Hands on education: learning by doing

EMBA Bootcamp - Preparing for your EMBA (part 2)

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” Aristotle

The Executive MBA offers the ambitious professional many unique opportunities, one of which is the chance to implement newly acquired business knowledge directly into the workplace. This enables the EMBA candidate to experience, in real time, the value and relevance of their business school teachings. It always provides the candidate with continued learning of an extremely practical nature.

A learning process

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, learning is the ‘acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught’. Yet learning is not merely a matter of taking in information, but involves a hands on approach of doing.

Ongoing research on learning processes and the workings of the brain have challenged traditional academic notions of what it means to learn best. While there is not always a full consensus among scholars as to which specific form of learning is most effective, one fact, established many decades ago, remains: skills and knowledge are developed not by reading and listening alone, but by applying knowledge in a real world context and by practicing the skill.

As such, learning is a product of experience and develops through tackling a problem while actively applying information. Nowhere is this more evident than on the Executive MBA.

Rich learning experience

The scientific model of learning by doing, as a concept in economic theory, has been shown to have tremendously positive impacts, not only on productivity but also effectiveness. Learning by doing is a concept deeply imbedded in the structure and reputation of the Executive MBA program and is indeed, one of the great benefits of this prestigious business school degree.

Throughout their program of study, EMBA students, regardless of industry, position or expertise, are in the unique position to be able to trial their newly acquired skills into the workplace. Not only does this cement their new array of skills and knowledge, it also allows them to fine-tune such attributes to determine what works and what doesn’t in a real world context. This makes for a very individual and rich learning experience.

According to Professor Michael J. Gibbs, Faculty Director of the Executive MBA program at the Chicago Booth School of Business, this type of learning can begin as early as the first few months of the Executive MBA. “EMBA students take lessons straight from the classroom to their work, even at the start of the program,” he says. “The benefits are tremendous. Our students very quickly improve their soft skills (effecting change, negotiating, leadership), and hard skills (rigorous understanding of economics, accounting and finance). They very quickly are seen differently by their peers and managers, are able to take on more responsibilities, and are more effective at their jobs.”

A unique approach

In many EMBA programs, the learning by doing aspect is a two-pronged approach: on the one hand students are able to apply the knowledge within their very own work environment; on the other, they are challenged to solve real world problems of real world managers through the use of case studies in the classroom.

The Ivey Executive MBA stresses such an approach. “Since the Ivey EMBA program is delivered using the Case-Method of Learning, our participants are working through real business issues during their program experience,” explains Carol Stephenson, Dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business. “There is an emphasis on decision-making that pushes participants to assess a situation, develop strategic options, analyze those options, and then make a decision.” By having to solve actual business problems that relate to a broad set of business contexts, the learning possibilities extend beyond the immediate realm of application within a student’s work environment to include tackling and solving complex problems, thereby stimulating new ways of thinking and thus learning.

A lifelong goal

Learning takes place throughout our lifetime and those attracted by the challenge of an Executive MBA are among a highly motivated group of professionals for whom learning paves the way to great success. While we may all have individual styles of learning, taking the hands on approach is an integral part of the journey. After all, practice makes perfect.