Areas of Improvement in Classroom Teaching: A Professional Development Plan for Business Communication

Dilshad Akber Ali

Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities
NED University of Engineering & Technology
Karachi, Pakistan

Dilshat Bano

Assistant Professor, Department of English
University of Karachi
Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract:

Although there are many types of research that may be undertaken, action research particularly refers to a closely controlled inquiry done by a teacher with the intention that the research will inform and change his or her practices in the future. This research is carried out within the context of the teacher’s environment that is, with the students and at the university in which the teacher works on questions that deal with educational matters at hand. Teachers should be constantly researching and educating themselves about their area of expertise, this is different from the study of more educational questions that arise from the practice of teaching. This study was an attempt to discover and evaluate the needs of engineering students with the hope of providing suitable communication skills desired at the workplace. All two hundred and twenty five participants were required to give persuasive presentations to promote a project/ product or a service in class. The situations where students were responsible for their decisions provided a more active learning environment.  The presentation activity greatly influenced the improvement of students’ speaking ability and confidence building as well as enhanced their motivation for learning.

Keywords: action research; research cycle; reflection; motivation; communication skills; educational practice;

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