Beat the Instructor: An Introductory Forecasting Game

This teaching brief describes a 30‐minute game where student groups compete in‐class in an introductory time‐series forecasting exercise. The students are challenged to “beat the instructor” who competes using forecasting techniques that will be subsequently taught. All forecasts are graphed prior to revealing the randomly generated actual demand. Experiential learning and forecasting exercises are reviewed before detailing how the game is administered and debriefed. Student survey results (n = 247) provide evidence of teaching effectiveness, including that 78% of students said that playing the game increased their interest in learning the forecasting techniques that were used by the instructor.     

Newsvendor Game: A Behavioral Exercise in Decision Making under Risk

The newsvendor problem is a classic problem of decision making under risk that is taught in traditional Operations and Supply Chain Management classes as a single‐period inventory problem. We discuss the following three pedagogical points of interest to any instructor tasked with teaching this topic: a) why the newsvendor model is relevant in this day and age; b) how to make better sense of the newsvendor problem for students; and c) how to easily implement and administer an active learning exercise in either a traditional classroom, or an online setting. This active learning exercise is a quick, effective, and meaningful way of demonstrating a variety of concepts related to the newsvendor problem that include: a) the rational economic method of calculating optimal order quantity, b) the inherent risk in forecasting and ordering decisions as they relate to surpluses and shortages; and c) the cognitive limitations in decision making that often result in irrational but predictable decision‐making behavior as demonstrated by empirical research on newsvendor behavior. This exercise can help instructors and students transition into broader discussions on human behavior, cognitive limitations, and perceptions of risk. Overall, it should provide the student with an improved understanding of the operational and behavioral issues associated with decision making under risk.     

Evaluating the Impact of a National Curriculum on Content‐Free Cognitive Outcomes

Summaries

English

This paper elucidates some of the conceptual, measurement and methodological problems associated with evaluating science curricula in terms of their impact upon students’ content‐free cognitive outcomes. In particular, a report is given of an investigation of the effects of incorporating ASEP (Australian Science Education Project) materials into the science programmes of a large sample of seventh‐grade students in Tasmania. In this investigation, the content‐free outcomes were assessed at the beginning and end of a school year by means of three measures of understanding of the nature of science and four measures of enquiry skills.

It was found that a significant relationship emerged between the curriculum variables and one learning outcome, between sex and six learning outcomes, between socio‐economic status and one learning outcome, and between school type and all seven learning outcomes. All together, the curriculum shows a continuous influence on the general cognitive‐learning results in the scientific field, as far as they are not related to specific subject matter.     

Utilizing a Simulation Exercise to Illustrate Critical Inventory Management Concepts

Most undergraduate business students simply do not appreciate the elegant mathematical beauty of inventory models. So how does an instructor capture students’ interest and keep them engaged in the learning process when teaching inventory management concepts? This paper describes a competitive and energizing in‐class simulation game that introduces students to basic inventory management concepts. This hands‐on, active‐learning exercise presents students with a simulated single‐product inventory environment that requires them to make ordering decisions in an attempt to minimize the total relevant inventory costs in the face of variable demand.     

A Simulation for Managing Complexity in Sales and Operations Planning Decisions

Within the classroom it is often difficult to convey the complexities and intricacies that go into making sales and operations planning decisions. This article describes an in‐class simulation that allows students to gain hands‐on experience with the complexities in making forecasting, inventory, and supplier selection decisions as part of the sales and operations planning process. The activity may be run during one class period and is flexible enough to accommodate almost any class size. During the simulation, students may apply forecasting techniques, inventory management concepts, and supplier selection processes, while experiencing the effects of supply chain disruptions. This simulation is recommended to be used after forecasting, inventory management, and supplier selection topics have been discussed. An overview of the exercise and evidence of its effectiveness is provided.     

Active Learning and Threshold Concepts in Multiple Testing that can Further Develop Student Critical Statistical Thinking

Two practical activities are described, which aim to support critical thinking about statistics as they concern multiple outcomes testing. Formulae are presented in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, which are used to calculate the inflation of error associated with the quantity of tests performed. This is followed by a decision‐making exercise, where an Excel calculator is used to adjust for multiple outcomes prior to deciding whether or not an intervention has been successful.     

Manufacturing Squares: An Integrative Statistical Process Control Exercise

In the exercise, students in a junior‐level operations management class are asked to manufacture a simple product. Given product specifications, they must design a production process, create roles and design jobs for each team member, and develop a statistical process control plan that efficiently and effectively controls quality during production. During an in‐class exercise, students test their plan in a pilot study. After class, they are asked to determine whether their process is stable and capable, critique their plans, and recommend plan modifications before they commence mass production. This exercise provides students with a unique opportunity to combine several fundamental topics from an operations management course into one assignment. Furthermore, assessment of learning outcomes before and after the exercise suggests that it improves learning outcomes in several areas.     

