Learning in introductory e-commerce: A project-based teamwork approach

In this paper, we describe an e-commerce teamwork-based project designed and implemented at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) for undergraduate business and management students. The teaching objectives of this e-commerce project are to develop the students’ knowledge and skills, such as in the use of e-commerce site building tools, critical thinking, communication skills, teamwork, and entrepreneurship. We focus on the practical implications of the project-based teamwork approach in the teaching and learning of introductory e-commerce from a business context perspective. The results of an evaluation indicate that the project-based teamwork approach to teaching e-commerce performs to expectations. Our experience and student evaluations indicate that students like the practical components of the course and are interested in the use of the learning-by-doing approach. We believe that other business colleges with e-commerce curricula will benefit from this approach.