Abstract
The project is to support teaching business statistics by using Zoom. Business statistics is the core course for all business students. Even in the traditional classroom teaching, many business students will find difficulties in learning statistics, and also the motivation is generally weak. The issues may become more severe when online Zoom teaching is used, if not properly handled. To support the Zoom’s teaching and learning (T&L), different teaching materials, including teaching cases, videos, other supplementary learning materials, etc., will be prepared.
The whole T&L process of Zoom will be divided into three phases: (1) Pre-class preparation: Teaching videos and other supplement learning materials will be provided for students to prepare for the class; (2) Zoom class: Different learning activities, including lecture, group discussion, case analysis, polling, etc, will be carried out in the Zoom class; and (3) After Zoom-class activity: Tutorial and Excel workshops will be conducted. Other take-home assignments will also be provided to students so as to consolidate their learning in Zoom classes.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The project aims to establish an interactive environment for students learning business statistics via Zoom.
Activities, process and outcomes
Tutorials: Tutorials will be arranged for students. Senior year students will be invited to serve as tutors to answer students’ questions. Three tutorials have been carried out in March and April 2020.
Deliverables and evaluation
Teaching videos: 30+vidoes have been produced to cover the major topics in business statistics. The videos also teach students how to use Microsoft Excel to carry out statistical analysis. Students can watch the videos before the class for preparation, so that they can catch up the discussions easier during the Zoom classes. The videos can also help students to do revisions after the class.
Mini-cases: 6 cases are developed and adopted in the Zoom classes for business statistics. In order to facilitate the interaction and promote in-depth learning in Zoom classes, mini-case discussion will be carried out. In each case, students will be given a particular business scenario, then they are required to consider how statistical analysis can improve decision making in business.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
A presentation has been carried out in the Teaching and Learning Innovation Expo organized by the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) in July to share with the audience about the experience in Zoom teaching and other blended learning practices. It is noted that direct duplication of face-to-face lectures to Zoom class may not lead to effective teaching and learning outcome. Instead, it should be a well-design blended learning, with synchronous and asynchronous online activities. Students’ difficulties in Zoom class, including hardware/software issues, home environment, learning habit, should also be considered.
Impact on teaching and learning
Based on the Course and Teaching Evaluation (CTE) results, the students were satisfied with zoom teaching with supporting the videos produced in the project.
