ERIC Number: EJ1020803
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Feb
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1052-5629
EISSN: N/A
Creating Masterpieces: How Course Structures and Routines Enable Student Performance
Dean, Kathy Lund; Fornaciari, Charles J.
Journal of Management Education, v38 n1 p10-42 Feb 2014
Over a five-year period, we made a persistent observation: Course structures and routines, such as assignment parameters, student group process rules, and grading schemes were being consistently ignored. As a result, we got distracted by correcting these structural issues and were spending less time on student assignment performance. In this article, we detail possible causes of our students' inattention to course structures and the resultant negative impact on their performance. We found evidence that excellent student performance, and thus desired learning outcomes, may be fostered by offering certain kinds of structure to our students, in certain ways. In our discussion, we apply four distinct analytic frames--cognition and information processing, student engagement, age cohort, and technology use--to examine the relationship between structure and performance. Armed with these insights, we explore four levels of structures that could enhance student performance: precourse foundations, course/classroom, assignment, and instructor. We provide an integrative performance-enhancement model and evidence of structures that we have found facilitate excellent student work.
Descriptors: College Students, College Faculty, Business Administration Education, Course Organization, Assignments, Academic Achievement, Learner Engagement, Age Differences, Technology Uses in Education, Information Processing, Cognitive Processes, Metacognition, Educational Change, Classroom Techniques
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A