| Scholarship Matters |
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| New Bookmark |
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| Contents |
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| 6 Christine Eastman & Kath Houston New Horizons in Professional Knowledge Creation 8 Neil Ralph Fostering Educational Partnerships 10 Marian Iszatt-White Co-constructed coaching for leadership learning 12 Lisa Gunther Transformational Management Education 14 Anthony Hesketh, Neil Ralph, Less Hot Air, More Fresh Air: The Art of Management Learning Lucas Introna 16 Mike Ryder & Anna Galindo Lessons from teaching mixed-sized cohorts 18 Bingbing Ge An engaged scholarship route - case writing, teaching, and research 20 Niki Panteli, Ling Xiao & Lucy Gill-Simmen Promoting Inclusivity in IS Education Through the Case Method 22 William Tayler & Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez Instagramming Economics: A fresh take on research-led teaching 24 Elena Luchinskaya Becoming a Broadcaster! Cultivating Creativity in a Data Analysis Module 26 Jennifer Scrivener Video Exemplars as a Feed-forward Tool 28 Stephen T. Homer The final examination is dead, long live the final assessment! 30 Josiane Fernandes Teaching the cyborg student: Promoting critical reflection on the use and role of AI 32 Jekaterina Rindt & Radka Newton Civicness in the Ivory Tower 34 Emma Watton Do you see what I see? Increasing opportunities for reflective and reflexive practice. 36 Phil Devine Surfacing the ‘speculative’ in management education 38 Radka Newton Service and education in one sentence… 40 Paula Ainsworth & Rose White Quality and accreditation mechanisms as an enabler for enhancement |
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| A Message from the Pro-Vice Chancellor Education |
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| In the realm of academia, the pursuit of teaching excellence stands as a cornerstone of our profession, driving us to continuously evolve and innovate in our pedagogical practices. At the heart of this pursuit lies the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: research that advances our understanding of teaching and learning processes. The work of colleagues in the Centre for Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education is creating a space for educators and professional services staff to come together, share best practices, and collaborate on curriculum innovation. By fostering a community of scholars dedicated to advancing disciplinary-focused approaches to teaching, we enrich our collective knowledge and promote excellence in education. Scholarship underpins Lancaster’s Curriculum Transformation Project, through which we envision a future where our curriculum is a dynamic reflection of cutting-edge research, robust pedagogy, and intellectual rigour. This transformation isn’t just about what we teach, but how we teach it and why – it is about inspiring students to explore, innovate, and become the leaders of tomorrow. Central to our approach is the ethos of enquiring into teaching and learning in partnership with our students. We recognise the invaluable perspective they bring as active participants in the learning process, and thus we strive to involve them as partners in our research endeavours. By empowering students to become active researchers, we ensure that their voices are represented authentically in our scholarly discourse, enriching our understanding of effective pedagogy. This publication represents Lancaster’s commitment to excellence in teaching and emphasises the importance of systematic enquiry into our pedagogy. The breadth of topics and their insight is both a credit to the authors and a reflection of their rigorous inquiry, through which we seek to adapt and refine our teaching practices to meet the evolving needs of Higher Education. Wendy Robinson Lancaster University Pro-Vice Chancellor Education |
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| Editor’s Introduction |
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| Welcome to this first edition of Scholarship Matters in which we showcase advances in teaching and learning being researched and implemented by colleagues at Lancaster University Management School. This journal provides a platform to distribute their research findings, share best practices, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the future of management education. Our mission is not only to showcase cutting-edge research but to inspire collaboration, foster interdisciplinary perspectives, and catalyse positive change in the field. Members of the Centre for Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education are passionate about the role that scholarly enquiry plays in advancing how we teach and learn in and for business. It is fundamental in advancing our understanding of teaching and learning in Higher Education and in shaping the landscape of management education. Our scholarship in this field serves as a catalyst for innovation, driving forward our understanding of effective pedagogy, management development, and the contribution we as educators make to address the myriad challenges facing today’s managers. Through rigorous research, critical analysis, and reflective practice, our colleagues contribute invaluable insights that not only enrich our theoretical frameworks but also inform practical approaches to teaching and learning in management education. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to making scholarly research accessible and applicable to those working in management education. We believe that everyone, from seasoned academics to practicing managers, can benefit from the latest research and ideas in the field. Whether it is exploring new teaching methodologies, investigating emerging trends in leadership development, or examining the impact of technology on learning outcomes, this issue covers a wide range of topics relevant to the ever-evolving landscape of business education. We are committed to advancing scholarship and innovation in management education by shaping and sharing good practice for the benefit of students and educators. If you are interested in challenging your own practice, having greater impact, and reshaping Higher Education, I encourage you to contact our authors to continue the conversation. Neil Ralph Editor-in-Chief |
