Volume 4, 2025
Tove Rasmussen
Abstract
With a project-based learning (PBL) format, my Global Marketing students are more engaged because they are working to solve a real-world challenge. How students are involved with critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communications is discussed, as well as how the PBL Global Marketing course will be enhanced, in upcoming semesters.
With project-based learning (PBL), my students developed marketing plans for a United States company to expand their business, to a new country. One of the courses I teach is Global Marketing, an undergraduate, in-person class that uses the learning management system, Brightspace, for supplemental support. When I was asked to teach third year Global Marketing, for a second time, I wanted to make the course more interesting, engaging, and real for the students. With over 13 years of teaching, I have taught many classes using company projects, where students have researched the companies, but the students did not work with the companies, directly. With project-based learning, my students had an opportunity to learn through applying principles, to real companies.
According to For Deeper Learning’s (2023) article “Plan Project-Based Learning,” PBL elements include students engaging in inquiry to help solve a real-life challenge. Students also share their findings, conclusions, and process with an outside audience. (A suggested PBL implementation sequence is shown in the Appendix.) Considerable research demonstrates students learn more through projects, than with traditional teaching. For example, Masdarini et al. (2024) showed, through a rigorous experiment with 76 students, the increased understanding of entrepreneurialism that occurs with project-based learning.
At University of New England, where I teach, students conduct themselves in a professional manner, particularly third year students. Therefore, students can work effectively with outside companies.Third year business students have also taken Introductory Marketing and understand the idea of a global marketing plan, for companies moving into a new country’s market.
Project Initiation
I introduced the project in the first class. The Challenge Question was: How can we develop marketing plans for United States companies who would like to enter new countries? The challenge question serves as the project’s umbrella. As explained in “College & University PBL Challenge Questions,” (For Deeper Learning, 2022), by framing the challenge as a question, an inquiry process is set in motion.
Groups. As it was my first time providing PBL, I jumped right in and assigned students to groups and companies, though I realize I didn’t know in which companies students would be most interested, nor which students would work well together. Still, the students ended up working well together and put together excellent marketing plans. The project teams were introduced to the challenge question and provided with the names of their company and country, in which their company would like to extend its product or service.The teams were told they would have an introductory meeting with the company, to learn what the company does and the opportunity the company sees in the potential, new country market.
Reflections. In keeping with the project being student-centered, next semester students will select their team members and the companies for their project. This will further increase students’ interest in their project. The project will start with the third or fourth class meeting, to let students become acquainted with each other. To further help students make good teammate selections, ideally, the initial three classes will give students the opportunity to work with various students.
Inquiry learning. A major feature of PBL is inquiry learning. An inquiry mindset was established at the beginning by framing the project’s topic as a question. Student teams generated lists of inquiry questions they would research (see Table 1). Each team then reported out to the class the questions their group generated. The company representatives gave the students information, which spawned even further questions, as shown in Table 2.
Table 1
Initial Student Generated Inquiry Questions (Includes instructor suggested questions)
What is the background of the company?
What are the company’s products and services?
What percent of company sales, currently, are from our focus country?
What are the key opportunities in the country for the company?
What are obstacles to growth in the new country for the company?
Table 2
Student Generated Inquiry Questions During Market Research Phase
What is the market’s size and growth?
How can we determine industry trends?
What pertinent government regulations exist?
To what degree is the country’s economic strength – including the ability of customers to pay their company’s price?
How does the country’s culture affect the market need for the companys product or service?
Who are the competitors in the marketplace?
Reflections. Alacapinar (2008) rightly notes that students need to understand
enough about the topic to know what to ask. Next semester, I will include a few introductory classes on the topic to help orient students.
Companies. Prior to the course, I worked with my university’s Business Department chairperson, an international trade center, and my own network to generate a list of project companies with whom my students could connect.
Reflections. For next semester,I expect to supplement the company choices for the students’ projects, by working with my university’s Career Development department to identify appropriate companies, with which the university is familiar.
Deeper Learning
Company managers were excited by the new ideas and quality of work.
When deeper learning occurs, acquired learning can be used beyond the classroom; and specific skills and attitudes, deeper learning outcomes, are strengthened (“What is Deeper Learning?” For Deeper Learning, 2025). An experiential framework that includes inquiry, such as PBL, promotes deeper learning (Darling-Hammond, 2008 ). Following are specific deeper learning outcomes developed and demonstrated through the PBL marketing class.
Learning and living self-agency. Students set up the initial meeting with their company. Students also determined the questions for this meeting. For scaffolding, I suggested a few initial inquiry questions and worked with students, to help students choose questions they would ask. Their company meetings were extremely productive.
