Using Active Learning Activities to Increase Student Outcomes in an Information Technology Course

ABSTRACT

The goal of higher education to produce well-rounded and critically thinking problem solvers to enter into the hospitality industry remains a crucial area of research for hospitality educators. To support this goal, numerous hospitality scholars have engaged in innovative approaches to classroom instruction that facilitate problem solving and critical thinking. Grounded in the principles of the constructivist theory of learning, this study furthers understanding of how to produce these results by using mobile technology within a flipped classroom. Approximately 230 undergraduate students were evaluated using a freshman course redesigned from a predominantly lecture-based one to one that utilized active learning activities. The results showed improvements in technical skills, leadership, teamwork, communication, openness to diversity, and creativity.

KEYWORDS:

• Active learning
• flipped classroom
• constructivist theory
• mobile technology
• information and communication technology