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| Welcome to SIME |
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| The Centre for Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education. |
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| New Horizons in Professional Knowledge Creation |
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| Christine Eastman is Senior Lecturer in the Business School at Middlesex University and Teaching Fellow in Lancaster University Management School. In her role as Teaching Fellow, she drives the writing and publication agenda for students and alumni. Her previous roles include Director of Applied Professional Practice at the University of Kent. Kath Houston is a career coach, Teaching Fellow and researcher. Within her academic role, she has investigated career decision-making tipping points and how to prompt a career epiphany. She believes that everyone can find career happiness by focusing on innermost strengths and values and purposeful action. c.eastman@lancaster.ac.uk; k.houston@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| Communities of practice (Wenger-Tayner, 2015) in which professionals create and share knowledge, are a driver for continued learning. We have developed two new initiatives which aim to transform how professionals create and share their knowledge through published writing. |
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| Launched in December 2023, the postgraduate module Writing for Publication focuses on how students, alumni, and lecturers can target their writing to professional and academic journals to showcase their workplace and role innovations, through unique access to acclaimed fictional literature. Taught online over 10 weeks, the module learning process (a balanced mixture of online self-directed learning and regular facilitated webinars) presents students with carefully selected literature sources. Works of literature can help us to understand our identities, experiences, and lives, key aspects for leadership and professional development. Introducing literary works offers students “a more colourful and vivid palette to use when attempting to undergo the academic writing process, making such a process hopefully less of an endurance test and more of an exciting challenge” (Eastman, 2016). What’s so different about the course? We offer designated pre-reading of a different literary source to precede each webinar. Students experience immersion in a short story or novella which is often a compelling contrast from usual academic or professional sources. We facilitate discussion in the webinar to encourage deep learning with a focus on structure, style, and the mechanics of skillful writing. Students are surprised to discover how reflection on, and interrogation of, fictional texts, offer resonance and alignment to real world leadership and professional development challenges. How does this learning approach help? We offer designated pre-reading of a different literary source to precede each webinar. Students experience immersion in a short story or novella which is often a compelling contrast from usual academic or professional sources. We facilitate discussion in the webinar to encourage deep learning with a focus on structure, style, and the mechanics of skillful writing. Students are surprised to discover how reflection on, and interrogation of, fictional texts offer resonance and alignment to real world leadership and professional development challenges. How does this learning approach help? We believe that reading fiction helps us to imagine lives other than our own as well as making us more sensitive to language, behaviour, and motivation. The very act of examining a fictional text helps us to become more aware, reflective, and capable of addressing emotional blockages and discovering different perspectives. Literary fiction enhances our ability to empathise with other people and connect with something larger than ourselves. (Jenefer Robinson (2005) makes a persuasive argument that our emotions can be educated by literature. Integrating the Arts into Business Business schools need to recognise the evidence that reading fiction improves our social abilities, stimulates our minds, and helps us to navigate others’ worlds. It can also help us write in ways that expand our thinking and trigger better dissemination of our success in leadership and management. This process of reflective imagining provokes deeper learning and gives us permission to cross the boundaries and restraints of standard business thinking to discover fictional inspiration for current challenges. (Warren Bennis and James O’Toole (2005) have argued that academic shortcomings can be rectified by offering a study of works of imaginative literature “to exemplify and explain the behaviour of people in business organisations in a way that [is] richer and more realistic than any journal article or textbook.” Building on the strength of these imaginative narratives, we are now in the process of creating a multi-authored book, The Reinvention of Self. This process of reflective imagining provokes deeper learning and gives us permission to cross the boundaries and restraints of standard business thinking to discover fictional inspiration for current challenges. A Project informed by Knowledge Creation This book will form a collection of reflections on identity, a common yet perplexing aspect of leadership. In the context of a world which assumes a conventional retirement age and an acceptance of “winding down”, it seems timely to make a Quixotic tilt at the fixed identity windmill. With contributions from lecturers, alumni, and students, The Reinvention of Self aims to promote visionary ways of thinking about reinventing one’s identity in professional life and beyond. It offers the revolutionary perspective on retirement that old roles and