The Poster Boys (and Girls) of Economic History

AT THE ECONOMIC HISTORY DAY 1,500 STUDENTS WILL PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THEIR TEAM WORKS WITH 70X100 CM ACADEMIC POSTERS

Tomorrow in Bocconi will be Economic History Day. On Friday, 13 May 1,500 Economic History students will share with the Bocconian community the results of their studies. Starting at 3 pm, in an open session on the third floor of the Velodromo, they will present their works on the impact of globalization on enterprises, economic sectors and social equality. There won’t be a pitch, nor a Power Point presentation. The students will employ 70x100 cm academic posters similar to those used by PhDs to present their studies. A contest will declare the twelve best posters and the best works will be displayed at the Velodromo, then at the Bocconi Library.
 
The mastermind behind this learning experience is Andrea Colli, professor of Economic History for CLEAM, CLEF and CLES undergraduate students. His course is usually associated with standard lectures, but since last year it is the subject of a learning experiment arranged with the agreement of the vice-rector. In 2014-15, the first part of the course took place in the traditional way. The second part instead was devoted to teamwork and ended with a presentation in class. This year, after the midterm exam, students of twelve classes were divided into groups of eight people each and invited to work on the topic of globalization. “The first goal”, Colli says, “is to use history knowledge to read the present. Secondly, we aim to strengthen the spirit of the classroom and to improve interaction, especially during a course that is usually seen as rote learning”.
 
Posters describe a logic path in a limited space. They challenge analytical skills and urge students to present their research in an effective way. Given the high number of students involved, the oral presentations that took place last year didn’t allow much interaction. This year, on the contrary, posters will be exposed and visible to all, with a member of each team available to provide explanations. In the morning of Friday, 13 May, the works will be presented in class and analyzed by the professors for the final evaluation. The best ones will then be rated by students in the afternoon. The process involved the Bocconi Education and Teaching Alliance (BETA) and the Library.
 
The team of Santino Fastuca, a CLEAM student, came to the final result after a trial-and-error process. “Our first attempts were rejected by the professors. We thought posters had to recap what we had learned, then we understood that instead we had to create something original, that went beyond the topics covered in class”. Federica Testa, a CLES student, was pleasantly surprised: “I did not expect this kind of work in an Economic History course. The hardest thing was team management. It was not easy to equally share work between teammates and to conciliate different points of view”. Veronica Braccioni, CLEAM, liked the idea of being assessed by her colleagues: “This is what will happen in our working life. We will be assessed by third parties: our bosses, some regulatory authority, the market”.
 

by Claudio Todesco