Did Somebody Say "McDonald's"?
Using popular topics and alternative learning styles
to help business students develop information skills.
WOMTC WORKSHOP MATERIALS
Western Organization and Management Teaching Conference (WOMTC)
Los Angeles, February 22, 2003

Presented by Carolyn Johnson and Joe Buenker


 
 

ABSTRACT:
Did Somebody Say 'McDonald's?' Using popular topics and alternative learning styles to help business students develop information skills.

Most appropriate audience
Faculty who would like to incorporate business research and writing skills into their class assignments.

Optimal length
75 minutes

Technology/room/space requirements
Overhead projector, screen or light-colored wall

Abstract
The McDonald's Project uses visual-spatial-tactile techniques to help business students develop information skills.  These learning styles are often preferred by gifted, ADD/ADHD, and ethnic learners, and are also effective with groups. Business students need to develop skills to evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and organize information.  Visual-spatial-tactile techniques have proven to be very effective in helping business students build these information skills.

Presentation Description

Purpose of our presentation

We want to share practical and engaging strategies we have used to help business students understand how to work with information.  Without calling it this, we are helping students develop skills in "information literacy" and we are showing them ways to avoid plagiarizing the work of others.

Ways we will engage our audience

Using selected parts of our "McDonald's Project", participants will learn to evaluate, synthesize, and organize information on a topic that is relevant and engaging.  They will learn about "granular note-taking" and "concept sorting" techniques to help you:

  • combine their insight and creativity with published information
  • organize information they have collected
  • identify information that they still need to find
  • give credit to those who inspired their ideas


    • Note on Activities:
    Participants will learn the way students do.  They will feel the way students do when they encounter these processes, and thus be able to evaluate the effectiveness of our approach.

    "Sidebar" topics we will present include:

  • visual-spatial-tactile learners among ethnic groups
  • tips for group research projects
  • reading between the lines
  • quick sort S.W.O.T analysis


    • We will also include ideas for implementing these strategies in classroom  instruction sessions, and we will integrate relevant theories from education and psychology throughout the session.

    Handouts

    Our handouts include everything covered in the session: samples, strategies and templates for creating information skills exercises (with variations for group research projects, class size, student ability level, and amount of time allotted). We have also prepared a bibliography of selected background reading from education and psychology studies.