behaviors need not be abandoned but instead modified, and that new sources of identity can be found. Many of the chapters will use fiction as a device to examine the formative psychological influences on our personalities. One contributor intends to explore how Charles Dickens’s (Martin Chuzzlewit) embodies the authors’ attempt to face deception and duplicity in his own life. The character of Tom Pinch represents Dickens’s examination of what it means to be true to one’s values, to oneself in a world of deceit and artifice. She was motivated to feature Martin Chuzzlewit in the context of reinvention and retirement, because she wanted to find “instances of less puritanical representations of retirement that don’t end in abject failure or miserable death” [book contributor, 2023]. Literary fiction can stimulate thinking through its emotional pull. We believe that these two initiatives signify illuminating alternative application of fictional literature for innovative knowledge creation and professional development. |
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| Fostering Educational Partnerships |
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| Neil Ralph is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Leadership and Change at Lancaster University Management School. As an educator, coach and coach supervisor, he is passionate about developing a pedagogy and practice that empowers learners, enables change, and enhances impact. neil.ralph@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| How can a coaching contract between students and educators enrich and enhance the educational experience? |
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| In the dynamic landscape of Higher Education, fostering meaningful connections between students and educators is essential for cultivating a thriving learning environment. The development and implementation of a coaching-style contract provides a structured framework to negotiate this relationship and the resulting learning environment and opportunity to reimagine the partnership between students and educators, aiming to enrich and enhance the educational experience for both parties. Contracting for learning A coaching contract establishes productive expectations among the parties involved, clarifying the business arrangements, intended outcomes, and methods the coach will be using (Lee, 2013). This contract establishes a framework conducive to learning by clarifying the parameters, boundaries, behaviours, and goals of the coaching relationship, whilst surfacing any assumptions and expectations. These principles equally apply in establishing an effective and enriching learning environment in Higher Education, contributing to a holistic and empowering educational experience. They promote the creation of a positive and inclusive culture that celebrates diversity and creates a safe space for all, where individuals feel heard, valued, and respected. Such contracting between educators and students creates an open and transparent environment that is more conducive to learning and establishes clear roles and responsibilities, leading to greater autonomy and clearer accountability, and thus an empowering educational experience (Lemieux, 2001). The literature surrounding student-educator relationships underscores the pivotal role they play in shaping the learning journey and student engagement (Thornberg et al, 2022). Traditionally, these relationships have been characterised by a unidirectional flow of information, with educators imparting knowledge and students receiving it. However, recent educational paradigms emphasise the importance of collaboration and active engagement, requiring a renegotiation of the student-educator contract. The coaching contract emerges as a promising tool to formalise this shift, empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Shifting perspectives Positioning the educator as collaborator and coach, rather than teacher and expert, changes the expectation from teaching to learning, the approach from didactic to dialogic, and shifts responsibility from the educator to the learner. Through my own practice as a coach and coach supervisor, I have developed the attitudes, personal behaviours and social supports that are key to a coaching pedagogy as they underpin sustainable, resilient learning, and support the development of transferable skills, such as problem-solving, self-sufficiency, and collaboration (Akkerman, 2017). My contracting with undergraduate and postgraduate students takes the form of an interactive session at the start of the first lecture, in which I share my expectations and invite students to share their hereto covert psychological contract, for them to be shaped as a shared contract that underpins the module, clarifying what each party commits to the relationship and their expectations of what they might receive in return. The true value is in what is contracted for. I aim to balance power dynamics to foster a sense of equality, and establish attitudes and behaviours that empower learners, enabling them to attain higher order thinking through questioning, reflecting, reasoning, discussing, and arguing (Hardman, 2009). Whilst this approach is typically unexpected, most students respond positively to the invitation and develop a more engaged and engaging approach to their learning in the classroom as they have been given permission to challenge some deep-rooted norms. Beyond the norm There are challenges inherent in this approach. In a coaching context, coach and coachee meet as equals and although endeavours to replicate such parity in the classroom may be conceivable, the entrenched influence of the conventional power dynamic often experienced by learners is likely to inhibit the effectiveness of this approach. Consequently, a key strategy is the cultivation of an institution-wide coaching culture, aimed at augmenting academic achievement and fostering a uniform student experience. There are also questions regarding scalability of this approach to meet the demands of increasing class sizes, though dialogic approaches “can produce significant gains