Professional Learning in the Business Curriculum: Engaging Industry, Academics and Students

Lawson, Romy; Fallshaw, Eveline; Papadopoulos, Theo; Taylor, Tracy; Zanko, Michael

doi:10.5539/ass.v7n4p61

Cited by 32 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Authentic learning; capitalising on a close synergy between the classroom and workplace settings in terms of curricula content and learning and assessment activities; incorporating professional learning activities such as case studies, industry simulation, mentoring and industry competitions (Lawson et al, 2011); and active, student-centred learning focusing on peer collaboration and feedback from multiple sources (Rosen, 2012) are all examples of pedagogical approaches to skill development. Proliferating attention to the development and assessment of skills applies equally to WEWO.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

Jackson

Sibson

Riebe

2014

Education + Training

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Purpose -The ability to working effectively with others (WEWO) is critical yet industry continues to lament deficiencies in new graduates. Progress in developing this highly valued skill in undergraduates is impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity and evidence of how best to measure it, and a tendency to adopt an outcomes-focused, rather than process-oriented, approach. This paper aims to investigate undergraduate perceptions of how well a stand-alone employability skill development programme, operating in an Australian Business Faculty, is fostering the WEWO skill set and which pedagogical practices are considered to add most value. Design/methodology/approach -The study examines undergraduate perceptions using data gathered from a skills audit of 799 business undergraduates from all four sequential units within the skills programme. Undergraduates rated and described their development against an established framework of WEWO behaviours. Findings -Findings indicate that, overall, skill development is rated highly among the undergraduates although the behaviours of conflict resolution, social intelligence and influencing others were rated less highly than others within the skill set. The importance of class activities and assessment items, including the use of virtual learning tools were identified by students as critical to the development of WEWO behaviours. Originality/value -The study highlights the important role of constructive alignment, sequential skill development, consistency of delivery and ensuring student "buy-in" to education practitioners in their efforts to meet industry expectations of graduates who can WEWO.

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confidence: 99%

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

Jackson

Sibson

Riebe

2014

Education + Training

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“…The process of self-reflection will assist them in addressing selection criteria, as well as highlight the importance of employability skills and any areas requiring improvement; one seen as vital as undergraduates acknowledge the importance of actively addressing employability skill development (Nilsson, 2010). Transparent evaluations of employability skill provision will also inform employers of aspects of the curricula which may benefit from their input, such as incorporating professional learning activities (see Lawson, Fallshaw, Papadopoulos, Taylor & Zanko, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delivering work-ready business graduates - keeping our promises and evaluating our performance

Jackson

Sibson

Riebe

2013

JTLGE

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Business schools globally are responding to calls for graduate work-readiness primarily through the development of employability skills, encompassing career management skills, and work integrated-learning (WIL). There has been considerable attention to clarifying precisely which skills should be developed, and how, but far less on evaluating employability skill provision and its impact on graduate work-readiness. This is increasingly important as industry worldwide continues to lament graduate inadequacies in certain employability skills and the extent to which they are job-ready. This paper outlines a systematic approach for evaluating employability skill outcomes and the effectiveness of learning programs in developing these skills. The approach was developed in a learning program dedicated to developing employability skills in business undergraduates in an Australian university. It may assist other universities in communicating, assessing, mapping and reporting their employability skills outcomes; an integral component of all business undergraduate programs, and now a requirement of all Australian higher education providers (TEQSA, 2011). The approach provides a means of evaluating program effectiveness in skill provision, enabling a more informed review of curricula content, assessment and pedagogical techniques to achieve better alignment with industry requirements.

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“…To this end, scholars have attempted to address what, in particular, fosters a student's leadership development, specifically the ability to collaborate well in a team. Lawson, Fallshaw, Papadopoulos, Taylor, and Zanko (2011) discuss how Australian university educators have begun to incorporate "professional learning" techniques into business curricula and stand-alone programs, which include developing "the skills, qualities and attributes that are required by industry" (p. 61). Moreover, professional learning focuses on learning related to a student's future career and engages the student directly with the industry to create "authentic learning environments" (2011, p. 62).…”

Section: Review Of Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…When Lawson et al (2011) introduced professional learning into the business curriculum at four Australian universities, the scholars identified eight types of professional learning experiences, noting the "types are not mutually exclusive" to creating industry-ready students (p. 64)--industry case study, industry simulation, industry practitioner delivery (i.e. professional specialized lectures), industry study tour (i.e.…”

Section: Review Of Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Cultivating Leadership Development: A Comprehensive Program for Undergraduates

Greenleaf¹,

Klaus²,

Arensdorf³

2017

JOLE

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The Voss Advanced Undergraduate Leadership Experience (VALUE), is a student cohort program with a competitive application process. Students must have a prerequisite level of leadership education and self-select into one of three designated tracks. Students are paired with faculty and community mentors to learn about operations and collaboration in today's organizations. The program culminates with students developing an e-Portfolio, which is evaluated to measure student learning outcomes.

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Professional Learning in the Business Curriculum: Engaging Industry, Academics and Students

Cited by 32 publications

References 5 publications

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

Delivering work-ready business graduates - keeping our promises and evaluating our performance

Cultivating Leadership Development: A Comprehensive Program for Undergraduates

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