Consumer Behavior, CBS
Students didn’t find value and relevance in the original course final project. They were tasked with creating marketing plans for specific scenarios. We changed the assignment to focus on a consumer behavior analysis that students would feel is more applicable to their progress, and they selected topics they care about for the revamped final project.
“Student feedback on the new group project was very positive in the Consumer Behavior course. Students appreciated the structure and freedom to choose from multiple topics. The group project provided a construct to apply the course concepts and allow students to insert their own experiences – since they are all consumers. The group project allowed students to look at real world scenarios that are impacting consumer behavior. The project allowed students to choose a topic they were interested in and learn more about it.”
Jay Richman, instructor
Students didn’t find value and relevance in the old course final project, where they were assigned a predetermined topic
When crafting the solution to this problem, we specifically referred back to the UDL framework. We made conscious choices and changes to increase choice, autonomy, relevance, and value.
Our rework of the original version of the course final project had two components. First, we addressed students’ perceived lack of relevance. The assignment switched from a marketing plan to a consumer behavior analysis. This was clearly and demonstrably relevant to the course topic, so students would grasp the practicality of the project. Second, to increase student agency and autonomy, we changed the topics to be self-selected. Rather than being handed predetermined topics, which may or may not be of interest or relevance to the students, each group was tasked with choosing a topic for the consumer behavior analysis. As can be seen from testimonial below, students not only found the project relevant, but even fun. They were able, and encouraged, to bring their own experiences into their analyses.
This change was particularly efficient and easy to implement. By making two very simple switches, student engagement, interest, and understanding increased. This is a great improvement for a relatively low time-cost activity.
“I felt the assignments were challenging, relevant and helped students master the intended content. Feedback on assignments was provided relatively quickly. I would highly recommend this class and professor.”
“The course content was reflective and helped me understand my own behaviors. The discussion board assignments provided active engagements/contributions with classmates as we all experienced epiphanies regarding our personal consumer experiences.”
“Professor was super responsive to emails. I really enjoyed the class more than I thought I would. The project was so much fun to work on. Our topic turned out to be interesting and I learned about my own personal buying habits.”
Division/Department: Carey Business School
HUDL Ambassador: Jun Fang
Faculty Name: Jay Richman
Instructional Designer: Jeffrey Joiner