Nikoulina, Anya
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Digital skills development - options and a framework for implementation
The paper examines different approaches to digital skills development and proposes framework on how universities can develop digital skills in a undergraduate business curriculum. New technologies have led to an irreversible transformation in the global society and business. Digital transformation created new opportunities that span from across different industries, but business school graduates must gain digital skills proficiency. Digital skills are no longer required just for technical professionals, but have become essential for non-technical roles such as sales, CRM, marketing, finance and HR among others. Digital skills are not optional, but critical to the success of graduates. They are also not static – they are changing with changes in technology. While there is an agreement as to the importance of digital skills for future graduates, universities have struggled to integrate these in the existing curricula. This conceptual paper proposes a framework for integration and implementation of digital skills so that university faculty and administrators can make more appropriate and strategies choices when it comes to digital skills. In addition to outlining the options, the paper proposes a roadmap for universities which includes the following steps: determination of what digital skills need to be taught and how they should be taught, creation of enabling conditions and the evaluation of the efforts.
Silos and sated sustainability: the need for a common framework
Universities can play a key role in bringing change in society when it comes to sustainability (Dagiliūtė, Liobikienė, & Minelgaitė, 2018). Busines schools must train and equip future business leaders with the skills needed to address sustainability. When it comes to integrating sustainability into business education, there are challenges: organizational, terminological and capabilities (Figueiró & Raufflet, 2015). Currently, sustainability education in business education is highly fragmented (Graham, Trendafilova, & Ziakas, 2018). Kassel et al. (2016) assert that business education often suffers from traditional disciplinary silos: focusing on concepts, analysis, methods and investigation techniques – often losing track of the big picture (Shrivastava, 2010). Figueiró & Raufflet (2015) discuss two approaches to teaching for sustainability: a horizontal integration in which sustainability is ”interwoven through different courses on the curriculum” and a vertical in which stand-alone courses are introduced. Their findings show that a more real-world, interdisciplinary approach is needed to ultimately help “students and citizens to co-operate in integrating sustainability issues in real societal decision-making processes” (2015, p. 30). Blake, Sterling, & Goodson (2013) show that students prefer a reframing of curriculum content rather than additional courses. Educators we need to change the culture and our educational practice and thinking. Sterling (2010), Figueiró & Raufflet (2015) Erskine & Johnson (2012) and Kessel (et al. 2016) speak of a paradigm shift in order to change from transmissive education about sustainability to transformative education for sustainability. Students are constantly confronted with sustainability, but need to be given a coherent set of tools and the opportunity to experience how sustainability affects their education. In this workshop, we aim to discuss the barriers to transformative education for sustainability. The focus is not on content or what she be taught, but rather how can organisational barriers / traditional disciplinary silos can be overcome for curriculum development for sustainability.
Problem-based learning In online settings during COVID-19
Purpose: Problem-based learning (PBL) provides an appropriate instructional strategy to engage student in active learning, enhance student interest, improve retention, and promote problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The aim of this study is to report on student and faculty experiences in a problem-based learning course consisting of a preparation phase and a reporting phase during the COVID-19 lockdown and present potential implications for online PBL course design. Study design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted to compare the two instructional PBL settings, i.e. face-to-face and online. Descriptive statistics as well as a general inductive approach for analysing the qualitative data are used to evaluate the results of the survey. Findings: The results show that students appreciated the new small group discussion format in the online PBL course over the whole class discussion in the face-to-face setting and that an online PBL course can help students integrate knowledge and promote the deep learning approach. Originality/value: The study contributes to PBL research by examining student and faculty experiences in a case-based PBL course. A new instructional online PBL course design is presented, with the main change in the reporting phase. The study shows that the shift from physical to online setting has no detectable negative impact on the ability of students to achieve set learning goals if the PBL approach is slightly modified.
Video tutorials as academic writing and research support for students of international business
Several studies have made claims for the positive effects of the use of multimedia in education; however, there is a lack of systematic and comparable research, especially when it comes to video tutorials. Research also points to a difficulty in forming a strong conclusion when it comes to their effectiveness. This study evaluates the use and benefits of short screencast video tutorials, produced with Camtasia and published on YouTube, in preparing students for research-based writing assignments. The study employs a multi-method research design, comprising of analysis of video-tutorial viewership data from YouTube and a student questionnaire (n=76) on perceived benefits of these video tutorials. Both the data on how the tutorials are used as well as the questionnaire responses enable us to highlight which aspects of these tutorials positively affect the learning process, and importantly, how such tutorials should be adapted to be more useful. Findings indicate that the use of such tutorials is more dependent on the type of information (e.g. theory, instructions or examples) in the tutorials, than their length (within the range of three to six minutes) and that, novice, introductory-level students received greater benefit from the tutorials than more advanced, academic writing and research students.
Analysis of factors contributing to student engagement
Learning engagement is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The ability to engage is not inherent but subject to a variety of factors. Motivational readiness as well as contextual factors, such as deep or surface learning approaches, are said to affect student engagement. In this study, we examine the relationship between student engagement and learning styles, as well as contextual factors, such as task types and assessment form and student employment outside the university. Based on a quantitative survey, we conclude that students’ ability to engage in deep learning is interrelated with their engagement, learning style and their motivation to start their studies. In addition, our findings indicate that student’s engagement in deep learning is driven by personal development, work ethic or learning strategy. The results of the study confirm that engagement is dependent on many factors, which must be understood and taken into consideration when teaching.
An exploratory study of academic writing literacy and research skills of graduate business students
The paper investigates the state of academic writing literacy and research skills of graduate business program students based on an evaluation of assessment rubric evaluations. Results indicate that grad-uate business program students have sufficient general writing skills, but struggle when applying these to academic writing for a specific discipline. Results also show that students have significant deficien-cies when it comes to research skills. This paper discusses the implications of these outcomes and proposes a number of recommendations for program managers.