Abstract:

In higher education, the business education is meant to provide students with real-world experiences, thereby developing skills that are transferrable to the corporate environment. In order to address the growing concerns of providing students with adequate preparation for the workplace, the Faculty of Business and Communication Faculty at International University of La Rioja, Spain, adopted both an business-based project management standard and a corresponding project management documentation practice as an operational framework for a relevant business design course sequence. In order to provide diverse teams with adequate technical expertise across the interdisciplinary topics that make up a relevant design experience, a Project Review Board consisting of faculty selected specifically for their expertise relative to each project is assigned to each team to both provide guidance and to conduct performance reviews. Both summative and formative evaluations of the process include the use of multiple and diverse communication versions to both external and internal audiences at specified decision points in this process. These two forms of assessment were valuated using a standardized set of rubrics, providing benefits to students by explicitly stating performance expectations and to assessments indicated an improved student experience.

Furthermore, learning style in a virtual environment is an essential topic in the current pedagogical world and it revolves around didactic techniques, technologies and equipment, theoretical modelling and the design and integration of devices and systems. As online education expands rapidly across national borders to reach a global market, a comparative analysis of student learning style preferences among regions with many different cultures becomes increasingly important in terms of improving student outcomes in the classroom.

This work examines the impact of the proposed methodology. This paper aims:
(1) to propose a mix of technologies developing a business experiment into a pedagogical activity, and
(2) to analyse the relationship between learning style preferences and the development of best practices activities using simulation-based evidence.

The study focuses on the differences between student preferences in an experimental design and for this, we applied a methodology based on a case study at International University of La Rioja in Spain and Latin America. A survey was given to students before and after the experiment to assess whether the geographical and cultural components influence their academic outcomes. The findings suggest that there is not a difference between participants but there is some particularity within individuals among regions.

We conducted exploratory research through interview method to 81 participants focusing on higher education institutions from September 1 to October 30, 2021, matching procedures to describe best practices for business courses. In order to evaluated this topics in higher education in times of crisis in Spain and Latin America, the data collection was divided into two separate consultations:
(1) students in higher education institutions in these geographical areas, and
(2) participants across the institution (that is, comprehensive consultation) because this method could facilitate information from as many different perceptions as possible within institutions involved in actions related to best practices in education in particular.

Keywords:

Learning best practices, business courses, virtual university, European students, La Rioja.