Sales and Negotiation Class: Observations*

Last week I observed a class about Sales and Negotiation of the course International Business. After that I did the opportunity to talk to the teacher and with some students. The teacher said that the entire course of International Business is taught in English and that all teachers use a Learning Management Systems to foster a blended learning and a more collaborative learning environment. During the observed class just a half of the students was present, because the other half part of students were attending another course at the same time.

During the observations I've identified innovative lessons, classroom infrastructure allowed for an integrative sitting arrangement and role playing activities. With modern colorful and flexible couches and chairs learners were free to arrange themselves and work in pairs or groups. Thus, furniture can be categorized as organic-conversational, since it provides a comfortable and inspirational environment, which fosters creative learning, knowledge sharing, diverging thinking, autonomy, self-direct learning, and authentic production, all necessary to the course goals.

The observed class had begun in the morning with a brief lecture and the discussion about the role playing, when the students should simulate the sale of a fishing travel package to Thailand. The girls should be the sellers and the boys should be the buyers. During that morning they should research and prepare the sale strategies to apply at role playing later In terms of interaction, we must say that innovative lessons focused more on learner interaction and knowledge exchange between the groups rather than teacher and student interaction. 

Role playing methodologies showed Problem based learning traits and provided real-life tasks connecting learners to a meaningful learning. As for the teacher’s role, we observed that teachers worked more as tutors, facilitating knowledge production, avoiding directive activities and therefore favoring the autonomy development, learner’s researching skills and discussions. Moreover, lessons which were predominantly innovative also made wide use of blended learning, by assigning tasks on the virtual learning environment Tabula, which included extra materials to be downloaded, homework, tests and varied activities, and even for assessment.

At the last part of the class, the teacher Päivi Mayor asked all the girls, as sellers, about the difficulties and the strategies used during the sales process. Teacher listed all the sales techniques used by students and they had studied earlier. After each girls talked, the teacher asked the boys, as buyers, the strengths and weaknesses of the sellers approaches. During that time the students could interact and the teacher acted as a facilitator. In my opinion, the teacher approach was able to motivate and engage the students during all the moments the class I could observe.

* Part of this post had the contribution of Jamylle, Elisângela and Igor.