Transforming Classroom Dynamics in Hospitality Management

Kimberly Jean Cooper 

Instructor of Hospitality Management

School of Hospitality Management

Kim has been using Top Hat for about a year and values its role in enhancing student engagement and participation in class. She uses Top Hat in three in-person classes of different sizes. The two classes where Kim incorporates a large portion of Top Hat activities are a large General Education class with about 180 students, HM 208 – Social, Cultural, and Health Influences of Alcohol, and a smaller class with 28 students, HM 330 – Food Production and Service Management. She also has a small lab-based class, HM 485 – Advanced Meeting and Event Management, that only utilizes the Top Hat attendance feature.  

Top Hat Implementation 

For HM 208 and HM 330 classes, Kim uses Top Hat for attendance tracking and embedding questions throughout lectures to ensure students are attentive and understanding the material. She stresses the importance of participation and grasping concepts through questioning during her lectures. 

Large Class Strategy: 

Attendance and Engagement: Top Hat is primarily used for attendance tracking at the beginning of each class. Additionally, to maintain student engagement and ensure they are following along, Kim embeds questions throughout the lectures. 

Interactive Lecture Content: The lectures include various types of interactive content, such as multiple-choice questions, word answers, and matching exercises, incorporated within the presentation slides to keep the class interactive and assess student understanding in real-time. 

Discussion Posts for Enhanced Interaction: Recognizing the challenge of conducting discussions in a large class and to keep students engaged, Kim utilizes Top Hat’s discussion feature both during class and outside of class time, enabling students to engage in meaningful discussions. 

Small Class Approach: 

Personalized Engagement: The smaller class size allows for a more personalized approach to student engagement. The use of Top Hat here is similar to the large class but with an emphasis on individual student participation and understanding. 

Versatile Question Formats: Like in the larger class, Kim uses various interactive question formats within the lecture presentations to facilitate active learning and check student comprehension. 

Discussion Boards for Extended Learning: For both class sizes, especially the larger one, the Top Hat discussion feature is employed outside the classroom. This approach provides an additional platform for students to engage with the course material and each other, fostering a continuous learning environment beyond the physical classroom. 

Impact and Outcomes 

Kim appreciates Top Hat’s ability to engage students and ensure participation. She also highlights the ease of embedding questions in presentations and the flexibility of Top Hat in managing class lectures and participation.  

Best Practices 

Start Slowly with Basic Features: Kim advises starting with simple functionalities like the attendance feature. This initial step allows for a comfortable introduction to the platform without overwhelming the students. Gradually introduce Top Hat into the teaching routine, starting with basic tasks and then moving to more complex features as the instructor becomes more familiar with the tool.  

Learn One Feature at a Time: Kim also suggests focusing on mastering one feature of Top Hat at a time rather than trying to utilize all its functionalities simultaneously. This approach prevents both the instructor and the students from feeling overwhelmed and ensures a smoother integration of technology into your teaching.