Boosting critical thinking in a Project Management course: An active learning experience

Abstract

[EN] The present study reports the experience of a project-based activity in which students are asked to plan an event. It is part of a Project Management course taught at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, in a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration and Production Systems. The activity has been designed in such a way that it is expected to help students develop the acquired technical skills while it requires the use of different quantitative methods and tools to interpret data for decision-making. The results show that active learning materialized in the form of projectbased activities make courses more enjoyable for both instructors and students, and most importantly, contribute to develop students’ skills such as teamwork and critical thinking. However, while it is useful for students to gain some exposure to the material through pre-class readings and overview lectures, students do not fully understand and realize about their importance until they actively take part and reflect on the meaning of what they are learning