Improving Students' Data Analysis and Presentation Skills: The Ocean State Circuits,Inc. Forecasting Project

Many potential employers expect that newly hired students will arrive on‐the‐job with the ability to analyze data, utilize spreadsheets, and communicate findings and recommendations. We designed the Ocean State Circuits, Inc. Forecasting Project to address these gaps in our students’ knowledge of analytical tools (such as the vlookup() function and pivot tables), their ability to write mathematical formulas in a spreadsheet, their understanding of more advanced data analysis features (e.g., regression, correlation), and their ability to communicate and present managerial conclusions. The exercise requires student teams to act as “consultants” and utilize spreadsheets to analyze and forecast the demand for a hypothetical set of products and then communicate their findings to “management” in a professionally formatted report document. A survey of students that have completed the exercise indicates that their knowledge level of the tools used in the project increased significantly from before to after they completed the case. Similarly, anecdotal feedback from employers suggests that students that have completed the exercise seem more capable of dissecting data when investigating business issues.     

Food Microbiology—Design and Testing of a Virtual Laboratory Exercise

Abstract: A web‐based virtual laboratory exercise in identifying an unknown microorganism was designed for use with a cohort of 3rd‐year university food‐technology students. They were presented with a food‐contamination case, and then walked through a number of diagnostic steps to identify the microorganism. At each step, the students were asked to select 1 of 4 tests. All tests had an associated cost. Feedback was given on selection and once the right test was selected, students were shown the results and could progress. At the end of the exercise, students had determined a number of characteristics of the microorganism. They were then required to identify the organism using a variety of reference material and present a report on the significance of the microorganism identified. A student survey showed they enjoyed the exercise and felt it fulfilled the aims and objectives of the lesson. There was a positive response to its flexible nature and the inclusion of test costs. This virtual laboratory was less expensive and 10 times faster than a traditional laboratory exercise yet achieved the same learning outcomes for students who were already familiar with laboratory techniques. The virtual lab was developed with a generic template that could be used for future lessons.     

How a Dummy Replaces a Student's Test and Gets an F (Or,How Regression Substitutes for t tests and ANOVA)

Using dummy variables, this note offers a convenient illustration to demonstrate that regression can replace both the one‐factor analysis of variance and the two‐population t test with independent random samples. The exercise also helps to develop students’ intuition regarding regression coefficients.     

Is Teacher Accountability Possible? The Case of Norwegian High School Science

What influence does the teacher exercise over their students' learning outcomes? This study investigates the impact of teacher quality on student learning outcomes in science halfway through the first year of high school. A multiple‐measurement model estimates the potential impact of teacher influence on learning outcomes for 1,060 secondary school students (16‐year‐olds), as well as the influence on student engagement, motivation, and self‐discipline. Teacher quality has a very weak effect on student learning outcomes. However, teacher quality seems to influence student motivation and self‐discipline to a significantly larger extent. Further, there is an indirect effect of teacher quality on learning outcomes in science via student engagement, motivation, and self‐discipline. Holding the science teacher accountable for pupils' learning outcomes is highly problematic.     

A Comparison of the Degree of Student Satisfaction using a Simulation or a Traditional Wet Lab to Teach Physical Properties of Ice

It is often difficult to offer food chemistry students traditional, hands‐on laboratory experiences due to lack of funds for equipment, insufficient laboratory space, or the nature of distance education. A traditional wet laboratory exercise was developed to demonstrate the effects of the physical properties of ice formation when making high‐quality sorbets, varying the amounts of sugar, water, and stabilizer. This wet lab was compared to a simulated, detective‐based crime scene investigation (CSI) of why a famous food scientist's sorbet had become a “stiff.” Forty‐six food chemistry students were randomly assigned to groups, completing either the traditional wet lab or the simulated lab 1st before completing the 2nd type of laboratory. While there were preferences for one lab over another, there were no differences in the learning outcomes between the 2 laboratory formats. Students who preferred the simulated lab felt they could move at their own pace and were able to stop and review the simulation to understand the concepts more clearly. Traditional wet lab proponents liked working in groups and having immediate access to instructors. From the initial evaluation it appears that simulations could be used as replacements for hands‐on laboratory experiences or could serve as effective introductions to laboratory principles and concepts, resulting in increased student learning.     

Introducing students to the application of statistics and investigative methods in political science

This exercise introduces students to the application of statistics and its investigative methods in political science. It helps students gain a better understanding and a greater appreciation of statistics through a real world application.     

Modulating misconceptions by musical means

This literature‐based, classroom‐tested novel innovation of educational song (with pedagogical scaffolding) may help engage students explore and address common resistant misconceptions in probability (e.g. all outcomes are equally likely) and in statistics (e.g. correlation must imply either causation or coincidence).     

