Empowering tomorrow’s marketers: A journey through real-world skills and engaging learning in consumer behaviour group projects

13 October 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz, Henley Business School, bahram.mahmoodikahriz@henley.ac.uk

woman and man sitting in front of a computer — Photo by Desola Lanre-Ologun on Unsplash

Overview

At Henley Business School, our Consumer Behaviour compulsory module for Part 3 undergraduate students involves a group assignment on creating a consumer insight report. Students are urged to investigate emerging aspects of consumer behaviour, apply relevant theories, conduct research, and offer insights to marketers. This fosters teamwork and enhances research skills, enabling students to apply theory to real-world marketing challenges.

Objectives

The primary aims of the consumer behaviour group project were:

Enhance collaborative skills and research competency: This module strengthens teamwork and critical group project abilities, facilitating research competence through the guidance of students in collecting, evaluating, and integrating information sources.
Apply theoretical knowledge: Students employ theoretical expertise in Consumer Behaviour and marketing to enhance critical analysis.
Develop of report writing skills: The module sharpens writing and presentation proficiencies essential for professional communication in a business context.
Encourage peer evaluation: The module encourages peer review, promoting individual contribution assessment within a team framework and fostering a sense of teamwork responsibility.

Context

The consumer behaviour group project aims to help students understand consumer behaviour’s various facets and impact. Given the dynamic changes in consumer behaviour due to global events like COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, grasping these shifts becomes crucial for marketers. The group project within this module equips students with teamwork, critical thinking, and real-world application skills. It prepares Part 3 BSc Business and Management (Marketing) undergraduates for future career challenges by setting realistic expectations and improving necessary skills.

Implementation

Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing the Group Project

Step 1: Team Formation

In the first step, we form diverse groups of 4-5 members to simulate real work situations.
This diversity fosters familiarity among students with future workplace dynamics and encourages effective brainstorming.

Step 2: Brainstorming and Topic Selection

In this step, we emphasise brainstorming and topic selection.
We provide topic examples related to recent changes in consumer behaviour.
Active participation in topic selection within random groups encourages critical analysis.

Step 3: Refining Topic Choices

After selecting topics, students share them with their assignment groups.
Collaboratively, they refine their final topic choices.

Step 4: Research

In this step, students initiate the research phase, focusing on their selected topics.
We instruct them to review various sources, including contemporary examples, industry reports, academic studies, and relevant theoretical frameworks.

Step 5: Report Structuring

Here, we guide students in structuring their reports, which should include:

- Executive summaries
- Introductions
- Discussions of chosen issues
- Theoretical frameworks
- Marketing advice
- Reference lists

Stressing the importance of formatting and style consistency.
Encouraging the integration of theories from consumer behaviour lectures and other relevant sources.
Promoting the use of relevant statistics to support their chosen topics.

Step 6: Peer Collaboration and Review

In this step, ongoing peer collaboration and review are emphasised.
Students are encouraged to share ideas, review each other’s work, and seek advice from other groups.
The project concludes with peer reviews assessing individual contributions, promoting teamwork.

Step 7: Revision and Submission

In the final step, teams make revisions based on peer feedback.
We ensure that teams complete their reports.
Students are instructed to submit their reports via the university’s Blackboard platform by the specified deadline.

This comprehensive process equips students with valuable skills for real-world scenarios, nurturing critical thinking, teamwork, and research capabilities.

Impact

Aim: Enhancing collaborative skills and research competency:

The assignment encourages effective team collaboration, enhancing teamwork, communication, and task delegation based on individual strengths. Students gain a deeper grasp of consumer behaviour, market trends, and the practical application of marketing theories in real-world scenarios. They improve research skills, sourcing relevant materials and statistics, as well as identifying supportive theories from lecture materials to share within their groups.

Aim: Application of theoretical knowledge:

Brainstorming, research, and theory application develop critical thinking, empowering students to analyse emerging consumer trends. They translate theoretical knowledge into actionable insights and advice for potential clients, applying marketing expertise to real-world situations.

Aim: Development of report writing skills:

Students master group report writing, understanding report structures and effectively conveying the topic’s significance. They contextualise arguments with relevant statistics related to changing consumer behaviour and culture, supported by theories and research findings that inform marketing recommendations.

Aim: Encouraging peer evaluation:

Peer reviews promote self-reflection and continuous improvement, allowing students to assess their contributions and those of their peers.

In the year 2022-2023, in their feedback, students appreciated the relevance of topics to real-life examples, which enhanced their understanding of techniques and theories. They also welcomed the integration of current events and social media into the lessons. They found the Group Assignment allowed them to delve into interesting topics of their choice. Seminars were particularly beneficial for fostering in-depth discussions, which contributed to their improved comprehension of the subjects.

