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Reflective Thoughts on Teaching the Future of Tourism

1 ABSTRACTThis reflective paper considers how Dr Ian Yeoman teaches futures studies and scenario planning to tourism students across several undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. It is based upon his teaching philosophy of visualization, authenticity, problem-based learning, scaffolding and his understanding of how students negotiate their own learning.

The paper examines the approach taken in three modules, where Yeoman is the primary lecturer. TOUR104 is a first-year introductory module addressing how the drivers and trends in the macro environment influence tourism from a political, economic, social, technology and environment perspective. As part of the Bachelor of Tourism Management degree, TOUR301 is a third-year module that aims to help students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and critically analyse tourism public policy, planning and processes primarily within New Zealand. TOUR413 is a scenario planning module, applied in a tourism context and taught to students in postgraduate programs.

The contribution of this paper makes is in its demonstration of the link between teaching philosophy and student learning, the challenges students encounter with futures thinking in a problem-based learning environment and the evolution of the modules.

Key words: Pedagogical; futures; tourism; problem-based learning; authentic learning

2 THE REASONS FOR THE REFLECTIVE JOURNEY

I (Ian Yeoman) have always been a good presenter and communicator. My background is as a futurist and scenario planner in the travel and tourism industry. I am a keynote speaker at many industry, association and academia events. My presentation style is engaging, creative, makes you think and is grounded in research. Recent presentations have included the Role of Science Fiction in Tourism1 at booking.com’s AGM to some audience of 1200 employees or The Europe of European Tourism2 at a European Union Tourism Ministers 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=F4Co3W91z-8

2 https://vimeo.com/album/4648621/video/222658667

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summit. However, there is a huge difference between an engaging presenter compared to being an effective teacher. This is what I started to notice, when reviewing my module and teaching evaluations and listening to colleagues. Something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what it was, and I needed to do something about it. Then I saw an email about a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning3 (PHETL) and, after speaking to colleagues, I realised I knew what my teaching and learning style was, that is, based around problem based and authentic learning. But I didn’t understand how it impacted on students, the theoretical underpinning of this approach, how students learned both as individuals and in groups, the challenges of the coursework assessments and the mismatch of expectations. These reflections made me think about my teaching. The only thing to do was to enrol on PHELT and begin my teaching and learning journey.

3 CRITICAL REFLECTION

Denzin and Lincoln (2011, 115) define reflexivity as, ‘the process of reflecting critically on the self as a researcher or human instrument’. It is the conscious experiencing of the self both as the enquirer and the respondent. Reflexivity requires the researcher to interrogate and critically reflect on the binaries, contradictions and paradoxes of teaching and researching. Critical reflection through conceptualisation of one’s own teaching allows teachers to build and understand their practice, the nature of student learning and their own philosophical approach. Indeed, reflexivity is a justified method in pedagogical research. Kunseler (2015) has explored the approach of foresight practitioners focusing on stakeholder engagement; the research is based on reflective practice and personal accounts. Benade (2015) noted that reflexivity is a common method for personal development education in teaching and nursing, discussing models of the reflective practitioner which link practice to theory. I have undertaken a number of reflexivity studies to critically review my practice in defining my teaching philosophy through the delivery of postgraduate modules (Yeoman 2012b), the challenges of teaching the future (Yeoman and McMahon-Beatte 2018) and reflecting on soft systems methodology (Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Wheatley 2016).

This paper is a personal reflection about teaching the future of tourism, the challenges of using a futures perspective and the emergence of a teaching philosophy based upon authenticity, problems based learning and visual thinking.

