student feedback and leadership - Office for Learning and Teaching

Part B: Building Leadership Capacity - BUS: School of Economics, Finance & Marketing ART Report
Students are expected to attend a three hour lecture each week that usually
runs for approximately two to two and a half hours with the remainder time set
aside for students to ask questions. During lectures, basic economic theories
are presented to students in each module with application questions scattered
throughout the lecture presentation to indicate the type of problems that will
be presented in the final exam and the calibre of answers required. Students
are also required to attend a two hour feedback forum each week, in which
they are given the opportunity to apply the theoretical principles to the real
economy through weekly assessment.
ECON1020 – Prices and Markets
Prices and Markets is a study of microeconomic theory and its applications.
The course focuses on how individual consumers and firms behave, the
functioning of the markets within which they operate, and in particular how
prices are determined. The purpose of the course is to enable students
to acquire the basic analytical tools needed to understand the working
of the micro economy. On completing the course, students should have
some understanding of the basic microeconomic problems facing society,
the interaction of demand and supply in the market place, the nature and
relevance of various costs facing firms, pricing policies and profit maximising
conditions relevant to various market structures. They should also have
an awareness of the possible causes of market failure and the role of the
government and be able to apply simple microeconomic theory to some
practical problems.
Students are expected to attend a two hour lecture and a two hour demonstration
lecture each week. Discussion of the material in the demonstration lecture
each week should take no more than 1.5 hours, leaving time for students
to obtain individual assistance from the lecturer at the end of the class.
What were the central themes or issues being addressed in the project?
Consistent with the larger ALTC project, the key focus of our ART project
was to analyse, evaluate and explore different forms of feedback received from
students to better understand how we might continue to improve the learning
experience in these courses. Based on this feedback, several initiatives were
developed and implemented with the aim of enhancing the student learning
experience. The Common Core courses were an appropriate focus for our
project for the following reasons:
––
the large student numbers and the associated logistical challenges;
––
the diverse student background in terms of chosen disciplines;
––
the importance of these courses within the Business College and each
of its undergraduate programs;
––
the unique challenges associated with students transitioning from
school; and
––
the resources dedicated to each course.
Page 91