Reflections

The group project achieved its objectives with remarkable success. The assignment’s deliberate focus on contemporary consumer behaviour and evolving market trends delivered it both engaging and profoundly relevant to our students. Consequently, their motivation to actively participate can be increased. Relatedly, previous research has also indicated that students engage in group projects, resulting in higher levels of understanding of the material. In addition, they learn how to study more independently, improve their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and ultimately, exhibit high levels of motivation (Hidi & Renninger, 2012; Johnson & Johnson, 1989; Prince, 2004).

Moreover, the project excelled in encouraging diverse team compositions, which, in turn, facilitated remarkably rich brainstorming sessions. This diversity led to a broader range of insights, precisely aligning with the assignment’s goals. Research suggests that diverse teams tend to be more creative, come up with innovative solutions, perform better, and make improved decisions (Kristinsson et al., 2016; Lattimer, 1998, Wang et al., 2019).

From a practical standpoint, the project provided a unique opportunity for students to produce a report similar to industry-standard thought leadership pieces. This experience afforded them a taste of the demanding, real-world work involved in marketing consultancy, an invaluable experience for their future careers.

In addition to the practical aspect, the project allowed for a peer review process, a crucial element. This process introduced a sense of accountability among students, prompting them to engage in self-assessment and provide constructive feedback. Consequently, this enriched the overall learning experience, nurturing valuable skills.

However, there is room for improvement in the form of enhancing theoretical integration. While the assignment successfully included theory, emphasising theory application more explicitly throughout the report could strengthen its theoretical foundation.

Follow up

Since the consumer behaviour assignment, our approach to teaching and learning about consumer insights has significantly improved. We have embraced a more interactive approach, fostering greater student engagement in exploring emerging consumer trends. Moreover, we have integrated ongoing peer review practices into various modules, aiming to promote collaborative learning and effective teamwork skills across disciplines.

For future activities and slides, we plan to maintain the same structured format. However, we intend to create more opportunities on Blackboard, where students can actively participate in a group community. This platform will serve as a space for students to engage in discussions, ask questions, and share ideas with one another and with me. This shift to a broader online setting on Blackboard aims to enhance student collaboration, transitioning from in-person seminars to a more inclusive digital environment.

References

Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41, 111-127.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1989). Cooperation and Competition: Theory and Research. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Kristinsson, K., Candi, M., & Sæmundsson, R. J. (2016). The relationship between founder team diversity and innovation performance: The moderating role of causation logic. Long Range Planning, 49, 464-476.

Lattimer, R. L. (1998). The case for diversity in global business, and the impact of diversity on team performance. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 8(2), 3-17.

Prince, M. (2004). Does Active Learning Work A Review of the Research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93, 223-231.

Wang, J., Cheng, G. H. L., Chen, T., & Leung, K. (2019). Team creativity/innovation in culturally diverse teams: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40, 693-708.

Using OneDrive to Address the Challenges of Online Groupwork

28 October 2021 By aaroncooper Comment Closed

Natalie Drake, Gemma Peacock, Rachel Rushton – ISLI

n.drake@reading.ac.uk; g.peacock@reading.ac.uk; r.rushton@reading.ac.uk

Overview

Moving two ISLI academic skills modules (IF0ACA and IF0RAS) to online delivery presented certain challenges for group interaction. In online learning environments building interpersonal relationships, and dealing with both connectivity issues and different time-zones can prove problematic for international students and their tutors. To address this, group OneDrive folders were set up as a repository for collaborative documents, such as research findings or presentation slides. Students interacted with these during online workshops and asynchronously, while tutors monitored group engagement and provided instantaneous feedback to students. It resulted in a positive student response and recognition of its transferability as a study skill and to face-to-face learning.

Objectives

The aims of this activity were:

To facilitate online group work by providing collaborative spaces through OneDrive
To develop transferable IT literacy skills
To improve communication and interpersonal skills
To develop independent study skills and transferable IT literacy skills
To improve student engagement
To improve the time efficiency of online activities

Context

Both skills modules are compulsory 20-credit modules for home Foundation students and focus on developing group work skills. In term two, in both modules, students are required to complete summative assessments that rely heavily on group work, which forced tutors to reconsider how to facilitate this online.