4 DR IAN YEOMANI am a champion of scenario planning based upon an apprenticeship in the mid-2000s at VisitScotland where I embedded scenario planning into the organisation as I believed the methodology could be used to achieve a few VisitScotland’s objectives, including thought leadership, political capital, action orientated research and industry engagement. Project examples included the development of scenarios for Scottish tourism (Yeoman and Lederer

3 https://www.victoria.ac.nz/learning-teaching/support/professional-development/phelt

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2005), oil and war (Yeoman, Galt, and McMahon-Beattie 2005) and avian flu and pandemics (Page et al. 2006), crisis management (Page and Yeoman 2007), domestic market forecasts (Munro and Yeoman 2005), the future of visitor centres (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie 2006a) and climate change (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie 2006b). My publications between 2001 and 2008 represent some of the most cited publications on tourism futures in tourism literature (Buckley et al. 2015). Post VisitScotland, I emigrated to New Zealand, taking up a teaching and research post in a university environment and championing not only scenario planning for New Zealand’s tourism industry (Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie 2014) but also developing the field of tourism futures in a number of specific contexts, such as, food tourism (Yeoman et al. 2015), events and festivals (Yeoman et al. 2014) and urban spas (Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Findlay 2014).

5 THE TEACHER: MY PHILOSOPHY

Goodbye, Mr Chips (Hilton 1939) is a fictional story about a school teacher at Brookfield, England. Mr Chips, at the beginning is perceived as the fool who cannot control the classroom, but over time he develops into a teacher of stature through adopting a student-centred approach to learning. This portrays what I believe to be my teaching philosophy which can be summarised as:

Embracing a student-centred approach to learning rather than teacher focused. Placing importance on the role of authentic learning in stimulating a real work

environment. Embedding a problem-based learning approach with students negotiating their own

learning, setting boundaries, negotiating problems and resolving issues. Adopting the use of problem structuring methods to visualise learning. Grounding my teaching in my research and being passionate about the future of

tourism.

Combined, these statements of philosophy define my approach to teaching and learning, which has been adopted across the modules I teach.

6 TEACHING THE FUTURE

6.1 INTRODUCTIONThe use of ‘future’ in the English language dates to the 14th century. It derives from the Latin futurus, meaning ‘about to be’ which became assimilated to French as ‘futuer’. Broadly speaking, future and its translation refer to the time that is to be or come hereafter. It is not clearly delineated in terms of time horizon; it may mean tomorrow, next year, the coming decade, the next 20, 30 or 50 years or even forthcoming centuries (Asselt et al. 2010). Throughout history, prophets and wizards have stirred the masses with pictures and predictions of the future. For example, Cassandra foretold the fall of Troy (Flechtheim,

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1945) and Jeremiah prophesized the doom of Jerusalem. What does this all mean? Should we teach the future like the prophets? How do students understand and construct the future? What are the challenges in teaching students about the future? How to you give students skills to co-construct tourism futures?

I overview three core tourism modules I have primary responsibility for. TOUR104 is a first-year introductory module addressing how the drivers and trends in the macro environment influence tourism from a political, economic, social, technology and environment perspective. TOUR301 is a third-year module on the Bachelor of Tourism Management degree. It aims to help students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and critically analyse tourism public policy, planning and processes within New Zealand and a wider context. TOUR413 is a scenario planning paper, applied in a tourism context and taught to students as part of the Masters in Tourism Management.

6.2 TOUR 104: THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF TOURISM

TOUR104: The Business Environment of Tourism constantly scores low excellent or 1’s (see appendices for teaching evaluations) from students based upon an approach to learning which scaffolds students learning using a portfolio approach to assessment (Martin-Kniep 1998), learning questions (Hale 2013) and the use of visual techniques such as mind maps (Buzan 2000). Classes are interactive composed of two 50-minute lectures per week. The second lecture always connects with the first, when we reflect on those connections. To break down the barrier between lecturer and students token incentives (Stieglitz, Eschmeier, and Steiner 2013) are used to stimulate discussion with a reward for meaningful questions i.e., questions that prop the issues discussed in the lecture. In the module evaluations, students have commented that,

‘The lectures were interaction and held your attention.’

‘At the beginning of the class, Ian would reflect upon the previous lecture with us always going over the key learning points of each lecture.’

