MGMT 5506 Ethics and Sustainability Management
Assessment 1 – Participatory Learning (Total = 30%).
An introductory letter to students
Dear Students,
I am confident that adding structure to the participatory learning element of this unit will ensure that your learning experience will be both beneficial and enjoyable.
Why am I doing this?
My experiences so far in teaching either this and /or other similar units over the past 30 years, together with looking deeply at the world that we currently live in, collectively suggest that one of the greatest barriers to achieving the change we need, can be found in the realisation that we often struggle to have conversations about the things that matter to us. If we struggle even having these conversations, how can we expect to achieve the change that is needed?
My purpose for this assessment item
In focussing on participation in this unit, my purpose is to offer a setting (lectures and workshops) and opportunity for such conversation to take place. When I refer to setting and opportunity, I mean a time, place, and space in which we can have collective discussions about important ethical issues whether human-based, environmental, or otherwise. But not just this. I also mean a time, place, and space in which we can all individually learn how to hold an internal dialogue, one that helps each of us recognise and understand who we are in connection with the issues and challenges that present themselves. Also, when I refer to conversations, I don’t just mean verbal conversations, I also mean the broader thinking involved in planning dialogues.
In this sense, this assessment involves a personal reflective component, and it also closely relates to the three learning outcomes associated with this unit.
To succeed, you will need to be open to engaging with the material covered in this unit, perhaps in a way and manner that will be deeper than you have in previous units. You must bring your whole being to the task.
I look forward to co-creating these conversation opportunities with you.
Kind regards
Dave
Unit Coordinator and conversation guide
3rd July 2024
1. Introduction
Many studies support the learning benefits associated with student engagement/participation (e.g., Sariefe and Klose 2008; Rocca 2010; O’Connor 2013). Note that the terms engagement and participation are often used interchangeably.
2. Benefits of active engagement
Rocca (2010) highlights numerous benefits to students associated with in-class participation. Examples include:
a. Being more motivated
b. Learning better
c. Becoming more accomplished critical thinkers
d. Self-reported gains in character
e. Improvement in communications skills
f. Improvement in group interaction and functioning in society
g. Better grades as participation increases
3. What is participation?
I view participation as active engagement in learning. There are numerous ways in which students can actively engage in learning. Note that the emphasis here is on ‘productive’ active engagement.
3.1 Examples of ‘productive’ active engagement (specifically for our workshop sessions) include:
a. Participating in workshop discussions (oral).
b. Acting as a moderator during workshop sessions (oral).
c. Steering and/or advancing a conversation in useful directions (oral).
d. Asking relevant questions and responding to questions posed during workshops (oral).
e. Presenting helpful alternative points of view (oral).
f. Presenting related examples/case studies (oral).
g. Responding to in-class polls, quizzes and surveys etc (non-oral).
h. Participating in mind-mapping exercises (i.e., software-based non-oral).
i. Active listening and reflection on key issues, including sense-making (non-oral)
j. Note-taking and additional written interpretive commentary (non-oral).
k. Any other general engagement activity not listed above (oral and non-oral).
3.2 Non-productive participation
In contrast, be careful not to contribute in a non-productive way. Examples include:
a. Presenting non-justifiable arguments.
b. Monopolising airtime.
c. Talking for the sake of talking.
d. Holding private conversations when the class is having a collective conversation.
e. Any form. of discourteous contribution toward others etc.
4. Assessment item 1 – Report requirements
Part A
1. You are required to keep an ongoing written diary of your participation in lectures and workshops together with a record of any associated reflections (thoughts, ideas, points of interest, areas for change etc.) that arise for you. Any notes made during or after the sessions, on the material, issues and activities etc. covered during the sessions, all represent the content of your diary.
2. Using the examples identified in 3.1 above, make brief notes on your participation in each session. You will use this diary record to support the content of your written report submission (Part B).
