Collaborative learning to empower students and improve their professional skills, an innovative teaching method at lMT-BS
Marc-Antoine Diego Guidi, an instructor at Institut Mines Télécom Business School (IMT-BS), has developed a teaching method in which students play an active role in their learning, both individually and as a group.
“ The latest cognitive studies on the topic have shown that at the end of traditional academic courses, students retain 15% of the information, compared to 40% for alternative learning methods based on empowering students,” says Marc-Antoine Diego Guidi. That’s why, after working in international consulting companies for fifteen years, as well as fifteen years of experience at IMT-BS, this instructor has developed an alternative engaging course.“The idea is to push the students to go seek out knowledge on their own, which is both more motivating and better aligned with the expectations of the workplace.”
To that end, Marc-Antoine Diego Guidi has used different tools in the fifteen or so modules that he teaches on various topics: Leadership, Sustainable Management, Ethics, Negotiation, among others. “ First, there’s collective, theoretical learning, where students work in groups to develop their own textbook, drawing on the sources I have indicated. This exercise is followed by work on providing examples, where students illustrate their course depending on their culture or aspirations.”
Students are assessed individually on their participation and contribution to this group activity, as well as on entries in their personal journal, in which they must respond to what they have learned, based on their personal and professional goals. “Our role as teachers is to guide and supervise the students to strengthen the proactive aspect of their approach, and ensure that they use the resources provided appropriately,” says Marc-Antoine Diego Guidi.
This hands-on approach achieved an 80% level of satisfaction among the students surveyed, “even if it shakes up the most conformist students, demands a lot of work and forces them to take a strong personal stance,” stresses the instructor, who hopes to promote this collaborative learning method.“ Instructors are increasingly interested in alternative practices. Given sufficient funding, my goal would be to formalize this method to promote its wider adoption,” concludes Marc-Antoine Diego Guidi.
This is an educational innovation project submitted for the 2021 IMT Teaching Awards.
Illustrator: Lionel Tarchala