As TOUR104 is fundamentally a political, economic, social, technology, environmental and Legal (PESTEL) analysis of the external environment, the very nature of the module matches my research. Therefore, my research underpins it with Tomorrows Tourist (Yeoman 2008) being the core textbook from 2008 to 2011 and 2050: Tomorrows Tourism (Yeoman 2012a) being the core textbook 2012 onwards. This essential reading is supplemented by other publications on the future of tourism.

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Insert Figure 1: Course Text: Tomorrows Tourist and 2050: Tomorrows Tourism

A learning questions and portfolio approach was introduced in 2013 to bring a holistic learning approach to the module. Each lecture is linked to a learning question that addresses a feature of the lecture or guided readings. The purpose of adopting this approach to learning has the following benefits for students:

Allows the student to scaffold their learning and weekly activities. Develops an integrated approach to learning, lecturers, tutorials and assessment as

they are all linked via a portfolio that then becomes a revision aid. Adopts a systematic approach to learning across the module. Visual learning tools help to organise and summarise key learning.

Learning questions are used for all internal assessment that equates to 50% of the course grade. Assignment one is based upon key tourism trends and is worth 10% of the final grade, covering weeks 1-3 of the 12-week module. The student selects one learning questions (from a choice of 5-6 questions). Figure 2 is an extract from the assignment brief that explains the role of learning questions to the students.

Learning Questions

A series of learning questions will be posted on Blackboard each week to reflect lectures, tutorials and readings. Students are required to select 1 learning question using mind maps to capture the key points and explanations from weeks 1 to 3. The essay concludes with a personal statement.

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As learning questions are the central learning tool for critical reflection throughout TOUR104, students are advised to complete at least one question each week through the construction of a mind map then select 1 question to explore further for this assignment. By completing at least 1 question per week students build up a portfolio which is suitable as a revision guide for exam. Learning questions and mind maps are also the essence of assignment 2 – the tourism portfolio.

Figure 2: From Assignment 1 guidance notes about learning questions

As such, assignment one is a short essay of 1,000 to 1,200 words which acts a pilot for assignment two. The assignment brief is extensive and includes a grading rubric, so students understand the parameters of the assessment.

Assignment two (portfolio) is worth 40% of the final grade and is based upon weeks 4-8. The students must complete one learning question per week which follows a similar pattern to assignment one. The portfolio concludes with a critical reflection asking the students to find patterns, similarities and differences between the concepts discussed. Again, the portfolio has extensive guidance notes and a grading rubric.

Figure 3: Example of mind map for a learning question

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Mind maps (an example is shown in figure 3) are used extensively throughout module and student support for the use of this tool is provided in several ways. In week 2 of the course, dedicated mind mapping workshops are organised for students, information about online tutorials and readings are made available via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and mind mapping exercises are scheduled in the two tutorials. The benefits of the learning questions, mind maps and the portfolio are best summarised by a student from a module evaluation in 2016,

‘Though the mind maps were stressful, they did significantly help the whole of the assignments and made the different topic a lot easier to understand.’

‘The use of learning questions per was helpful, as it was easier to structure each week for the portfolio and understand each topic because we were answering questions’.

A team of ‘tutors’ support me in the module delivery. The role of the ‘tutor’ is very important as tutorials support the incremental approach to learning with discussions, mind mapping activities, games and quizzes that provide an interactive learning environment that simulates learning. Each week, I meet with tutors to discuss forthcoming activities and provide tutorial plans as guidance (see Figure 4). Commenting on this, one tutor noted,

Figure 4: Extract from a tutorial plan

“As a tutor for TOUR 104, Ian provided clear direction of where the course was going, and expectations for the students. Ian also gave us the flexibility and space to deliver our

tutorials in a way where we as tutors were able to try new things and make suggestions, resulting in students getting the opportunity to learn in new and different ways. The

guidance Ian gave really helped us explore different ways of providing further support for students to use their curiosity for the course and for the tourism sector”.