Students research resources to use, with the assistance of numerous credible sources from our university library and that I provided in our learning management system. Students showed considerable proficiency in determining their research questions, topics, and sources. Students developed their own marketing plan.
Reflections. If students needed something, it was up to them to ask, though I am not sure they always did ask. I would have liked to see more self-agency in students ensuring they understood concepts, application of the material, etc. I also would have liked to see greater initiative in contacting their company, with questions. However, undergraduate students are likely not comfortable contacting their much older company contacts. Next time, I will include more company meetings in the outline, for check-ins.
Thinking carefully, critically, and creatively to solve challenges. Graded discussions offered great opportunities for students to demonstrate thinking carefully and critically, in addressing the project’s challenge question. Before class, each student performed the necessary research and considered their responses to discussion question. During the graded discussion, project teams demonstrated their grasp of the material and using critical thinking and creativity, often presenting excellent recommendations for their marketing plan.
An example of critical thinking and creativity is that students discussed the culture of their new country and how it related to the market need for the product. For instance, the students working on Dental Lace highlighted the environmental consciousness in Norway and Sweden, which would increase the demand for the zero waste dental floss alternative.
Reflections. The unit included PBL features and followed a series of recommended PBL implementation steps (see Appendix). By engaging in project-based learning, students use critical thinking and creativity (Alacapinar, 2008). Empirical evidence of critical thinking and creativity also exists, based on my observations of the students’ plans. In the future, requiring students to provide more details regarding the marketing promotion, pricing, etc will offer further application of critical thinking.
Working collaboratively and independently. Most teams effectively collaborated to synthesize the work students did independently. Team members discussed their new findings with each other, to develop their approach.
Communicating effectively. Students gained considerable practice in speaking out in class, in small groups and in presentations. In this PBL class, participation was of vital importance and 20% of the final grade. Students were encouraged to speak up during class and to talk with their peers during small group discussions.
Presentations. In addition to contributing to class and small group discussions, students had an informal presentation for their interim findings, and then a final presentation for their full marketing plan. The managers of the companies attended the final presentation, which increased the stakes. The resulting student presentations were creative and practical. Company managers were excited by the new ideas and quality of work.
Conclusions
By giving students an opportunity to apply marketing principles to real company situations, students acquired knowledge and skills; and were excited to see companies respond to their work. With enhancements, noted above, this method of teaching can yield even more learning.
References
Alacapinar, F. (2008). Effectiveness of project-based learning. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research,8,17-34.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Powerful learning: What we know about teaching for understanding. Jossey-Bass.
For Deeper Learning (2022). College & University PBL Challenge Questions.
https://fordeeperlearning.org/college-university-pbl-challenge-questions/
For Deeper Learning (2022). PBL Implementation Steps – Conserving Energy Project.
https://fordeeperlearning.org/quality-project-based-learning-implementation-steps-conserving-energy-project/
For Deeper Learning. (2023). Plan Project-Based Learning.
https://fordeeperlearning.org/planprojectbasedlearning/
For Deeper Learning. (2025) What is Deeper Learning?
https://fordeeperlearning.org/deeper-learning-defined/
Masdarini, L., Candiasa, M., Agustini, K., & Sudatha, G. W. (2024). The effect of project-based
learning and self-efficacy towards students’ entrepreneurial readiness in vocational
high school. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction,14(2), 324-330.
Appendix
Suggested PBL Implementation Sequence
Beginning
1. Hook
2. Unit Overview
3. Challenge Question
4. Elicit beginning inquiry questions: Connecting to prior knowledge, generating questions (Need-to–Knows) and initial ideas for how to solve the challenge. (Know/Need-to-Know/Ideas)
Middle
5. Digging-in: Finding answers to inquiry questions (need-to-knows). Gather, share and analyze information – further questions, further research
6. Determine solutions
7. Create products including presentation
Ending
8. Feedback/self-assessment/revision on draft presentation/product (this ideally occurs earlier as well).
9. Presentations and other Summative Products
10. De-Briefing
(Possible Celebration)
Source: For Deeper Learning (2022). PBL Implementation Steps – Conserving Energy Project. https://fordeeperlearning.org/quality-project-based-learning-implementation-steps-conserving-energy-project/
Tove Rasmussen, MBA, is owner and management consultant of Partners Creating Growth. She serves as Adjunct Professor, at University of New England and Part-Time Lecturer, at University of Southern Maine. Tove Rasmussen can be reached at tove@partnerscreatinggrowth.com or tove.rasmussen@maine.edu