Joan Brehm, Sociology & Anthropology; Jason Blanchette, Sociology & Anthropology
Although the benefits and values of hands-on, active learning activities that move beyond the traditional classroom models are widely touted through an array of both empirical and theoretical literature, an individual instructor's ability to implement such authentic collaborative learning opportunities can face extreme challenges when the class in question is a large lecture of 150 students. In response to this challenge, the presenters implemented the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) in a large lecture section of a general education course on community in the spring of 2006. Unlike more conventional large-class instructional approaches, the CAPS activity requires participants to engage in active-learning by role-playing the lives of a diverse group of low-income families and interacting with representatives from a variety of social service agencies within the community. Using a pre- and posttest questionnaire to measure change in students’ perceptions of poverty, a significant impact on student learning was documented as a result of the CAPS activity. This session will present the results of the survey as well as discuss what is needed to enable such activities to be implemented in other general education courses across the curriculum.
Nat Pope, Finance, Insurance & Law; Jim Jones, Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services
The Redbird Risk Management Challenge (Pope - PowerPoint)
The Redbird Risk Management Challenge (the Challenge) is a nationally recognized, award-winning project for creativity in the classroom. The goal of the Challenge is to facilitate student learning through team-based participation in a simulated competitive business marketplace. The teams form corporations and navigate a perilous business environment in an effort to out-perform other corporations in the marketplace. The pedagogy is based on experiential and deductive learning theories while the actual competition plays out in a fictitious marketplace. While the learning principles are simple, the Challenge has broad applicability to a wide variety of settings and audiences. Our application of the Challenge comes in the form of a summer camp for high school students who are considering attending college after their graduation. The program is sponsored by the Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services and the College of Business and runs for a week each summer. Accepted participants meet highly competitive criteria, and while the Midwest is always well represented, students have come from all reaches of the country. The program represents a unique recruiting tool for the College of Business and the insurance and actuarial science departments, in particular.