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Leole Malama-Prasad, Tutor 2010

In terms of teaching innovation, in 2012, I introduced the concept of whakapapa (Rameka 2012, Paki and Peters 2015) into the syllabus, allowing students to tell their story and the role tourism takes through their culture, language, built heritage, products and experiences. Whakapapa is a Maori (Te Roe) term and the method allows students to orally and visually portray their understanding of tourism topics by linking them to their family history, cultural aspects, land, origins, symbols, values and identity. Using a whakapapa approach is an example of putting the student at the centre of learning. As part of the lecture on culture and whakapapa students are invited to wear clothing that symbolise their national identity and discuss the meaning of the clothes and how they are portrayed in tourism. One student stated,

‘He is an exceptional lecturer, truly inspiring. He has his own innovative way of organising the course and it is different every year. The best part of TOUR104 was that it was different

where everyone was encouraged to participate. The lectures were vivid and fun with students and their stories placed in the centre…This year, he also turned a lecture into a

celebration of his students' diversities where they were asked to dress up in their own national outfits and Ian was no exception. Ian is very passionate and ‘slightly crazy’ about

what he does, which is very inspiring for me as a student. He is constantly researching trends that students or even academics would not even think about in a year. He is a real role

model for all of us…”.

Diana Kham, 2016

In addition to these tutors, student representatives are invaluable, as they take on a leadership role, facilitating mind map study groups. Also, in terms of further support a Facebook page which is used as a medium to communicate with students, supplementing the VLE through useful hints about assignments, tutorial activities or announcements (see Figure 5).

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Figure 5: TOUR 104 Facebook page

6.2.1Critical Reflection of TOUR104TOUR104 is a course I enjoy teaching and I am passionate about the future of tourism. My research and publications feature heavily throughout the module to the extent some students rebrand TOUR104 as “the future of tourism by Ian Yeoman”. However, I would argue that modules underpinned by the lecturer’s own research enhance the student experience and bring an authority of learning and expertise to the content. Indeed, there is a legal requirement in New Zealand that tertiary education should be research led as universities are concerned with advanced learning; the principal aim being to develop intellectual independence. The Education Act (1989, p. Section 254 (253)) states that,

‘the Authority [New Zealand Qualifications Authority] shall not consent to the granting of an award that is described as a degree unless it is satisfied that the award recognises the completion of a

course of advanced learning that– (a) is taught mainly by people engaged in research.’

Research-led teaching reflects and makes use of the teacher’s disciplinary research to benefit student learning and outcomes and, potentially, offers a unique set of opportunities for interaction and learning, inquiry, the extension of skills and the building of greater understanding. This is consistent with a focus on excellent teaching, as Boyer (1991, p. 11) noted in his review of scholarship within universities, ‘teaching, at its best, means not only transmitting knowledge, but transforming and extending it as well’.

As this is an introductory module emphasis is not placed on problem-based learning like TOUR301 and TOUR413 but on using visual thinking (Arnheim 1970, Yeoman 2012b) and learning (Wright 2012, Gangwer 2009) to help the student structure their own learning. Mind mapping (Davies 2011) is well documented as a learning tool as the concept draws upon radiant thinking (Haber 1970). This indicated that individuals have a recognition accuracy of images of between 85 and 95 percent, hence the quote “a picture is worth a

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1,000 words” (Swanson and Wald 2013). I use mind mapping because of my own experience. I am dyslexic, and it was the strategy that helped me structure my own undergraduate learning at Sheffield City Polytechnic in the 1980s.

The introduction of learning questions and the portfolio assessment were a result of happened introducing incremental learning and scaffolding (Holton and Clarke 2006) into the module learning strategy. By using learning questions as part of a portfolio students have an activity to complete each week. In addition, this approach to learning integrates and binds the lectures, tutorials and assessments together. The students see the benefits and engage actively with the module. As the portfolio has a 40% assessment weighting, it is something that cannot be left to the last minute and students need to complete the weekly tasks. One student has noted recently,

