Blog
Cross-Curricular Project With Our On-Site Art Gallery
16th November 2012
Here at Eltham College, we are fortunate enough to have ourown art gallery on site. Part of its purpose is to enrich learning across thecurriculum. Opened just 6 months ago, I decided that the gallery was an idealstart-up case study for my Year 12 Business students to get their teeth into,so I set them to work on a market research group task with each group focusingon one of the gallery's key functions: exhibitions, art classes, and a cafe.
Brief
The students were given an aspect of the business of the
Gerald Moore Gallery (exhibitions, classes, café) to conduct market research on
in order to help them better achieve their aims. They were to use both primary
and secondary market research, gathering both quantitative and qualitative data
to help inform recommendations for future strategy at the gallery.
Pedagogical Benefits
Given their rather limited direct experience of market
research, students often find this key topic rather difficult to grasp. Whilst
most manage to grasp the theoretical benefits of effective research, they are
seldom able to discuss its limitations with any real insight. This project gave
them first-hand experience of the difficulties in gathering accurate,
meaningful data.
The students were, inevitably, exposed to a broad range of
business issues (e.g. corporate objectives, competition, market segmentation,
business location) which helped to raise several ideas about concepts that they
will study later in the course whilst also reinforcing those they had already
encountered.
The quality of work produced was very high. The students
took ownership of the task and appreciated its relevance, particularly as they
knew that they would be contributing to the success of a real business venture
that they will see develop over the coming years.
Further Information
For more information on this project and the excellent work of the gallery, you can find them here: