Engaged students are committed and more likely to continue their university studies. Subsequently, they are less resource intensive from a university’s perspective. This article details an experiential second-year marketing course that requires students to develop real products and services to sell on two organized market days. In the course, students participate as both consumers and marketers in a simulated world. The current article explores the effectiveness of this experiential assessment in terms of its ability to engage students. Comparing student engagement to a traditional lecture course and National Survey of Student Engagement benchmarks, the results suggest that the use of a simulated marketplace is capable of engaging students. Specifically, the assessment reported encourages more active learning and collaboration, is more academically challenging, and permits more student—faculty interaction than a traditional lecture-based course. The course structure outlined in this article permits the dynamics of a live marketing environment to be introduced into the classroom. The authors provide practical advice for educators seeking to design and implement engaging pedagogy.
Astin, A.W. ( 1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass .
2.
Baxter-Magolda, M.B. ( 1996). Epistemological development in graduate and professional education. Review of Higher Education, 19, 283-304.
3.
Biggs, J., Kember, D., & Leung, D.Y.P. ( 2001). The revised two-factor study process questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F . British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 1333-1349.
4.
Bradley, D. ( 2008). Universities Australia submission to the review of Australian higher education. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Universities Australia.
5.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, P. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, DC: National Research Council/National Academy Press.
6.
Brown, L., & Posner, B.Z. ( 2001). Exploring the relationships between learning and leadership . Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 22, 274-280.
7.
Bruffee, K.A. ( 1995). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
8.
Cabrera, A.F., Nora, A., Bernal, E.M., Terenzini, P.T., & Pascarella, E.T. (1998). Collaborative learning: Preferences, gains in cognitive and affective outcomes, and openness to diversity among college students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Miami, FL.
9.
Carini, R.M., Kuh, G.D., & Klein, S.P. ( 2006). Student engagement and student learning: Testing the linkages. Research in Higher Education, 47, 1-32.
10.
Chickering, A.W., & Reisser, L. ( 1993). Education and identity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
11.
Cleary, J., & Skaines, I. ( 2005, July). Student engagement as a quality indicator at the University of Newcastle. Paper presented at the proceedings of the 2005 Australian Universities Quality Forum, Sydney, Australia.
12.
Coates, H. ( 2005). The value of student engagement for higher education quality assurance. Quality in Higher Education, 11, 25-36.
13.
Cooper, D.L., Healy, M.A., & Simpson, J. ( 1994). Student development through involvement: Specific changes over time. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 98-102.
14.
Crosling, G. ( 2000). Transition to university: The role of oral communication in the undergraduate curriculum. Journal of Institutional Research, 9, 69-77.
15.
Drea, J.T., Tripp, C., & Stuenkel, K. ( 2005). An assessment of the effectiveness of an in class game on marketing students’ perceptions and learning outcomes. Marketing Education Review, 15, 25-33.
16.
Estes, C.A. ( 2004). Promoting student-centered learning in experiential education . Journal of Experiential Education, 27, 141-160.
17.
Fall, L.T. ( 1998). Using management by objectives to measure results of classroom projects through authentic assessment. Journal of Education for Business, 73, 172-175.
18.
Foubert, J.D., & Grainger, L.U. (2006). Effects of involvement in clubs and organizations on the psychosocial development of first-year and senior college students. NASPA Journal, 43, 166-182.
19.
Hay, A., Hodgkinson, M., Peltier, J.W., & Drago, W.A. ( 2004). Interaction and virtual learning. Strategic Change, 13, 193-204.
20.
Hess, G.F. ( 1999). Principle 3: Good practice encourages active learning . Journal of Legal Education, 49, 401-417.
21.
Hoffman, J.L. ( 2002). The impact of student cocurricular involvement on student success: Racial and religious differences. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 712-739.
22.
Honebein, P. ( 1996). Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning environments. In B. Wilson (Ed.), Constructivist learning environments (pp. 17-24). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.