‘The Tour104 course covered a large range of material across multiple facets of global tourism, reflecting well on Ian's breadth of knowledge. This is something that I thoroughly

enjoyed as we never became too bogged down on a certain area. Students in this class were tasked with creating weekly mind maps on various topics discussed in class. This is the first

time I have encountered this teaching technique in high level education yet was impressed at how useful these mind maps became. Due to there being a large range of material, mind

maps became a great way to summarise each topic along with a few key points. The portfolio assignment was very large, the fact that it was broken down into sections by said mind maps made the completion process easier to manage. When it came to study for the exam, it was clear what was expected and being tested on and the mind mapping process proved valuable and was reflected in my A+ mark (the highest mark of all my papers). Ian's topic choices were current, relatable and interesting, which translated into an enthusiastic,

engaged class environment, all to Ian's credit.’

Fraser Tait, student 2017

6.3 TOUR 301: TOURISM POLICY AND PLANNING

The module recreates the policy making process of tourism (Dredge and Jamal 2015) with students required to develop a national plan for New Zealand using scenario planning (Yeoman 2012c). Senior leaders from New Zealand’s tourism industry participate in the process through guest lecturers where they convey their ideas for the future. Each leader presents his/her thoughts on the future of tourism for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes of questions. Prior to the commencement of the lecture, the students have researched the topic and speaker to ensure focused questioning. Speakers have included Minsters of Tourism, an Opposition Spokesperson, Chief Executives of Tourism New Zealand, Research Managers from the Tourism Industry Association, and representative from the Maori Tourism Council etc. Module evaluation feedback commends the opportunity for students to engage with civic leaders and supports an authentic approach to learning.

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Improvements in module delivery have included the introduction of rubrics for internal assessments (De La Paz, 2009) in 2010. In 2011, the formative feedback mechanism was improved for group assignment by introducing a draft submission element. This feedback was both written and oral. Emphasis was placed on oral feedback to give the students an opportunity to discuss progress. In 2012, the Maori context was incorporated providing students an opportunity had to consider the Treaty of Waitangi (State Services 2004), Mātauranga4 (Bourke and Loveridge 2015) or product development as part of a national plan. Support for this was delivered through engagement with the Maori Tourism Council. In 2012, a Ministerial briefing note assessment was introduced in order to focus on communications (Emerson 2013). A briefing note is a short report of approximately 1,500 words addressed to the Minister of Tourism. Students had to write up their national plan using this medium, with an emphasis placed on an extended executive summary and the plan in the form of a strategy map. This form of assessment was new to many students, so extensive assignment notes were required to support the students, along with focused tutorials. One student noted,

‘Ian is one of my innovative teachers in my academic life at Victoria University of Wellington. I have been impressed in the way he organised and planned his courses. He has strongly and effectively helped us to link the theoretical knowledge of tourism

to the practical context. He successful employed number of effective learning strategies. Ian in the subject (TOUR 301) - Tourism Planning and Policy encouraged

students to think critically and creatively by using mapping concept and real-life case studies. This type of learning had impacted the way students solve and evaluate the

problems.’

Batool AL Saif, Student, 2015

4 Values

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Figure 6: Rich Pictures from TOUR 301

The exam for TOUR301 has developed from a traditional ‘memory test’ (Karpicke, Butler, and Roediger Iii 2009) to a problem based case study (Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Wheatley 2016, Yeoman 2012b) and is open book style (Yeoman and McMahon-Beatte 2018). Students use soft systems methodology (SSM) (Checkland 1981) to analyse a range of problems in order to develop policy solutions. This approach to learning follows the policy cycle of decision making using case studies to simulate a real-world problem environment where students must come up with solutions in a time constrained exam environment. The approach to learning SSM is focused on tutorial activity, with students practicing the application of the methodology using one dedicated case study over a four-week period. Exercises include the use of Rich Pictures (Bell and Morse 2013) as illustrated in figure 6 with students drawing in picture format the issues pertaining to the case study.

