In the world of business education, facilities and institutes across the globe are all looking to gain a competitive advantage on one another in order to propel existing learners ahead and to attract and secure the best talent for the future. In order to do this, they must carefully assess their teaching methods in order to win over innovative young learners and help develop them for the needs of the changing planet.

In this article, we are going to propose three revolutionary teaching methods that we believe will dominate business education for the next few decades.

Personalised learning and the power of You

There’s a famous quote by Einstein that says “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” This quote puts into simple terms the basis for personalised learning, and why educators around the world must take some time to understand why it’s vital to adapt to all learners and all learning.

The first step towards actually creating personalised learning opportunities for students in the business education sphere is to test their competency levels on a host of different things. Different people have different skills, so tests and activities that give people an opportunity to display their proficiencies and weaknesses will help progression and understanding.

Later, educators who can see the different needs and learning styles of their students will need to work on developing the agency of their learners. Of course, if a teacher tries to tailor work to X amount of students, their own workload is going to skyrocket, so instead, they must work with each student to set relevant goals, clearly define milestones along their journey, and teach them methods for monitoring progress. There must be efforts made to develop global skills, as well as utilising flexible platforms and environments for students to learn on. If a learner is going to benefit from a personalised learning journey, they must also feel that they have a voice and can be heard and that when they call out for help there is a response, because this teaching method only works when it is truly transactional.

Personalised learning can also be used in combination with…

Experiential learning

Of course, we couldn’t pen this article without shining a light on the revolutionary teaching method that we ourselves are constantly innovating and striving to perfect. Over the last few decades, experiential learning has made its way into business classrooms all around the world, and to great effect too. In the near future, as we start to move away from traditional didactic teaching styles, experiential learning will provide the environments that educators and learners need to truly practice and hone their skills.

So, why will experiential learning dominate business education? Well, the answer lies in the type of skills that business learners will need for a globalised world that is constantly changing and reinventing itself. Experiential learning will develop very human skills, such as trust, listening, persuasion, relationship building, conflict resolution, integrity, and creativity. On top of that, you can develop the pivotal leadership skills that the world’s managers and directors are going to require, such as budgeting, strategy, constructive criticism, accountability, time management, prioritization, delegating, and more.

The future of business is going to be more dynamic than ever before, with rapid changes and decisions being made all the time, which is why working on opportunity identification, self-determination, collaboration, critical thinking, multitasking, and teamwork is a must.

Inquiry-based learning

In an inquiry-based learning model, students will be able to train the curious mind in ways they perhaps haven’t before. This method is research and question heavy and relies on both the learners and the educators being willing and interested enough to manage large amounts of information.

By probing with thoughtful questions, students can gain new understandings of the world around them and try to make sense of the things that they are being taught. In fact, inquiry-based learning, if successful, will create the types of students who see life as a continuous opportunity to learn and grow through their own accord. Bear in mind that a student who is not curious or interested in the topic at hand, or in the world itself, might find this method obsolete.

In inquiry-based learning, there are four stages to consider:

1. Curiosity is piqued by the subject and students become engaged, probing with initial questions
2. The task is set to find the answers and delve deeper into the concept
3. A show and tell or reporting scenario is held so that students can share their findings
4. A reflection process allows all involved to share the lessons that they’ve learned

Perhaps the biggest benefit to inquiry-based learning is that students will go away and learn more than is necessary, thus benefiting further. They will glean so much knowledge that they will be able to form their own opinions, gain a genuine interest, and open new dialogues or even take action as a result. Where engagement is increased, the opportunity to learn is improved.

Conclusion

After looking at these three teaching methods that will dominate business education for years to come, you may be asking yourself which method would work best for you as a student, or which you’d prefer to try as an educator. Alternatively, you might be wondering what kind of education you might receive the next time you enter a learning environment. Our advice is to try all of them and find a method that works for you. Whilst we truly vouch for experiential learning as the best way to develop business skills (see our success stories), we understand that some learners will lean towards alternative methods that suit their pace and needs.