These are your notes. There are no word limits or any imposed structural requirements. However, as a suggestion you could adopt the following format if you wish:
a. What (content) I contributed to today’s lecture and/or workshop (Date xyz)
b. How (process) I contributed to today’s lecture and/or workshop (Date xyz)
c. What happened directly because of my contribution to today’s lecture and/or workshop (Date xyz)?
d. How did others respond to what I contributed to today’s lecture and/or workshop (Date xyz)?
e. What does what I learned because of my participation in today’s lecture and/or workshop (Date xyz) mean to and for me personally?
f. What changes could I make to the way I participate in the lectures and workshops?
g. Other comments and observations?
You could use the above as a template for your notetaking in each lecture and workshop.
Part B (30%)
Structure and Word Count - 1000 words (+/- 5%). Using the below section and sub-section headings (compulsory), your report MUST include:
i. Cover page with all the usual details - Not included in the word count.
ii. Attendance record - A record of lectures and workshop sessions attended. Not included in the word count.
iii. Your diary as outlined in Part A above (Not included in the word count).
iv. Participation – For this part (included in the word count) please provide:
a. Key contributions: A description of your key contributions using the examples of participation mentioned above in 3.1. For this part, you are required to identify and discuss what (content) and how (process) you contributed to three (3) different workshop sessions (200 words for each workshop session = 600 words in total). You must identify the date and subject matter for each selected workshop. Your coverage of this section should include a mix of at least 3 each of both oral and non-oral productive active engagement elements (as presented in 3.1). It is NOT sufficient to include use of Vevox only!
b. You should also ensure that your coverage includes a discussion of both ethical and sustainability issues. Any impact on decision-making should be highlighted.
i. Please note that a direct replication of your diary is also not sufficient. I am looking for overall evidence of understanding and application, with detail and insight here.
This section does NOT ask you what you learned. It asks you what you contributed. Past students who have not done well on this question, did not do well because they focussed on what they learned.
Ask yourself “What’s the difference between what I learned and what I contributed”? Make sure that you clearly understand the difference and then focus your response on your contributions.
Also, make sure that you cover a mix of oral and non-oral contributions. You could even demonstrate the breadth of your participation by including a range of participation examples (as identified in 3.1) across the three selected workshop sessions. If you do this, you could consider drawing attention to this in your response.
c. Overview of outcomes: An overview (200 words) of any notable outcomes (impacts) arising FOR others as a direct consequence of your participation i.e., how you positively steered and/or advanced a conversation in the workshop, addressed a question or otherwise introduced a new idea etc. should be included as appropriate. Again, you should give coverage here to both ethics and sustainability issues and you should highlight these as relevant., and particularly in respect to decision-making.
i. Please note that a direct replication of your diary is not satisfactory. I am looking for evidence that you understand the implications of your contributions.
Note that the key aspects of this question focus on the outcomes and impacts of your contributions for others. Unless what you contribute impacts others in some way, the value of your contribution is potentially unrealised.
Make sure in your responses here that you highlight what those impacts on others were/are. Think broadly and defend your responses.
d. Reflection: A reflection on your learning (200 words) together with identification of areas for change to your participation knowing what you now know. This part responds to the two self-directed questions a) “What does what I learned as a result of my participation mean for me personally” and b) “What changes could I make to the way I participate in class as a result”?
i. Please note that a direct replication of your diary is not sufficient. I am looking for evidence that you understand the personal implications of your learning and that you can recognise opportunities for self-improvement and change.
Note that there are two parts to this aspect of the assessment (Part a and Part b). For Part a, note that the question doesn’t simply ask what you learned in this unit. It asks you: “what does what you learned as a result of your participation mean for you personally”? This is a self-reflective question. It asks you to identify the personal meaning for you of what you learned as a result of your participation.
As a useful aid, the additional handout document that you have been provided with gives you examples of the sorts of questions (prompt questions) that you could pose to yourself in order to identify the personal meaning for you of what you learned following participation. Now look at the question again and make sure that you understand what is being sought.
Question b is self-explanatory. Based on what you identify in response to a) what changes could you make to the way you participate to advance your overall learning further.