Blended Learning in Marketing Education: Using Alumni Experiences to Increase Student Motivation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v24i6.7023Keywords:
higher education, marketing education, blended learning, alumni, students’ motivationAbstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, both teachers and students underwent significant adaptation and flexibility in higher education courses. The literature documenting these experiences has grown extensively, with educators highlighting challenges and opportunities in distance learning formats. These reports are crucial to understanding how forced adaptations resulted in more productive activities for students than we had thought of before. These experiences also hold fundamental importance for deriving insights for the future, serving as valuable lessons for colleagues to draw inspiration from and apply them to their disciplines. This article describes an experience developed in an introductory Marketing subject that, due to university directives, adopted a blended learning regime during COVID-19. What started as a problem turned into an opportunity. An alumni engagement activity was devised to enhance student motivation — an undertaking that would have been challenging in an exclusively classroom-based setting. This activity became essential, elevating student motivation, promoting new experiences, facilitating networking, and encouraging collaborative work.
References
Al-Ayed, S.I., & Al-Tit, A.A. (2021). Factors affecting the adoption of blended learning strategy. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5(3), 267–274. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2021.6.007
Castro, R. (2019). Blended learning in higher education: Trends and capabilities. Education and Information Technologies, 24(4), 2523–2546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09886-3
Dakduk, S., Santalla-Banderali, Z., & van der Woude, D. (2018). Acceptance of blended learning in executive education. SAGE Open, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018800647
Darwin, A. (2015). Graduates giving back – A mentoring program for MBA students. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 4(3), 200–212. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-03-2015-0009
Deschacht, N., & Goeman, K. (2015). The effect of blended learning on course persistence and performance of adult learners: A difference-in-differences analysis. Computers and Education, 87, 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.03.020
Fernandes, J., Costa, R., & Peres, P. (2016). Putting order into our universe: The concept of blended learning - A methodology within the concept-based terminology framework. Education Sciences, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci6020015
Finlay, M.J., Tinnion, D.J., & Simpson, T. (2022). A virtual versus blended learning approach to higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: The experiences of a sport and exercise science student cohort. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2021.100363
Garone, A., Bruggeman, B., Philipsen, B., Pynoo, B., Tondeur, J., & Struyven, K. (2022). Evaluating professional development for blended learning in higher education: A synthesis of qualitative evidence. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-10928-6
Garrison, D.R., & Kanuka, H. (2004). Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 7(2), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.02.001
Iqbal, J., Asghar, M.Z., Ashraf, M.A., & Yi, X. (2022). The impacts of emotional intelligence on students’ study habits in blended learning environments: The mediating role of cognitive engagement during COVID-19. Behavioral Sciences, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/BS12010014
Li, D. (2022). Required improvements from the students’ perspective. The Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 20(1), 1–18. Retrieved from www.ejel.org
Pavlidou, I., Dragicevic, N., & Tsui, E. (2021). A multi-dimensional hybrid learning environment for business education: A knowledge dynamics perspective. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073889
Rao, G.V., & Vijayalakshmi, D. (2022). Preference for mode of learning for knowledge and skills by professional management students during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Management and Labour Studies, 47(1), 22–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042X211020604
Robson, L., Gardner, B., & Dommett, E.J. (2022). The post-pandemic lecture: Views from academic staff across the UK. Education Sciences, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12020123
Sarfraz, M., Khawaja, K.F., & Ivascu, L. (2022). Factors affecting business school students’ performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated and mediated model. International Journal of Management Education, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100630
Serafim-Silva, S., Spers, R.G., Vázquez-Suárez, L., & Ramírez, C.P. (2022). Evolution of blended learning and its prospects in management education. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2022.v7i1.291
