Hospitality management students' conceptions about teaching and learning and their evaluation of tasks in problem-based learning

This study investigates if students with a constructivist or a traditional conception about teaching and learning prefer different types of problems. A questionnaire was used to classify students' conceptions as either constructivist, traditional or mixed. Problems were categorised in a 2 x 2 matrix based on structuredness and authenticity, and were rated on a 10-point scale by a sample of 324 students from a 4-year undergraduate hospitality management programme. Results show that senior students endorse constructivist conceptions more strongly than first year students, but no significant differences could be detected between constructivists and traditionalists with regard to the preferred type of problems.