Interactive mass lecturing : the use of animated videos to enhance active learning in business ethics subject

Abstract

A common challenge shared by faculties in mass lecture is how to engage Generation Z students and help them to achieve higher-order thinking when the content is complex, abstract, and distant. Business ethics subject is one of them. Business ethics is defined as the “study of business situations, activities, and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed” (Crane et al., 2019, p.5). Many everyday business activities involve the maintenance of basic ethical standards such as honesty and trustworthiness. Therefore, ethics education is no longer prominent only among final-year or postgraduate students entering the business world. Instead, this complex yet essential knowledge should be scaffolded progressively from as early as year one study. Ultimately, these freshmen will be groomed to become the ethical leader that can uphold morally right standards and help build a better world in the future. One of the pull factors to draw Generation Z’s interest in business ethics is to adopt multi-media, such as animated videos, and simulate them in the position of an ethical dilemma. The design of the characters in the animated videos mimics students’ situation, i.e., college students working as interns. When students are positioned at a cross-road in different business scenarios, instructors can bring in ethical theories for discussion. The distance between abstract theories and the real-life situations will become closer. As a result, students are motivated to think about their moral values and adopt theories to advance their ethical decision-making competency. Previous studies suggested that incorporating animation as instructional videos achieved dual functions of explaining complex concepts and providing engaging context for real-world applications of the principles taught. Hence, this study explores using a series of animated videos to teach fundamental business ethics topics to first-year students in a mass lecture at a business school in Hong Kong. The series of animated videos are divided into three episodes covering personal and professional ethics, rights and duties of consumers and employees. The topics for discussion include conflict of interest, supplier’s code of conduct, ethical policy and responsible marketing communications, etc. Based on survey responses from 106 undergraduate students, the results provided empirical evidence that animated instructional videos enhanced students' learning experience, including problem-solving ability, critical thinking skills, and a socially responsible mindset for personal development. In addition, students were actively engaged in the mass lecture through the tutor's facilitation of reflection opportunities using Learning Management System. These findings deepen our current understanding of the pedagogical merits of animated videos to improve students' active learning motives. This study provides further insights into adopting animation technologies for a simulated learning environment.