Abstract:

As a result of the Pandemic crisis and the new challenges it has brought to organizations, the job market has changed. Research stresses active and innovative learning strategies as especially relevant for the future, which highlights the increasingly emerging role of each person in their learning process. Given this context, this research is especially timely. It builds on a project aimed at creating a rich and effective learning environment, turning students into active agents in the knowledge co-creation process, in close contact with the business world. Within this setting, we have pursued the following research question: how can a project-based teaching method enable a deep students’ engagement and the creation of a diverse set of competencies, in addition to accomplishing the traditional intended learning outcomes of a marketing subject?

Employing a participatory research methodology, the authors were involved in the design and implementation of a new interdisciplinary teaching project in a marketing higher education institution, throughout an academic semester. The data set consists of field notes, taken independently by the five researchers; documents used in the project; the audio transcription of a workshop and, finally, the students’ produced outputs. This empirical material totalizes more than 400 pages.

The results show that five kind of actors were involved, with the following roles: students (main actors, expected to be proactive and lead the discovery of knowledge); teachers (facilitators and guides); corporate client (challenging the students, being deeply involved in the support of their work, while also benefiting from it); the school (provider of the material and social conditions that enable learning); stakeholders in the wider community (expected to contribute to solution of the problem, while also benefiting from the students’ work). The starting point of this method is the problem presented by the company. This starts right in the first session and the company presents the problem as it would do it to a consultancy company or other senior professionals.

The students’ output was regarded by the company as valuable and potentially effective to solve the problem. Importantly, this authenticity was felt by the students from the outset of research, which contributed to their motivation and engagement. Students were organized in groups, and each one tackled a specific angle of the problem. The collaborative dimension of the project, in and between groups, was thus established.

From the problem, the teacher made available theories and tools that students could then explore on their own. Progressively, case studies were addressed in classes to expand knowledge and skills through analysis and discussion, as well as to ensure a dynamic exchange of ideas and experiences. The process of work on the company’s challenge always involved collecting data, and then employing theoretical concepts to their analysis.

We expect that our research contributes to current methodologies and practices based on Learning by doing and Problem-Based Learning. In particular, our research reveals a fine-grained view of how authenticity, autonomy, a collaborative structure, and the involvement of the community, are key factors that help to blend theory with the reality of organizations’ challenges and amplify the benefits of already established teaching practices.

Keywords:

Interdisciplinary case study, community, authentic learning, going beyond content, potential skills.