Enhancing students' learning through practical knowledge taught by industry professionals
Journal Article
2013
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Authors
Journal Title
International Business and Economics Research Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Clute Institute
Publisher
University of Cape Town
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Series
Abstract
A topic of interest in teaching business courses is incorporating the practical aspect of the subject matter into teaching as this helps to bridge theory and real-world practice. Research indicates that students gain a deeper understanding of material when theory is contextualized through real-life practical examples. However, given the traditional career-path of academics in finance in countries such as South Africa, a significant proportion of finance lecturers have little or no relevant practical experience in the subject matter. In this paper, we discuss a strategy implemented in finance courses at sophomore and senior levels in order to link theory and practice. Guest speakers were invited from industry to contextualize the topics for the students. Students' perceptions on the benefit they derived from the speakers were deduced from statistical analyses of student evaluations. The results indicate that the experience was positive and aided in their understanding of the subject.
Description
Reference:
Rajaratnam, K., Campbell, A. 2013. Enhancing students' learning through practical knowledge taught by industry professionals. International Business and Economics Research Journal.