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Teaching Business & Economics, Autumn 2003 by Ashwin, Andrew

Many teachers and lecturers will be well aware of the problems in working with students who come into our subject area having very little formal background in the subject. Unlike students of colleagues teaching geography and history, amongst others, our students have not been following business or economics since year 4!

The problems we face in recruiting students to do these subjects appear to be twofold. Many students may come to the subject not really knowing quite what they are letting themselves in for. Invariably they will have heard stories/comments from other teachers and students about the subject area. In many cases these are entirely incorrect! ('AS economics is very mathematical'; 'Don't do geography and economics together'; 'Business Studies is easy!') Secondly, students may base their choices on what they already know and are comfortable with and are reluctant to start out on a new subject area that they might perceive as risky.

STEEP LEARNING CURVE

For those that do choose to do either economics or business (or a joint AS level) the learning curve is steep. Not only is there a whole new vocabulary to learn, there is also the problem of coping with the assessment objectives - particularly the higher order skills that are essential for success. 'Curriculum 2000' gave both subject areas the opportunity to be able to review the concepts that should be included in any advanced course and those that could be left out to be pursued at a later stage without devaluing the subject or preventing deep learning from taking place. Figures suggest that economics has not been entirely successful in stemming the decline it has been suffering over the past decade. Last year (2002) business studies entries were down 4.5%. There can clearly be no room for complacency.

BIZ/ED'S RESEARCH

In the light of the difficulties we face in maintaining the profile of our subjects given the increasing time constraints and subject proliferation in many schools, Biz/ed has been taking a long and careful look at what it provides for its users. The redesign that occurred in the Autumn of 2002 has made many of the areas more user-friendly. Following this, securing funding as a JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) service has allowed Biz/ed to spend time reassessing what it is providing. We have worked with a focus group from FE to identify needs and have spoken to a number of colleagues in schools across the country as well as to those in higher education. The results have been interesting.

The main point coming out of the research is that the site is so big that often teachers do not have the time or the patience to be able to delve into it as much as they would like. As a result they are looking for other resources that are quick and easy to access. Many commented that they were not aware of some very useful resources (such as those in the 'Current Topics' section!)

NEW RESOURCES

Over the next few months, Biz/ed will be taking the results of our research and developing new materials that meet the needs of teachers, lecturers and students more appropriately. We will be considering the different learning styles of students and the different teaching styles of those delivering the subjects and be seeking to provide resources that meet those needs. We have a range of ideas that will be coming on stream during this Autumn. We are looking at giving teachers and lecturers some opportunity to concentrate on helping students to learn rather than have to focus on developing resources. Keep an eye on Biz/ed to stay abreast of any new developments: http://www.bized.ac.uk

COMMUNICATION

One key issue that came to the fore in our research was the communication between Biz/ed and those who use the service. We are hoping to build up our circulation of the Biz/ed Bulletin amongst schools, colleges and universities so that we can e-mail changes and news about new resources as they come on stream. If any reader would like to be added to this database please go to http://www.bized.ac.uk/stafsup/ email.htm for further details.

Andrew Ashwin

Biz/ed Content Developer