in cognitive learning as well as social and emotional benefits through more personalised forms of learning.” (Hardman, 2009) Challenging convention The implementation of a coaching contract in the student-educator relationship represents a significant step towards fostering a collaborative and empowering educational environment. This approach seeks to challenge extant beliefs and assumptions made by students and educators alike, to redefine traditional classroom dynamics, and promote shared responsibility for learning. While challenges such as power dynamics exist, educators can navigate these hurdles through open communication, clear mutual expectations, and distinct responsibilities. As the educational landscape continues to evolve, contracting presents an opportunity for transforming student-educator relationships into partnerships that empower and inspire. My research is exploring the broader application of this approach, and the benefit it will bring in the classroom and in academic supervision. |
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| Co-constructed coaching for leadership learning |
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| Marian Iszatt-White is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership. Her research interests revolve around ‘aspirational’ forms of leadership (such as Authentic Leadership) and leadership development. She has published four books, including a postgraduate leadership textbook, and is currently working on a book entitled Stewardship as leadership: Honouring our past while securing our future for the Edward Elgar New Horizons in Leadership Studies book series. This approach was developed in collaboration with Professor Steve Kempster. m.iszattwhite@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| As modern management educators, we are increasingly required to be a ‘guide on the side’ of self-directed learning, rather than the more traditional ‘sage on the stage’, imparting expertise to a willing audience. This is particularly the case when working with post-experience management education participants, where there is always a huge amount of knowledge and experience in the room – and not all of it resides with the academic leader! |
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| Finding novel and effective ways of harnessing this resource, at the same time as ensuring the learning is transferable back to the participants’ workplace, is an ongoing challenge. Co-constructed coaching (Kempster and Iszatt-White, 2013) offers an academically robust and practically engaging leadership learning intervention that meets this post-experience need. What’s it all about? Co-constructed coaching brings together the four elements of experience, theory, reflection, and discussion to create an effective learning process. The process, which can be run in an online, face-to-face or hybrid format, rests on the following stages: Experience. The process starts with some kind of activity designed to surface recollections of past experiences relevant to the theme of the module. In using co-constructed coaching in an Executive MBA leadership module, we asked participants to develop a timeline of their leadership journey to date, including role models (positive and negative) and memorable experiences or periods. This work can be undertaken prior to attending the face-to-face or synchronous elements of the intervention. Theory. Either face-to-face or via online resources, the tutor provides theoretical inputs that can be utilised as sense-making frameworks by participants. This could be a single theoretical model – for example, Authentic Leadership or Resonant Leadership – or a series of mini inputs from which participants can select whichever feels most appropriate. This phase also requires some input on basic coaching skills, such as questioning, listening, summarising, and sense-making. Discussion. In co-coaching pairs, participants take turns to share one or more of their experiences with a partner, who then ‘coaches’ them in deconstructing the experiences using a theoretical framework as a sense-making device. The aim here is not to ‘resolve’ any issues or failings, but to ‘surface the implicit knowing lying within action and articulate it in such a way that [her/his] actions can be more knowledgeable’ (Cunliffe, 2008) in the future. Reflection. Subsequent to this discussion, participants take time to make notes on how their understanding of the experience has changed and how the insights gained can be applied to future challenges/situations. This stage can also be developed into a reflective assignment if this is appropriate to the format of the module/programme. Enhancing engagement In bringing together these four elements, co-constructed coaching is an amalgamation of co-constructed autoethnography (Kempster and Stewart, 2010) – a process in which research participants bring their experience and academics bring their theoretical expertise to the process of knowledge development – and executive coaching, which aims to improve manager performance through reflexive dialogue (Cunliffe, 2001) around a specific agenda. The advantages of this as a learning intervention include the high degree of engagement it evokes for both coach and coachee; the direct transferability of the learning and insights produced back into the workplace; and the rebalancing of tutor/student power relations towards an equilibrium which better reflects the needs and intentions of management education. Variations can include a) creating a leadership experience through an in-class activity as the basis for subsequent coaching; b) repeated iterations of the co-coaching conversations, drawing on different theories and/or different experiences extracted from the timeline, and; c) co-coaching trios, where the third person provides feedback on the coaching skills utilised by direct participants. Whilst the educator offering this intervention will, of course, need to be able to present relevant theory in a clear and accessible way, they will also need facilitation and coaching skills to support students through the process – and a willingness to take the role of ‘guide on the side’ rather than ‘sage on the stage’! Conclusions and recommendations We have found that co-constructed coaching has considerable potential to contribute to effective leadership/management development when working with experienced participants, through a focus on situated leadership and management practice (Reynolds, 1999). Participants have developed deeply reflexive insights into their past experiences and used these to create action plans and strategies for future practice. Codifying this learning through a reflective written assignment has also been shown to help embed the learning and support transference into workplace practice. We would recommend co-constructed coaching as an intervention for any students with sufficient personal experience to support the process of bringing theory and practice together through peer coaching. |