Linking Physical and Numerical Modelling in Hydrogeology using Sand Tank Experiments and COMSOL Multiphysics

Visualising subsurface processes in hydrogeology and building intuition for how these processes are controlled by changes in forcing is hard for many undergraduate students. While numerical modelling is one way to help undergraduate students explore outcomes of multiple scenarios, many codes are not user‐friendly with respect to defining domains, boundary conditions, and coupling processes, and numerical modelling exercises are also often disconnected from systems that the students understand, limiting their ability to extrapolate what they have learned for other situations. Here, we test the hypothesis that hydrogeology students will better estimate rates of groundwater flow and contaminant transport and the magnitudes of the parameters that control flow and transport by linking physical and numerical models. We present an exercise that links physical and numerical modelling of fluid flow and solute transport using 2‐D ‘ant farm’ sand tanks with parallel models in COMSOL Multiphysics. The sand tank exercises provide students with a way to visualise subsurface flow and transport processes, while COMSOL allows them to explicitly pull apart the mathematics associated with these systems and build intuition for their solutions. Given coupled experimentation and numerical exercises, we find that students will connect processes that they see in the laboratory with the outcomes of numerical models, and the post‐exercise tests indicate that they have an improved understanding of: (1) the magnitude and importance of properties and parameters that control flow and transport and (2) the simplifications made in numerical models of physical systems.     

Experiential Learning for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Using an SAP ERP Software Simulation

This teaching brief describes a three‐echelon supply chain simulation that involves complex decision making in a dynamic environment. Using a team‐based logistics simulation operating on a live commercial‐software application (SAP ERP) as a foundation, a supplemental exercise is proposed for deeper learning of transportation and logistics aspects of supply chain management. Sales and operations planning is used during four simulated months to develop detailed procurement strategies and logistics plans to enhance the baseline supply chain management (SCM) concepts of inventory control and forecasting in a distribution network. Transportation planning and scheduling complexity is introduced as students manage freight to conform to motor carrier weight regulations. The combination of commercial software and extensive real‐world planning allows students to assimilate numerous SCM concepts in a realistic environment. Student opinion survey data shows that students are highly engaged by the detailed nature of the simulation, which they concluded aided their conceptual learning. Additionally, the inclusion of the SAP ERP commercial software becomes a competitive advantage during collegiate recruiting by potential employers.     

Teaching Lean Principles in Nonmanufacturing Settings Using a Computer Equipment Order Quotation Administrative Process

As organizations continue to expand their implementation of Lean practices, business schools and corporate training organizations have developed numerous games and simulations aimed at teaching Lean concepts in manufacturing settings. However, simulations have lagged behind the most recent adaptations of Lean outside of the factory in services, and more specifically, in office settings. In this article, we present a Lean simulation game, referred to as “Computer Solutions, Inc.” that provides participants with hands‐on experience in applying Lean principles in a nonmanufacturing setting. The simulation takes place in the order‐quote department at “Computer Solutions, Inc.,” a company that specializes in designing customized computer solutions for small businesses. The order‐quote process is purely office‐based and involves such activities as collecting information, processing information, filling out documents, and forwarding those documents to different parts of the organization. This simulation is implemented as a “pencil‐and‐paper” exercise that can be performed by students in the classroom. Our simulation brings some unique benefits that are often missing from current Lean manufacturing‐based simulations. It involves multiple rounds of Lean improvements that can span several weeks, providing students a chance to identify wastes and to make a thoughtful application of Lean tools and techniques. Students also get to experience the challenges of group dynamics that are often present in team‐based improvement efforts.     

Differential learning outcomes in an instructional simulation: Exploring the relationship between designated role and perceived learning outcome

One set of instructional strategies which has not been examined vis‐a‐vis learning outcome is instructional simulations. The present study is an exploratory study designed to examine the possible relationship between designated roles and learning outcome. It was designed to explore the possibility that if differential learning outcomes existed they might be related to the designated role of the learner in the interactive simulation. The study found that students cast in the roles of managers in the SIMCORP SIMULATION reported different perceptions about learning than did students cast in the roles of workers.     

The relationship between student engagement with online content and achievement in a blended learning anatomy course

Blended learning has become increasingly common in higher education. Recent findings suggest that blended learning achieves better student outcomes than traditional face‐to‐face teaching in gross anatomy courses. While face‐to‐face content is perceived as important to learning there is less evidence for the significance of online content in improving student outcomes. Students enrolled in a second‐year anatomy course from the physiotherapy (PT), exercise physiology (EP), and exercise science (ES) programs across two campuses were included (n = 500). A structural equation model was used to evaluate the relationship of prior student ability (represented by grade in prerequisite anatomy course) and final course grade and whether the relationship was mediated by program, campus or engagement with the online elements of the learning management system (LMS; proportion of documents and video segments viewed and number of interactions with discussion forums). PT students obtained higher grades and were more likely to engage with online course materials than EP and ES students. Prerequisite grade made a direct contribution to course final grade (P < 0.001) but was also mediated by engagement with LMS videos and discussion forums (P < 0.001). Student learning outcomes in a blended anatomy course can be predicted the by level of engagement with online content. Anat Sci Educ 11: 471–477. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.