The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002: §342b Home Papers/Indices prev (§342a) Next (§342c)

Paper (refereed) IT Education: Best Practices

Recommended Citation: Schatzberg, L. Applying Bloom's and Kolb's Theories to Teaching Systems Analysis and Design. In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002, v 19 (San Antonio): §342b. ISSN: 1542-7382.

Applying Bloom's and Kolb's Theories to Teaching Systems Analysis and Design

Refereed

Laurie Schatzberg    [a1] [a2]
Anderson Schools of Management
University of New Mexico    [u1] [u2]
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA    [c1] [c2]

Enabling students to understand the processes of systems analysis and design is a challenge facing all MIS educators. While the concepts and details are covered thoroughly in texts, it remains difficult to convey the big picture of the development process. Due in part to the inherent complexity of the subject and the relative absence of introductory-level experiential exercises, beginning MIS students often struggle to understand concepts well enough to apply them in later courses and in the field. Learning theorists such as Bloom and Kolb, however, underscore the importance of experiential learning to developing mastery of a subject. The current work applies these theories to teaching information systems analysis and design in general, and then presents a Lego-based classroom activity to begin to fill the need for early experiential learning in an introductory analysis and design course. Whether students are beginning to learn the field or already have some background, the Lego-based activity is a rich metaphor for the entire systems development process. Students can use the lessons from this activity as they progress through the course and beyond. The activity is one of a growing suite of similar Lego-based activities that has been used for five years at the University of New Mexico in such courses as Introduction to MIS, Structured Systems Analysis & Design, and Object-oriented Analysis & Design.

Keywords: introductory experiential learning, learning theories, analysis and design

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