RMG 917 Winter 2016 Experience if the best

RMG 917 Winter 2016

“Experience if the best teacher – or is it? ” Conrad and Hedin, 1981

“We had the experience but missed the meaning” Eliot, T. S. (1943) The Four Quarters

Generating, Deepening, and Documenting Learning • Reflection: looking back over individual experiences, an introspective activity conducted within one's own personal context to reveal one's self to oneself. • Critical Reflection: opening up this reflection to include socio-political aspects and a questioning of one's own values and assumptions in the wider context.

Critical Reflection: 3 Steps • Determining the desired outcomes: Learning goals and objectives, • Designing reflection strategies so as to achieve those outcomes, • Integrating assessment into the reflection process.

Determining the Learning Outcomes Example Academic enhanceme nt Experiential Learning Industry knowledge Personal growth Categories of Learning (critical thinking in all)

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain Bloom’s Classification Examples of Learning-Related Behaviors Knowledge Identify, define, order Comprehension Explain, restate Application Apply, solve, choose Analysis Analyze, compare, contrast Synthesis Synthesize, develop, propose Evaluation Evaluate, assess, judge, critique

Critical Reflection: 3 Steps • Determining the desired outcomes: Learning goals and objectives, • Designing reflection strategies so as to achieve those outcomes, • Integrating assessment into the reflection process.

Learning Goals-> Learning Objectives Learning Goal Learning Objectives To develop understanding of retail markets and retail operations in China 1. To identify key characteristics of retail markets in China, i. e. , fragmented, multi-tiers, unbalanced… (Example) 2. To explain the structure of the retail channels in China. 3. To apply the 4 P’s in analyzing local marketing strategies. 4. To analyze similarities and differences in retail operations between international and local retailers in China. 5. To synthesize opportunities and challenges for retail operations in China.

Critical Reflection: 3 Steps • Determining the desired outcomes: Learning goals and objectives, • Designing reflection strategies so as to achieve those outcomes, • Integrating assessment into the reflection process.

A Reflection Strategy Answers the questions: • “When do we reflect? ” (at what points during the experience or project) • “Why do we reflect? ” (toward what learning objectives) • “Where do we reflect? ” (in what settings, geographic or virtual) • “Who reflect? ” (learners along or together, with who) • A reflection mechanism answers the question: ” How do we reflect? ” (with what guidance, in what structure)

Designing Reflection Mechanism • Develop a series of “guiding prompts” for each of the learning objectives. Learning Objectives Associated Guiding Prompts 1. To identify key characteristics of retail markets in China. 2. To explain the structure of the retail Identify several characteristics related to my study tour that I now understand better as a result of reflection on the experience. To explain the structure with examples/observations from my study tour. Describe the observations so that

Designing Reflection Mechanism Learning Objectives Associated Guiding Prompts 3. To apply the 4 P’s in analyzing local marketing strategies. How do these 4 P’s apply to this study tour experience? (when did I observe them? Or note their absence? How did, or could, I or someone else use the concepts? ) 4. To analyze similarities and differences in retail operations between international and local retailers in China. 4. 1 Compare and contrast my initial understanding of the similarities and differences and my experience of them: In what specific ways are my understanding and the experience the same and in what specific ways are they different? 4. 2 What are possible reasons for the difference(s)(E. g. , bias, assumptions, lack of information on my part or on the part of literature…)

Designing Reflection Mechanism Learning Objectives Associated Guiding Prompts 5. To synthesize opportunities and challenges for retail operations in China. How do I now understand the opportunities and challenges differently than before? In other words, what do I now see in the opportunities and challenges that I had not seen before? 6. To evaluate competitive retail strategies in China. 6. 1 How, specifically, might I explain the competitive retail strategies differently, to express my enhanced understanding? 6. 2 Based on this enhanced understanding, how, specifically, might retailers in China need to act differently in the future? AND what are the associated benefits and challenges?

Critical Reflection: 3 Steps • Determining the desired outcomes: Learning goals and objectives, • Designing reflection strategies so as to achieve those outcomes, • Integrating assessment into the reflection process.

Critical Reflection Assessment

Reference Ash, S. L. , & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 25 -48. Next Week: • Apr. 12, 2016: Individual meeting with the Prof.

Major Project 50% • Refers to the project description in the course outline for details.

Bonus Mark Opportunity! • To promote regular(daily) critical reflection throughout the trip and document our experiential learning experiences, I offer a bonus opportunity for you to earn up to 10% (out of the course grade, of course!) • Write a blog post of approximately 200 words for a given day’s experience, submit the blog post with a picture within 24 hours of the experience. • Each blog post will be worth up to 2 marks based on quality. Each student will be eligible for contributing up to 5 pieces (2 x 5=10 marks) • The blog post should be sent via email to Shane Mac. Innis shane. macinnis@ryerson. ca and hongyu@ryerson. ca Selected blog piece will be posted at the TRSM website while we are on the trip.

Bonus Mark Opportunity! • A sign-up sheet will be used to keep a record of which student will do which day. • Each student may sign-up for up to 5 days. • Here are some student blog examples: 1) Stefany Nieto on RGIC trip to India 2) Maria Poonawala, who spent the day as CEO of IKEA Canada • Blogs may be re-written into news stories after the trip to showcase the exciting opportunities TRSM students are in involved in. For example: http: //trsmblog. ryerson. ca/index. php/2015/10/trsm-studentstravel-to-cuba-for-inside-view-of-tourism-industry-in-