University of Redlands
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Flipping BUSB 301 Critical Analysis: Written and Oral

Denise MacNeil Peters

Denise MacNeil, Ph.D., M.F.A., is a Professor at the University of Redlands. In her teaching, she specializes in using literature to illumine and examine managerial and business issues and themes. She is the author of The Emergence of the American Frontier Hero, 1682 – 1826: Gender, Action and Emotion (Palgrave MacMillan, 2009).

Dr. MacNeil's training and research are in the field of American literature, with a specialty in the period prior to 1914. Within this context, she examines mechanisms at work that realize literary influence on popular, lived culture, with particular emphasis on multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and social class issues and situations. Dr. MacNeil has more than ten years of research, writing and presentation experience in this field. She publishes and presents in both national and international, juried venues.

Project Summary

BUSB 301 is a writing-intensive course that I believe would benefit from technological enhancement. This course requires students to learn a number of sophisticated critical analysis techniques and then to apply these techniques to their own writing. I propose three technological upgrades to this course. I propose (i) to “flip” some elements of the course and to add Web 2.0 tools (ii) to serve as knowledge checks for the flipped elements of the course and (iii) to employ a web-based rewriting and revision structure for students to use to engage in active learning. As this course only meets once a week, enhancements that would scaffold student learning in between class meetings are especially important.

  1. Flipped class elements: Currently with all material covered in class, there is not adequate time for workshops necessary to provide maximum success to students attempting to apply the critical analysis writing techniques to their own writing. Flipped elements of the class would enable students to view lectures on course material outside of class, so that when in class we can engage in increased in-class workshops and other hands-on activities. These are topics foundational to this course for which I would develop lecture segments to be uploaded to Moodle for students to view outside class:
    1. Flipped Lecture A: Developing and evaluating writing topics
    2. Flipped Lecture B: Developing and evaluating thesis statements
    3. Flipped Lecture C: Tracking analysis through an essay and evaluating its strengths
    4. Flipped Lecture C: Rewriting and revision tactics
  2. Web 2.0 Enhancements: In addition to flipping some components of the course, I would like to add some Web 2.0 elements to the course to make some of the more challenging material more accessible and more fun. The knowledge checks listed below pair with the flipped-class elements listed in (1) above.
    1. Knowledge Check A: Developing and evaluating writing topics
    2. Knowledge Check B: Developing and evaluating thesis statements
    3. Knowledge Check C: Tracking analysis through an essay and evaluating its strengths
    4. Knowledge Check D: Rewriting and revision tactics
    5. Web-enabled Revision Platform. I am hoping to adapt tools that allow multiple students to contribute to and edit a document. I am thinking of something more flexible than “Track Changes,” such as an app having the capability to isolate an individual’s contributions, easily compare multiple versions of an essay, and track/highlight identified elements of the essay.

My intent is that these online segments and tools would be sustainable and available for repeated use. As the topics listed above are generally common to this course across instructors, these enhancements could be made available for use to other faculty teaching this course. The School of Business already has in place a platform for this sharing, because we have a Moodle club that is accessible to all instructors of this course.

Implementation I plan for these enhancements to be ready for implementation for the Summer 2019 offerings of this course. As I will teach this course in Spring 2019, while I am developing these enhancements, I hope to be able to engage students in live tests of the items as they are complete and get their feedback.