Changing paradigms of learning designs

The discussion paper will explore the challenges and opportunities of integrating direct entry international students into the final year of the BA Business Studies degree at the Glamorgan Business School. Several different approaches have been adopted to respond to the competing tensions created by, or arising from the dilemmas that emerge from the direct entry of students from different cultures and educational backgrounds into a cohort of a group of students who reside within a fairly constrained geographical boundary. Here the focus will be on the use of a specifically designed teaching, learning and assessment strategy, the purpose of which is to promote `deep learning' (Ball 1995 following Marton and Saljo, 1976) and constructivist alignment (Biggs 1996) via `cooperative learning' (Ballantine and McCourt Larres 2007). It has been argued that there is a need for business schools to develop specific techniques for teaching international business and that this is particularly important within a European context where many languages and cultures exist in one major trading bloc (Vielba and Edelshain 1995). The diverse group of students is regarded as an asset that is used to provide a wider and deeper learning experience and develop practice-oriented perspectives. The new BA Business Excellence degree at Glamorgan Business School has been designed using an integrated approach to teaching, learning and assessment. The final year is designed for both UK and overseas students to explore the differing dimensions provided through the diverse students' body and explicitly build upon recent experiences on the current business degree. The development process will be discussed in the context of responding to the needs of international learners whilst at the same time using this as a vehicle to enhance the learning experiences of UK based students