Implementation

The theory underpinning the use of OneDrive to facilitate groupwork is the Community of Inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson and Archer, 2001) where knowledge is formed and embedded within a social context. Since classes moved online it has become more important for us as educators to find ways to encourage interpersonal relationships online, not only between students and peers but also between students and their teachers. Using OneDrive addresses some of these social issues and helps students to build relationships while developing knowledge and skills online. Lipman applied the Community of Inquiry model to education and stated that ‘education is the outcome of participation in a teacher-guided community of inquiry’ (2003, pp.18–19). Using OneDrive allows teachers to scaffold tasks and to clearly direct students, offering an alternative to knowledge transmission whereby students can arrive at more higher ordered thinking critical for Higher Education. Using OneDrive synchronously or asynchronously in online learning satisfies the three essential elements of the Community of Inquiry model: social presence (how participants identify with their community), cognitive presence (how much learners can construct meaning through reflection together) and teaching presence (how we design and facilitate processes for realising learning outcomes).

Setting up OneDrive for activities requires several steps. Firstly, module folders are set at the top level of the OneDrive folders, then within those class folders are created.

The next level contains specific assignment folders and within those folders are group folders which contain any necessary files or folders from teachers, course directors or students themselves.

Once students are added to groups within their class for a particular assignment, a link is generated for the relevant folder. Students are introduced to their group OneDrive repository and link via an email and encouraged to save the link as a bookmark for ease of access.

There are three main ways in which we implemented OneDrive in our courses. Firstly, we used it in asynchronous group tasks through Blackboard. Tutors could check student engagement and prepare feedback before the live session after the task deadline. This worked well when students needed to prepare information or brainstorm ideas before a synchronous task in the live session.

The second way was through synchronous group tasks in the live sessions themselves. Students accessed their OneDrive group document during the live session and worked collaboratively on documents. The tutor could monitor the students’ work and comment live.

The final way was through asynchronous group tasks and weekly group meetings for assignments such as a group presentation, where students continued to collaborate on group OneDrive documents such as a PowerPoint file and the tutor monitored and commented on the documents as appropriate.

Impact

The use of OneDrive documents and folders achieved our main objective of facilitating groupwork while satisfying the essential elements of the Community of Inquiry model. Students were able to construct social presence and cognitive presence by working collaboratively on, for example, a group ground rules document (see snip 7) and a research repository document.

Being able to synchronously edit the ground rules document meant that students could hold a faster discussion on the relative merits of rules, along with agreement on the day/time of a weekly group meeting. Tasks where students added to a collaborative document, such as in the research of key terms, enhanced the sense of group identity and also served to highlight levels of participation. This often negated the need for tutor intervention in the early stages. The third essential element of teaching presence was realised in synchronous sessions, through immediate tutor input on documents which gave advice to help the group work towards the learning outcomes in a friendly, non-judgmental way.

This, and asynchronous tutor input, also provided a permanent record of tutor feedback which the group could revisit. This is perhaps more effective than the usual tutor comments given orally, useful in the moment but unrecorded. One outcome which we had not anticipated was that for many students this was the first time they had worked simultaneously on one document. This led to students viewing groupwork in a more positive light as an opportunity to develop communication and IT skills which was reported in end-of-course student feedback. Furthermore, the pass rate for the assignment was high and most students achieved the learning outcomes, which indicates impact and effectiveness.

Reflection

Using OneDrive is not without challenges, notably the initial set-up procedure, implementing live sessions with large classes, and filling the digital gap for tutors and students. Also, the current practice is for a member of staff to host the OneDrive folders. We believe, however, that the benefits far outweigh these primary hurdles.

These benefits included improved IT skills and increased familiarity with UoR tools which is transferable to other modules, as well as building confidence for Foundation students by providing a scaffolded approach to groupwork. Using OneDrive made collaboration online easier and tutor comments were still available after the live sessions so students could reflect on these. Students reported feeling supported with groupwork and commented on how using OneDrive developed group communication skills as well as editing and computer skills.

Benefits for tutors in the asynchronous learning environment include that it was easier to monitor student engagement in tasks as it was clear to see which group members had participated.

Likewise, in the synchronous learning space, tutors were able to monitor student participation in live sessions and it allowed tutors to be ‘present’ in collaborative documents (see snips 9 – 10 above). We believe this emulated the F2F classroom in terms of when teachers monitor students and move from desk to desk checking students’ work. One downside of teacher presence in online student documents could be potential inhibition of less confident students, however we saw all student names participating so believe this may just be a necessary learning curve students need to make.

Follow up

Since trialling the use of OneDrive, these ideas have been disseminated to colleagues at the ISLI-based Learning & Teaching Research Forum via a presentation and Q&A session. In this academic year (2021-22) IFP plan to introduce OneDrive earlier and be more explicit on its transferability to other modules and assessments, thus encouraging students to become more autonomous. OneDrive may also be used in Pre-sessional year-round English courses this academic year to support online students’ participation in Academic Reading Circle activities and to share their Independent Reading Records with both peers and tutors.

References

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1).

Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in Education. (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp.18-19