QUERY FROM CA
Hi Philip,I'm reading through your paper. 'As is my wont' for every page I've read I've gone off on a number of tangents, however, I had a question/thought.
When I'm doing a presentation I'm reminded of the multiple ways that audiences like to receive information.
I tend to adopt what are probably two extremes - the 'marketing' sell through pictures style which I detect in your presentation and the 'dry' list of facts style that others, e.g., finance type people (I'm probably being unfairly general here) favour.
Anyway I'd be interested to know how you might approach enquiry based learning for the latter part of the spectrum of the audience.
Chris
RESPONSE
I think presentations for mixed audiences (whose members have a wide range of capability and prior experience) are always a difficult issue! Some people like to listen, others prefer to watch while others like 'to do'. I guess it's all to do with learning styles and preferences.In its broadest sense, enquiry-based learning (EBL) is about encouraging people to find out about and explore things for themselves. In many ways it is is very similar to problem-based learning - wherein students learn (that is, acquire knowledge and skills) by solving appropriate problems. The nature of problem solving is inherently enquiry-based (as discussed in the conference proceedings chapter). Within an EBL environment, the role of the instructor would be one of scenario setting (see below), help, guidance, encouragement and (possibly) resource provision.
Obviously, for any given cohort, the way in which the enquiry-based learning is implemented will depend upon the level involved and the knowledge and skills that are to be developed. A learning needs-analysis would therefore have to be conducted in order to identify the content and pedagogy that would be required.
For the type of people you mention, I would imagine the EBL would be based upon the use of financial models, simulations and spreadsheets. Some of the important concepts would need to involve the identification of important financial variables and the development of models to reflect the impact that these have on any spending decisions that have to be made.
SCENARIO
There follows a generic scenario that embeds enquiry-based learning pedagogy. This could be made more specific by giving details of the variables involved.Here is a situation: X
This is what we want to achieve: Y
This is what we have to spend: Z
What possibilities exist for a realistic outcome to the above situation?
How might variations in X and Y influence the quality of the outcomes (Y)?
What contingencies might be put in place in anticipation of unforeseen events?
Provide supporting evidence for any decisions that you make.
