Teaching without a Textbook

Textbooks and lectures are the antithesis to an engaging entrepreneurship classroom. You already know…
The entrepreneurship mindset is best developed through experience.
In fact, you’ve probably already incorporated a number of experiences into your course, and noticed how your students are more engaged than when you lecture.
Which begs the question…
What if you replaced all your lectures with activities?
4 Professors Can Show you How
Emma Fleck, James Sprenger, Jennifer Daniels and Mike Dominik have all jettisoned textbooks from their entrepreneurship courses this semester, replacing them with exercises from the Experiential Entrepreneurship Curriculum (ExEC).
The benefits from making the switch have been eye-opening:
“I LOVE [Who Are Early Adopters?] exercise!!! So many times, I have had conversations with my students who are going to interview their dad, friend, someone who works in the industry and this exercise really takes the time to dispel this myth that these are important.” – Jennifer Daniels
“One student described [60 Minute MVP] as a Navy Seal mental training exercise. Not sure it was that intense, but they were amazed and proud that they got it done.” – Thomas Nelson
“Given the previous exercises students were able to quickly identify the interview channels that their early adopters might use. Students felt very confident about getting out and learning about the problem.” – Emma Fleck
At the same time, building a textbook-free course takes some consideration. If you’re interested in going experiential, these professors want to share details about their transition at:
Is it Worth Changing your Course?
A lot of questions will come up as you think replacing a textbook with experiential activities:
- How much work will the transition be?
- How will your students respond?
- What are the downsides?
- How will your administration respond?
At the Teaching Without a Textbook webinar, panelists will answer all of those questions, as well as any additional questions you have about their experience:
- What’s the hardest part about teaching without a textbook?
- What do they wish they would have known before ditching their textbook?
- What are the best exercises they teach now?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of ExEC?
By the end of the panel discussion, you’ll know whether or not going textbook-free is right for you.
Engage your Students
You already know…
[bctt tweet=”The key to engaging your students is to replace words with action.” via=”no”]
Join us on Nov. 13th, to learn from four professors who have done just that, and to learn if the same will work in your class.
Stay Tuned
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