For undergraduate and taught masters students, who numerically outnumber those on
higher-level management programmes, the traditional large-lecture format tends to be the
dominant teaching method used. Practicality may partly influence the selection of teaching
method. With the large groups often seen on undergraduate and taught masters programmes
(circa 90-400 students), high levels of student interaction are often considered impractical
(Nicholson, 2000). However, whilst the large-lecture format offers convenience from an
institutional perspective (i.e. relatively low faculty and facility overheads), it has been argued
that this method fails to actively engage students in the learning process (Fish, 2007).
This paper reports the findings of a study exploring the preferences of OM students
towards different teaching methods. We then examine the perceived effectiveness of
experiential teaching methods for two OM contexts – small post-experience modules, where
these methods are most often used; and larger pre-experience modules, where the use of
experiential methods is relatively limited. Analysis is based on survey data from 274 students
taking part in a business simulation game on six OM modules in a UK university.