A new approach to learning

Whether it’s online courses, videos, plays, or songs, Canadian business schools have been moving beyond the traditional lecture to other methods of learning.

In fact, a 2017 survey of colleges and universities in Canada reported an 11-per-cent rise in online course delivery between 2011 and 2016 and an increase in blended learning (online and traditional) to make classes more engaging and interactive.

Ivey Professor Fraser Johnson tells The Globe and Mail one of his most popular in-class assignments involves having students make short presentations – a play, a song, or some other vehicle than a PowerPoint presentation – to demonstrate their grasp of the theoretical concepts taught in class.

“As a general rule, the less talking I do and the more talking the students do, the better the class is,” he says.