This problem-based learning approach is often new to many students (Treloar et al. 2000, Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Wheatley 2016). Some do have difficulty with the concept. Therefore, tutorial activity for TOUR301 is designed as incremental and sequential (Smith and Smith 2003). They incorporate a series of activities that scaffold learning (Bridges, Corbet, and Chan 2015), breaking down complexity into component parts. Supporting this approach, one student has stated,

‘As a Tourism Policy and Planning student under the guidance of Ian Yeoman the course incorporated a selection of techniques that have been highly useful for my career post tertiary education. Using scenario planning as a research method, in

groups we collaborated to design a set of scenarios based on political influences and ideologies that could be implemented to benefit society in general and the tourism industry. In my opinion this was an excellent way to creatively convert ideologies,

such as neoliberalism, into the way we develop and enhance the tourism industry to

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create benefits and mitigate societal issues. Rich pictures was a technique introduced to us on this course to help explore a situation, acknowledge the effects and define a mental model based on our thought processes. The use of Soft Systems Methodology was a way to help problem solve ideas based on a process used by organisations and was an effective tool to help with understanding the collaboration process between

stakeholders. The learning environment that Ian provided was very collaborative and inclusive, with a focus on being creative yet practical, and well-equipped us with essential tools that enabled us to effectively define and develop all aspects of our

scenarios and effectively provide benefits for society and the tourism industry.’

Andrew Murtagh, Student, 2012

In order to support this SSM approach, I have written a research paper published in the Journal of Tourism Futures which explains to practitioners, academics and students how to use it via a case study approach (Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Wheatley 2016). This paper thus demonstrates good practise in relation to learning and teaching pedagogy and highlights the benefits of incremental learning i., scaffolding (Yeoman 2012b, Gangwer 2009, Treloar et al. 2000, Jaramillo 1996)and visual learning techniques i.e. using rich pictures (Checkland 1990, 1981).

6.3.1Critical Reflection of TOUR301I remember in 2010, overhearing students leaving the tutorials saying, “I didn’t really get it and understand what they were doing”. This summed it all up! From that moment, like other teachers I set about making a series of incremental improvements which is reflected in the student evaluations which has seen the overall effectiveness improve from average (3.0) in 2009 to excellent (1.3)5 in 2015. There are still a number of challenges, for example, a minority of students struggle with problem based learning approach given the traditional academic approach to learning often found in majority of university courses (Huang 2005). The SSM incorporates problem structuring techniques such as cartoon style diagrams (Yeoman and McMahon-Beatte 2018). This approach is not for everyone. A common student complaint is that they are ‘not artists’. The only way to deal with this is through practice and declarative knowledge. I emphasize to students that I am not judging their Rich Pictures for artistic merit but that they must communicate to me the meaning of the concepts etc., therefore. the use of keys and labels is important. Another challenge for students is using political ideologies to distinguish between policy perspectives (Gormley-Heenan and Lightfoot 2012, Yeoman and McMahon-Beatte 2018, Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie, and Wheatley 2016). A student protested once, “if I wanted to do a degree in politics I would have studied it”. Again, its keeping the level of factual knowledge appropriate for the course.

When you do something different, like problem-based learning you must understand the student learning experience. Key here is for the teacher to design an appropriate learning 5 See appendices A

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environment. Also, Greater emphasis needs to be placed upon tutorials rather than lectures because of the importance of procedural knowledge over declarative knowledge (Toto et al. 2014). Tutorials put the student into the centre of the learning experiences, as they are interactive, problem based and emphasize skills acquisition.

