Incorporating an Instructional Scaffolding Approach into the Classroom: Teaching for Authentic Learning in Hospitality and Tourism Education

Abstract

Literature regarding the effectiveness of various practices for nurturing student learning typically focuses on the different outcomes of passive versus active approaches and suggests that active teaching, including exposing students to real-world learning experiences, facilitates a richer and more authentic understanding. Limited investigation of the impacts of instructional scaffolding—implementing a progression of methods that supplements passive procedures with active learning initiatives—has been undertaken in hospitality and tourism education. This study measures learning among 59 students enrolled in an introductory hospitality and tourism course after they were exposed to passive, situated, and authentic instruction in an effort to determine the degree of understanding at each stage. Our findings revealed that incorporating real-world learning opportunities through situated and authentic teaching strategies helps students build upon theoretical knowledge gained passively to reach praxis.