AN ALTERNATIVE TO CLASSROOM TEACHING: LET’S GO OUTSIDE

Master classes imparted in the classroom are no longer considered to be as important in the learning process. Instead, new methodologies in which students consider themselves a necessary collaborator have emerged not to replace, but to share the role of master classes. As a result, teachers have relinquished a large part of their leadership in favour of the students themselves, thereby managing to involve them more intensively in the acquisition of knowledge.
Furthermore, the notion of a teacher as a distant and static figure has been replaced by a dynamic and approachable teacher who promotes and encourages student participation and, moreover, is constantly searching for new techniques to facilitate the learning process.
This paper presents two teaching experiences in the subject of Financial Management that were tackled in an environment outside the classroom. Both experiences combine master classes imparted by a teacher and the involvement of an expert in the subject matter who provides explanations, but in a physical environment that represents that subject matter. More specifically, the experiences, for two different groups of students, were conducted at the Valencia Stock Exchange and at a venture capital company as support to facilitate the comprehension of the two respective topics addressed in situ.
The results obtained from the surveys conducted prior to and following the events show that both experiences were welcomed by the students, particularly in regard to aspects such as learning, participation and interaction between the members of the group. We have even observed how the experiences have had a positive impact on the atmosphere in the classroom, bringing the students and the teacher closer together.