23.
Hughes, R., & Pace, C.R. ( 2003). Using NSSE to study student retention and withdrawal . Assessment Update, 15(4), 1-2.
24.
Karns, G.L. ( 2006). Learning style differences in the perceived effectiveness of learning activities. Journal of Marketing Education, 28, 56-63.
25.
Kember, D., & Leung, D.Y.P. ( 2005). The influence of active learning experiences on the development of graduate capabilities. Studies in Higher Education, 30, 155-160.
26.
King, P., & Kitchener, K. ( 1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
27.
McGill, P., Rundle-Thiele, S.R., & Lye, A. ( 2009). Lack of early engagement: A pre-eminent barrier to Australian university bequest giving?International Journal of Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 14, 271-283.
28.
McInnis, C. ( 2001). Signs of disengagement? The changing undergraduate experience in Australian universities. Inaugural professorial lecture presented at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Retrieved from http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00000094/01/InaugLec23_8_01.pdf
29.
McKenzie, A.D., Morgan, C.K., Cochrane, K.W., Watson, G.K., & Roberts, D.W. ( 2002, July). Authentic learning: What is it, and what are the ideal curriculum conditions to cultivate it?Paper presented at the proceedings of the 2002 Annual International HERDSA Conference , Perth, Australia.
30.
Newell, W.H. ( 1999). The promise of integrative learning. About Campus, May/June, 17-23.
31.
Newman, B.M., & Newman, P.R. ( 1998). Development through life: A psychosocial approach (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
32.
Pascarella, E.T., Edison, M., Nora, A., Hagedorn, L.S., & Terenzini, P.T. (1996). Influences on students’ openness to diversity and challenge in the first year of college. Journal of Higher Education, 67, 174-195.
33.
Paswan, A.K., & Young, J.A. ( 2002). Student evaluation of instructor: A nomological investigation using structural equation modeling. Journal of Marketing Education , 24, 193-202.
34.
Peltier, J.W., Drago, W., & Schibrowsky, J. (2003). Virtual communities and the assessment of online marketing education. Journal of Marketing Education, 25, 260-276.
35.
Peltier, J.W., Hay, A., & Drago, W. ( 2005). The reflective learning continuum: Reflecting on reflection . Journal of Marketing Education, 27, 250-263.
36.
Rundle-Thiele, S.R., Bennett, R., & Dann, S. ( 2005). The successful preparation and development of future marketing professionals: A recommended methodological framework. Journal for the Advancement of Marketing Education, 7, 27-36.
37.
Schon, D.A. ( 1995). The new scholarship requires a new epistemology. Change, 27, 27-34.
38.
Smart, D.T., Kelley, C.A., & Conant, J.S. ( 2003). Mastering the art of teaching: Pursuing excellence in a new millennium. Journal of Marketing Education, 25, 71-78.
39.
Smith, L.W., & Van Doren, D.C. (2004). The reality-based learning method: A simple method for keeping teaching activities relevant and effective . Journal of Marketing Education, 26, 66-74.
40.
Thorpe, M. ( 2001). Reflective learning and distance learning-made to mix by design and assessment. Information Services and Use, 20, 145-158.
41.
Tinto, V. ( 1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
42.
Tinto, V. ( 1997). Colleges as communities: Exploring the education character of student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 68, 599-623.
43.
Tinto, V. ( 2006-2007). Research and practice of student retention: What next?Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 8, 1-19.
44.
Tulgan, B., & Martin, C.A. ( 2001). Managing Generation Y: Global citizens born in the late seventies and early eighties. Amherst, MA: HRD Press.
45.
Van Woerkom, M. ( 2004). The concept of critical reflection and its implications for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 6, 178-192.
46.
Whitt, E.J., Edison, M.I., Pascarella, E.T., Terenzini, P.T., & Nora, A. ( 2001). Influences on students’ openness to diversity and challenge in the second and third years of college. Journal of Higher Education, 72, 172-204.
