{"id":9748,"date":"2020-03-01T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T19:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=9748"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:48:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T18:48:38","slug":"smaller-classes","status":"private","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2020\/03\/01\/smaller-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Private: Smaller Classes Mean Active Learning for Next Carson Cougs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Hana Johnson records students’ comments on a whiteboard during a class discussion. (Photos by Caleb Rainwater)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smaller Classes Mean Active Learning for Next Carson Cougs<\/h1>\n

By Becky Kramer<\/h2>\n

A fast-moving discussion about Amazon is underway in Hana Johnson\u2019s<\/a> Introduction to Business class.<\/p>\n

Johnson, an assistant professor at the Carson College of Business, has challenged students to think about ways Amazon has been a disruptor in global business. She\u2019s running out of space on the classroom whiteboard for their answers.<\/p>\n

The students have charted Amazon\u2019s path from online bookseller to a $1 trillion company, discussing Amazon\u2019s ground-breaking use of technology and logistics, the company\u2019s impact on traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, and Amazon\u2019s recent entry into the grocery store market with Whole Foods\u2019 purchase.<\/p>\n

Now, the students are moving on to Amazon Prime and why it\u2019s strategic for the company to offer streaming services as part of the $119 annual membership.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t your typical college lecture class, where students sit quietly and take notes. By the end of the 75-minute session, most students have spoken up. Part of their grade depends on their class contribution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to change the culture of learning,\u201d says Johnson, a faculty member in the college\u2019s Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship.<\/a><\/p>\n

As part of a focus on teaching critical thinking and soft skills, the Carson College is rolling out smaller class sizes with more active learning. The goal is 70 students or less for each of three Introduction to Business sections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have 200 people in a class, they are in an auditorium taking notes,\u201d says Debbie Compeau<\/a>, the college\u2019s senior associate dean for faculty affairs and research. \u201cWhen you have 70 students in a class, you can have a discussion about a problem a business is facing. You can ask students, \u2018How would you solve this problem?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Smaller classes part of Next Carson Coug initiative<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Jessica Richards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The smaller class sizes grew out of the Next Carson Coug<\/a> initiative, which seeks to sharpen graduates\u2019 readiness for the workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talked to the people who hire our graduates, we heard a recurring message: They lack soft skills,\u201d Compeau says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers told us that students\u2019 technical skills were just fine,\u201d says Tom Tripp<\/a>, senior associate dean for academic affairs. \u201cBut as a whole, they lacked the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, and they didn\u2019t have that professional polish\u2014the ability to understand workplace norms and abide by them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing the deficit requires an approach where students can\u2019t coast by on passive learning, Compeau and Tripp say. Smaller class sizes are part of the solution. They give students more opportunities to practice their public speaking and critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

Class attendance has increased<\/h3>\n

This year\u2019s Introduction to Business classes have ushered in a number of changes for students, including assigned seating, name tags, and fewer distractions. Laptops, phones, and other electronics must be stowed away, unless they are required for a specific class activity.<\/p>\n

Attendance was at 80 percent or higher during the fall semester, compared to the 50 percent that\u2019s typical for freshman classes. The classes incorporate case studies from the Harvard School of Business. In order to talk knowledgably in class, students have to keep up with homework assignments and readings.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are getting that it\u2019s important to show up for class and to show up prepared,\u201d Debbie Compeau says. \u201cThose are behaviors we want to encourage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with learning business concepts, students are gaining confidence in speaking up, says Joe Compeau<\/a>, clinical associate professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning how to present your idea in a coherent manner, discuss it, take feedback, and do that all spontaneously requires practice,\u201d says Joe, who also teaches Introduction to Business.<\/p>\n

Fear of having the wrong answer keeps many students from speaking up in class, he says. But in a class of 70, it\u2019s less intimidating.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents discover that if they\u2019re wrong, it\u2019s not the end of the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThe class moves on to the next idea, and they\u2019ll get a chance to present another idea at a later time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garth Mader<\/a> spent most of his career at Nordstrom and Amazon before coming to work at the Carson College. He did some corporate training in his previous work, and the opportunity to teach smaller classes appealed to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can literally walk to the back of the room in a class of 70, have a conversation with the students there, and the class follows along with me,\u201d says Mader, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. \u201cYou can\u2019t connect with individuals that way in a larger audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jared Geier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mader says he\u2019s pleased to see the gains his Introduction to Business students have made in expressing their ideas in front of a group.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many, speaking out in a group setting is a difficult skill to learn,\u201d he says. \u201cGiving students opportunities to develop that confidence through practice will help them through their job search process. It will help them succeed in their first job, and it will help them throughout their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good reviews from students<\/h3>\n

Jessica Richards, a sophomore from Kennewick, is in Johnson\u2019s class. She gives it good reviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she first said we\u2019d be graded on class contribution, I thought, \u2018OK, I\u2019d better talk every day,\u2019\u201d says Richards, who is majoring in hospitality business management. \u201cBut I\u2019m not really shy about speaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contributing regularly in class motivates Richards to stay on top of homework assignments. And she enjoys the Harvard case studies, which make the business concepts more real to her. Without the real-world examples in Johnson\u2019s class, Richards says she\u2019d have a harder time following the concepts behind the numbers in the Accounting 230 class she’s taking this semester.<\/p>\n

Jared Geier<\/a>, a sophomore from Bremerton, appreciates the lively student discussions, which help him stay focused in Johnson\u2019s class. Geier also knows he\u2019ll be hearing new material in class, not a lecture that repeats information from a textbook or a PowerPoint presentation he could find online.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is different, for sure,\u201d Geier says. \u201cYou have to come prepared every day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of a focus on teaching critical thinking and soft skills, the Carson College is rolling out smaller class sizes. Students are giving them good reviews.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[],"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[425,589,430],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9748"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10616,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9748\/revisions\/10616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9748"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=9748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}