Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Abstract

Logistics is regarded as an area of high importance in business, contributing to profitability and competitiveness. Logistics is crucial also from a societal perspective, since logistical activities count for a big proportion of a country's GNP, and since effective logistics systems can help reducing some of the environmental problems we face today. Higher education has an important role to play in order to provide business and society with well-educated logistics personnel. Since not much research is published within higher education in logistics, the purpose of this thesis was defined as:To contribute to the knowledge on teaching and learning logistics in higher education.More specifically, two research questions were set up: RQ1:What knowledge and skills are important for students to learn during higher education in logistics? RQ2:How can students' learning of these skills and knowledge be facilitated?A comprehensive literature review serves as a basis for the study. The literature on logistics education gives limited guidance concerning what is to be learned during higher education in logistics, as well as how to facilitate learning within logistics. These findings indicate that the logistics teaching faculty do not base their course designs and teaching practices on solid knowledge on what and how to teach.Although a major finding of my work is that more research is needed, some more concrete propositions can be made. In order to reach some kind of answers to the research questions, a selection of pedagogical theories was applied on logistics education with help from illustrating examples, partly found in literature, and partly from specific studies performed as part of this thesis.Concerning the first research question, I propose a tentative model, illustrating how different logistics knowledge and skills can be positioned against each other. A division is made between subject-specific and generic knowledge and skills, and two core generic skills within logistics are proposed: Total cost analysis and Structured investigation method.From pedagogical literature, the concept of thresholds was introduced. A threshold refers to something that is troublesome for students to overcome, but once passed leads to a new way of understanding. The identification of the thresholds associated with acquiring important knowledge and skills, is therefore important for teachers. Some thresholds concerning logistics education are discussed in the thesis. For the two core generic skills proposed above, it is suggested that 'case-specific adaptation of total cost models' is a threshold for total cost analysis, and 'investigation planning' is suggested as a threshold for structured investigation method.The question of how something can be learned is dependent on what is to be learned. Since there is a lack of clear answers concerning the what, the second research question (focusing the how) is difficult to answer in a concrete manner. On a general level, some findings were found though.Logistics is a discipline where educ...

An exploratory study of experiential learning in teaching a supply chain management course in an emerging market economy

“…What is taught at universities?, What skills are considered necessary by employers?, etc. However, how students should acquire these skills or how they should be taught is scarcely acknowledged (Gravier and Farris, 2008; Oskarsson, 2014).…”

Total Cost Analysis in Logistics : Practical Execution, Learning, and Teaching in Higher Education

“…Since the logistics discipline regards TCA as important, it could be assumed that the issue is central in many logistics programs. However, according to Oskarsson (2014), research on logistics education does not provide evidence that this is the case. The literature on logistics education over the last 30 years only provides three articles that deal with TCA (Tyworth and Grenoble, 1991;Ashenbaum, 2008;Porporato, 2016).…”

“…In my licentiate thesis (Oskarsson, 2014), I elaborated on threshold concepts in logistics education. A threshold can be described as something preventing a student from learning something; to cross such a threshold requires a kind of transformation in the student's thinking.…”

“…For the other research questions, the literature has addressed learning thresholds in general as well as educational activities that stimulate learning (see section 5.2 for a presentation). However, when it comes to the logistics field, literature that addresses learning thresholds and educational activities is scarce, something I examined thoroughly in my licentiate thesis (Oskarsson, 2014). General theories about educational activities as well as threshold theory, are therefore yet to apply on TCA, at least in the logistics field.…”

“…Added to this, as part of my licentiate thesis (Oskarsson, 2014), I performed a literature review of the interface between logistics and education, which I later followed up to cover publications until 2016. Among the identified articles, only three dealt with TCA.…”