Enhancing Creative Thinking in Business Research Classes: Classroom Action Research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to answer research questions on how best to enhance creative thinking in business research classes through encouraging students’ intellectual capability, motivation, and collaborative learning. This study is based on classroom action research. Participants were MBA (Master of Business Administration) and MSMIS (Master of Science in Management Information Systems) graduate students studying business research methods. The findings suggest that the main teaching processes should be as follows: Instructors should encourage students to use their logical reasoning during the conceptual framework development. Workshops on students’ research projects should be conducted so students can practice doing research. Students should make oral presentations of their projects and experts invited to comment on them. Collaborative technologies need to be introduced so that instructors and students can communicate with each other on assignments. Apart from collaborative tools, instructors can set up additional sessions after hours to allow students to discuss problems they are facing. Research classes should incorporate in the coursework three student presentations: problem statement, research proposal, and completed research report. Finally, instructors should form students into groups and establish roles for the members.