Using films to develop the critical thinking competence of the students at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC): Testing an audiovisual case methodology in a distance e-learning environment

• Published in: Computers in human behavior Vol. 30; pp. 739 - 744
• Main Authors: González-González, Inés, Gallardo Gallardo, Eva, Jiménez-Zarco, Ana Isabel
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Audiovisual; Audiovisual cases; Business; Business schools; Case studies; Catalonia, Spain; College Students; Competence; Competencies; Computer-assisted instruction; Critical thinking; Distance education; E-learning; Economia i organització d'empreses; Education; Effectiveness; Ensenyament universitari; Ensenyament virtual; Europe; Higher Education; Human behavior; Learning; Methodology; Open University; Students; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; E-learning; Open University; Audiovisual cases; Competencies; Critical thinking
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2013.09.013

The aim of this paper is to set out a teaching innovation project that seeks to advance in the development and assessment one of the fundamental students’ competencies from any Business Administration Degree, such as: critical thinking. We are going to adapt an audiovisual case methodology, developed and already proved in traditional universities, in order to help the students develop and boost one of the competencies required to improve the efficiency and efficacy of their daily activity in organizations, and which previously has been highlighted as fundamental by the academia when the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was designed. This methodology uses short clips of films – usually, true stories- to help students to understand the practical implications of the theoretical concepts explained at class. We are going to evaluate the implementation of this methodology, and also its impact on the students’ learning process in an Open University.