Enhancing Learning Performance Through Classroom Response Systems: The Effect of Knowledge in a Global Economic Environment

ABSTRACT

The international business education literature suggests that a global mindset can be acquired and benefit students to embrace new ideas and improve their critical thinking. Using a sample of 1,448 undergraduate students in Corporate Finance, International Finance, and Business Law subjects during 2013–2015, our results indicate that students with better academic performance in the subject Global Economic Environment achieve a better learning outcome in advanced functional business subjects. However, students with a better global mindset do not benefit as much from the Classroom Response Systems (CRSs) as the weaker students do.

KEYWORDS:

• Global mindset
• Class Response Systems (CRSs)
• Learning outcome

Notes

¹ CRSs can also be called as: Electronic Response Systems (ERSs) and Student Response Systems (SRSs).

² Actually, Latham and Hill (2014) show that using “extraversion” is negatively correlated with anonymous class participation. In other words, “introversion” is positively correlated with anonymous CRSs.

³ Of course, the actual number of unique students is smaller as the same student may take more than one subject examined in our sample.

⁴ The student sample examined comes from a public university in Hong Kong. As of the 2014–2015 academic year, the university has a total student headcount of 30,771 (or 25,265 full-time equivalents). The College of Business has a total student headcount of 5,020 (or 3,949 full-time equivalents). The total reported income of the university during the period was US$704.74 million (exchange rate: USD1 = HKD7.75 as of September 10, 2016).

⁵ uReply is developed and operated by The Chinese University of Hong Kong to provide a classroom’s response system for enriching interactions. The system is web-based: teachers and students interact on a web interface so designed for use with mobile devices. In other words, it is expected that students reply to the uReply questions on their own mobile devices. Teachers can store questions in Question Bank before going to class or as well as create questions as the lesson goes. Students’ feedback is collected and instantly analyzed in the format of graphs or tables for display in front of the whole class. Records of the class activities and detailed reports are also retrievable in the system by teachers at a later time.

⁶ Of course, the actual number of unique students is smaller as the same student may take more than one subject examined in our sample.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was provided from Hong Kong Polytechnic University FB Learning and Teaching Enhancement Grant (A/C number: 1.21.xx.8AAD).

Notes on contributors

Louis T. W. Cheng

Louis T. W. Cheng, DBA, School of Accounting and Finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Dr. Cheng is a Professor of Finance at the School of Accounting and Finance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has more than 80 articles published in top finance research journals including the Journal of Finance. Dr. Cheng is an author of Fundamentals of Financial Planning by McGraw-Hill, 2006, and the lead author of Financial Planning and Wealth Management: An International Perspective, also by McGraw-Hill, 2008. Dr. Cheng served as a project consultant for various organizations including Bank of China (HK) Private Banking, Investor Education Centre (IEC), Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme Authority (MPFA), Value Partners, Agricultural Bank of China (HK) Private Banking, Bank Consortium Trust Hong Kong, Fubon Bank, Hong Kong Exchanges (HKEx), Charles Schwab (US), Tai Fook Securities, and Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI).

Jacqueline Wenjie Wang

Jacqueline Wenjie Wang, PhD, School of Accounting and Finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Dr. Jacqueline Wang teaches courses in Business Finance, Corporate Finance, and Theories & Models in Finance. Her research interests lie in the area of Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets. Her papers appear in International journal and conference proceedings.