Anything But Lecture

Carolyn Watkins, a Full-Time MBA student expecting to graduate in 2018, says she has a lot of experience with non-traditional classes, or even ones that consist of more than a typical, scholarly lecture. She’s had courses based on large group discussion, case analysis, and project-based work with an external partner/company. For class format, she says she prefers anything other than lecture.

“There is absolutely a time and a place for a full-on lecture, but I feel that the experiences that I’ve had in or outside the classroom that have been the most impactful and memorable are the ones that allow me to apply classroom concepts to a real-life scenario,” she says.

Watkins says she finds experiential learning the most attractive form of education as it aligns best with her learning style. However, she says that many times, this format’s effectiveness is based on the structure of the class and the support of the instructor. “My ideal class would be a balance of project-based work with an external partner and class discussion,” she says. “This gives an opportunity for application as well as reflection.” She adds that she finds it imperative to have strong instructor expertise and classroom support for project-based work to be successful.