6.4 TOUR 413: SCENARIOS FOR WORLD TOURISM

TOUR413 is a scenario planning module, applied in a tourism context and delivered to postgraduate Master of Tourism Management students. The learning strategy puts the students at the centre of the learning process through an action research method. Students engage with key stakeholders, leaders and experts to construct a range of scenarios about the future (Yeoman 2012b). The problems are of important to New Zealand stakeholders and the Business School’s proximity to government and industry allows the students to gain access in real time with senior leaders. Examples of projects include 2030: The Future of i-Sites; 2030: The Future of Regional Tourism Organisations and 2050: The Future of Wellington on a Plate – An International Comparative Analysis. Students follow a scenario planning method which involves literature reviews, interviewing stakeholders, workshops and report presentations (Van der Heijden et al. 2002, Wade 2012). The central learning tool for assessment is Student Preparation Assignments [SPAs](Ewell and Rodgers 2014, Yeoman 2012b) highlighted in figure 7. These short weekly assignments breakdown complex tasks, allowing students to scaffold their learning. This method originates from Vgoysky’s sociocultural theory (Jaramillo 1996) and his concept of ‘zone proximal development’ (Holton and Clarke 2006). The SPAs are posted to a blog with feedback from provided by myself and student peer review. In 2016, students had to complete 7 SPAs with 5 counting towards assessment. By only counting 5 SPAs students can take risks with the assessment and not be worried about making mistakes without penalising grades.

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Figure 7: Example of SPA activity

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The use of student blogs allows for regular formative feedback from myself, student reflections on progress and peer review by fellow students (Habul-Šabanović 2015). For example, students are asked to reflect on progress, weekly activities and what they learned from other students. The blog entry below is an example of an SPA exercise asking the students summarise their contribution to the group process and reflection upon there learnings.

“I would consider my role in the team as the team coordinator. This project has been a great learning experience for me; I enjoyed getting the hands-on experience with a ‘real’ project. I think for my role as team coordinator, I helped to keep everyone on track; I did

this by ensuring that the time plan that we developed was followed and that we stuck to our deadlines to ensure the completion of the project. I put together the presentation based on the group’s ideas for the meeting with Sarah Meikle I also collated all the work for the final

PowerPoint presentation, re-formatting it, to ensure it came together as a cohesive presentation”.

Blog Entry: Katherine Findlay, July 2014

Figure 8 is example of SPA and blog entries over the duration of the course posted to the VLE.

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Figure 8: Example of student blog postings

In 2014 the project was for the Wellington Culinary Festivals Trust (Miekle 2017) with the title The Future of Wellington on a Plate (WOAP) – An International Comparative Analysis. The project was an event as part of WOAP6 with students presenting their finding to an audience of 70 people.

“Postgraduate students presented a range of thought provoking, creative and well researched scenarios about the future of Wellington on a Plate as part of the festival. We

used the scenarios to further develop our strategy and the board where really impressed by the student’s efforts”.

6 https://www.visawoap.com/

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Email correspondence: Sarah Miekle, Director of Wellington Culinary Events Trust, 28th

August 2014

The event was sold out! Figure 9 is an article from School of Management newsletter that featured what the students achieved.

Figure 9: TOUR413 students as part of Wellington of a Plate in 2014

Source: https://www.victoria.ac.nz/som/about/news/news-archives/2014-news/the-future-of-food-festivals

In terms of the impact of the module, one postgraduate student commented,

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“Overall, I thought the course was one of, if not the most beneficial to my postgraduate learnings. The primary reason being that the course allowed myself and my colleagues the

opportunity to get out into the real world and tackle a problem existing in the tourism industry and work closely with a firm in the tourism industry. I was fortunate enough to be able to work closely with a leading tourism organisation in Wellington and provide my own

insight into ways in which the relative issue could be targeted and improved upon. Secondly, as the course was revolved around scenario planning, it allowed me the opportunity to think about existing trends that would impact the future of tourism and develop my own plans as to how these trends could be dealt with. It allowed for a large amount of creativity, along with critical thinking about how our scenarios would impact the future of tourism. Finally, being taught by Ian is a great experience in itself. He is an incredibly passionate individual,

gets all his students involved in the task at hand and is incredibly helpful and courteous towards his students. He makes learning the course material, no matter how difficult it may

seem a pleasant experience”.

Jackson Smith, Postgraduate Student, Email correspondence 15th September 2017

Communications and creativity is an essential part of this paper, hence the assessment includes a visualisation component, with students communicating their findings through non-traditional means to clients, that is not through the use of PowerPoint (Yeoman and McMahon-Beatte 2018, Yeoman 2012b). Mediums of visualisation have included cartoon strips, video cartoon clips, posters and portraying scenarios as front page covers of the Listener7 magazine. Examples of scenario visualisations are figures 10 and 11.

