Rounds, the team that has accumulated the most points in that round will be declared the winning team of that round. 3. The winning team in each of the Opening Rounds will be eligible to advance to, and participate in, the Championship Round. 4. The winning teams of the Challenge will be those teams that finish in First and Second places in the Championship Round. Article III: Team Selection for Each of the Opening Rounds 5. Each of the students participating is required to be in the room in which the Challenge is being conducted at the start of the Challenge. 6. At the start of each of the Opening Rounds, there will be a random selection of each of the teams that will participate in that round. 7. If a team is selected to participate in an Opening Round and all or some of that team’s members are not present when the team is selected, that team will be placed in the “Passed Category” and a replacement team will be selected for that round in its place. After all of the teams have been selected initially, teams will be drawn from the “Passed Category” to fill the remaining slots in the remaining Opening Rounds. If a team is selected from the “Passed Category” and no member of that team is present when the team is selected from such “Passed Category”, that team will be dropped from the Challenge. There will be no replacement teams for any such dropped teams. If and when, a team is selected from the “Passed Category” and all of the members of the team are not present at that time, but there is at least one member of the team present, the team will be allowed to participate in the round with however many of its members are present. If additional members of that team arrive after the start of the round they will not be allowed to participate in that round. Article IV: Procedure For Each Of The Opening Rounds And The Championship Round In each of the Opening Rounds, there will be twelve (12) to fifteen (15) questions asked. In the Championship Round, there will be twelve (12) to fifteen (15) questions asked. The questions in all of the rounds shall be pre-selected Additional or substitute questions may be added to a round, if and when, the judges deem it necessary and appropriate to do so. The moderator for each of the rounds will read aloud the question and all of the answer choices for that question. At the same time, the questions and answers may be displayed visually. When the moderator has completed reading the particular question and each of the answer choices, the moderator will ring a bell. Page 49 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 46, 2019 Following the ringing of the bell by the moderator, teams will have ten (10) seconds to press the buzzer to signify that they would like to answer the question. Responses by a team other than by pressing the buzzer will not be recognized, except in the eventuality that the buzzer system is inoperable, and in such event, the judges will specify the manner in which teams are to respond. Any team that presses the buzzer to signify that such team would like to answer a question before the moderator rings the bell following the reading of a particular question and each of its answers, will not be allowed to answer that question. After a team has pressed the buzzer to signify that such team would like to answer a question, that team will have five (5) seconds to answer the question. If the team does not answer the question in five seconds, it will not be permitted to answer that question. If a team does not answer a question within five seconds of its pressing the buzzer or if a team answers incorrectly, the other teams in that round will be given the opportunity to press the buzzer to signify that they would like to answer the question. The procedure set forth in this paragraph and in paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 above will apply to the second team’s attempt to answer a question. If the second team attempting to answer a question does not answer within the five second period or if it answers incorrectly, the moderator will announce the correct answer to the particular question and then will move on to the next question Only one member of each team may answer any one question. The first member of the team answering will be the only one recognized to answer the particular question from that team. Each team will receive two (2) points for each correct answer. Each team will lose one (1) point for any incorrect answer or if the team does not give any answer within five (5) seconds of pressing the buzzer to indicate its intention to answer. At the end of the round, there will be no negative scores assigned to any team. The lowest possible score to be assigned to any team will be zero. Article V: Tie Breaker And Sudden Death Rounds If there is a tie at the end of any of the Opening Rounds, the teams that are tied, shall compete in one (1) Tie Breaker Round consisting of three (3) questions. If there is a tie after such Tie Breaker Round, such teams shall compete in successive Sudden Death Rounds of one (1) question each until a winning team is declared, or until the judges declare a tie for such Opening Round. If there is a tie at the end of any of the Championship Round, the teams that are tied, shall compete in one (1) Tie Breaker Round consisting of five (5) questions. If there is a tie after such Tie Breaker Round, such teams shall compete in successive Sudden Death Rounds of one (1) question each until a winning team is declared, or until the judges declare a tie for such Opening Round. Article VI: General All decisions by the judges, including but not limited to, which team replied first, whether a team pressed the buzzer too early, the correctness of an answer or a participating student or team’s noncompliance with the Rules of the Challenge and/or the scores of teams shall be final and not subject to review or appeal of any nature whatsoever. All participants in the Challenge must conduct themselves properly and in accordance with the principles of good sportsmanship at all times. All participants in the Challenge must compete honestly, fairly and with integrity. No electronic or audio devices, books or notes of any kind may be used by any participant at any time during the Challenge. All electronic devices should be turned off during the Challenge. All such items must be put away and out of sight from the start of the Challenge until the end. This applies to students and teams participating in a round and to students and teams waiting to participate in future rounds. There shall be no coaching of any team members by members of the audience. From the time the Challenge starts until it is finished, participants should not talk to any person other than the other members of their team. During a round, there should be no talking at all, except team members may confer with each other about answers to questions. If the judges determine that any participant or team has violated or otherwise not complied with these rules in any way, such participant or team may in the discretion of the judges be disqualified from the Challenge and/or lose any or all of their points. These rules may be changed, corrected, amended or supplemented at any time by the Business Department faculty coordinating the Challenge. Prizes will be awarded to winning teams/students after the Challenge and after eligibility to receive such prizes is confirmed. Prizes may be changed, substituted or withdrawn by the Business Department faculty coordinating the Challenge at any time.