Marketing educators recognize the importance of imparting theoretical marketing knowledge while also helping students acquire marketable skills through experiential learning. Experiential learning is active, reflective learning that encourages linking abstract lessons with concrete activities. Experiential education is learning by doing (Cowley, 2020; Frontczak, 1998), Courses have shifted away from in-person lectures and moved online due to the Covid-19 epidemic (Thomason 2020). This shift has left an open question of the best way to include experiential learning in an online learning environment. In short, how can students best prepare for and learn from experiential learning without having face-to-face meetings with their instructors or teammates? This study compares two sections of an undergraduate search engine marketing class, both given online. One online class included traditional lectures given live during class time over Zoom. The other class followed a flipped classroom model, where students familiarize themselves with new class content on their own time (Green, 2015). Class meetings provided students with an opportunity to ask questions and gain further clarity before starting their experiential assignments.
William J. Zahn (Sat,) studied this question.