7 http://www.noted.co.nz/the-listener/

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Figure 7: Scenario Visualisation: Captain Wellington by Jackson Smith for the Future of i-Sites project

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Figure 8: Scenario Visualisation by Alex Gadd for the Future of Regional Tourism Organisations project

The richness of engagement, the action research approach and the transferability of employability skills has rendered this module a success from a student perspective. Consequently, the module has seen rating improvements from very good (2.3) in 2008 to excellent (1.3) in 20158. Throughout the continuous development of this module,

8 See Appendices A

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experiments of assessment and assignments have included the use of www.twitter.com , with students following experts’ tweets to build an understanding of their present thinking.

The evolution of TOUR 413 (Yeoman 2012b) was published in Journal of Teaching, Travel and Tourism as part of a special issue on Authentic Learning (Albrecht and Yeoman 2012).

The paper summarises well my approach to student learning. Yeoman (2012b, 309) noted;

“As such, TOUR411 (now TOUR413): Scenarios for World Tourism demonstrates the real-world relevance of practice in which students have engaged in a problem simulation with a

degree of social connectivity with industry in which they have had to mimic the world of business. By the very nature of scenario planning, the problem is uncertain, and students have had to negotiate their own learning experience, define the problem, manage their

time, and make their own decisions, etc. The author’s role has been that of teacher initially, developing the students’ competence in scenario planning, then taking on the role of facilitator observing their behaviour, offering sign posts, and providing constructive

feedback”.

6.4.1 Critical Reflection of TOUR413

The development of TOUR 413 has been a personal journey. I believe in authentic learning, recreating a simulated business environment and problem-based learning but I did not know from a pedagogical perspective how to create it. There has been a degree of trial and error but overall, I have set out to improve TOUR 413 based upon student feedback, colleagues’ opinion and professional development courses in learning and teaching, notably PHELT. As a student under Dr Kathryn Sutherland9, SPAs where our weekly homework for PHELT10 and this is the learning strategy I have used effectively in TOUR 413. SPAs allow the students to scaffold there learning whereas the blog provide instant feedback. TOUR 413 is a different module for many students. They engage with potential employers, interview senior stakeholders, negotiate their own learning through a group process, use creativity and imagination, develop project management skills and find solutions to problems. I enjoy teaching (or facilitating) this module, though there are still ongoing issues and I am still learning!

7 CONCLUSIONTo conclude, my reflections are:

Place students at the centre of the learning process with an emphasis on authenticity and problem-based learning so that students feel empowered, relevance and can manage complexity.

9 https://www.victoria.ac.nz/learning-teaching/cad/staff/dr-kathryn-sutherland

10 https://www.victoria.ac.nz/learning-teaching/support/professional-development/phelt

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Using innovative learning strategies students can engage with stakeholders and communities about real and relevant problems thus contributing to potential solutions.

If learning has a sense of realism, it is a more valuable experience to students. No employer will ask students to write an essay, but they will expect them to

solve problems and make decisions, hence the importance of problem-based learning.

As a teacher, you are a coach who gives direction, provides tactics, has a plan and is a leader. It is the students who play the game of learning, your role is to be there and get the best out of individuals and learning teams.

The learning and teaching of ‘futures’ is a distinct learning environment different from others.

Visualising the future is easier than writing about it. You can read a picture quicker than an essay.

The future is complex and daunting to students, so guide them with scaffolding. All mountains can be conquered in little steps.

The publication of my pedagogical research acting as a reflective learning process and the dissemination of best practice.

APPENDIX ATable 1: Teaching Evaluations (Victoria University of Wellington) Overall Effectiveness

TOUR104 TOUR301 TOUR4132008 2.4 2.32009 1.9 3 2.32010 22011 2.5 1.82012 1.4 2.1 1.52013 1.2 1.8 2014 1.4 1.9 2015 1.2 1.3 1.32016 1.3 2.32017 1.8

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