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| Transformational Management Education |
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| Lisa Guenther is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology. She is particularly interested in evaluating and enhancing pedagogical frameworks used in management education, whilst also advancing approaches to qualitative methodologies which enable educators to showcase the ‘impact’ of their teaching. l.guenther@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| Mainstream management discourses tend to paint a cynical picture of management education, with Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes often bearing the brunt of the critique. Some scholars blame MBA courses for churning out unethical and inadequately trained managers (Bennis and O’Toole 2005), whilst others claim management students “learn the wrong things in the wrong ways because they are being taught the wrong things in the wrong way” (Küpers and Gunnlaugson 2017). |
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| Yet my own experience of working on the Lancaster MBA programme led me to question the cynical, pessimistic, and apathetic notions within management education narratives for one reason in particular: the students I worked with frequently reported impactful transformations in both personal and professional contexts. To better understand which elements of the programme might be linked to driving these changes, and to explore whether the changes lived on beyond the MBA, I enrolled on a part-time PhD. The MBA Experience I conducted a qualitative case study which examined MBA students’ lived experience during their time at Lancaster and looked at the long-term impact of the programme’s pedagogic methods. To this end, I selected 30 students from a cohort of 138 in total (classes 2016 to 2018) with whom I arranged two interviews: one during the programme, and one several years after they had graduated. Before I outline the results of the research, let me briefly explain what the Lancaster MBA was trying to achieve. According to Dr Peter Lenney, the MBA Programme Director between 2014 and 2018, the MBA’s main objective was to cultivate three capabilities that would help improve managers’ chances of making ‘good’ choices in the testing circumstances of managerial life: dialogical skills (the ability to find concordance amongst people with opposing or differing opinions, perspectives and assumptions); reflexive skills (the ability to evaluate one’s prejudices, habits and assumptions); and reflective skills (the ability to evaluate one’s cognitive, collaborative and emotional conduct). So, what did I find? Advantages of Diversity The Lancaster MBA’s use of cohort diversity as a pedagogical tool was extremely successful in cultivating students’ long-term dialogical skills. In their extensive collaborative work, MBA students faced the challenge of coming to terms with a diverse and contrasting range of perspectives, beliefs and values many times over during the programme. As a result, students became more culturally aware, and better able to collaborate and to navigate the political nature of managerial work with more ease than before. The programme’s use of reflexive practices as a pedagogical tool was remarkably successful in cultivating students’ long-term reflexive skills. Not only did MBA students learn to periodically question their personal, educational, and cultural trajectories, but many continued with their reflexive questioning years after the MBA. However, my research indicates that even though most of the students came to appreciate reflective practices, they did not maintain them in the long-term. As a result, few students continued to hone their reflective skills after they graduated, with almost no-one making a habit of structured reflection such as journaling. Recommendations The research findings have resulted in the following recommendations for educators: • Maximise cohort diversity by recruiting from as many nationalities as possible and then rotate team members for each group assignment to increase the likelihood that by the end of the programme each student has had the chance to work with every student in the class. • Facilitate the genuine questioning of prejudices, habits of attention and interpretations in lectures, workshops, and assessments, and encourage students to reflect on their reflexive output periodically using essays, drawings, and coaching sessions. • Draw on reflective practices, outdoor and experiential learning, and 360 feedback to encourage students to regularly pause, analyse and evaluate their emotional, cognitive, and collaborative conduct emphasising that it is the capturing of the reflective output that will drive changes in behaviour. So, what comes next? I aim to share my findings to inform pedagogic interventions of other programmes because I believe management education, despite what the critics may say, does have the potential to be transformative by broadening students’ perspective, enhancing their self-awareness, and nuancing their understanding of managerial practices (Hay and Hodgkinson 2008). |
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| Less Hot Air, More Fresh Air |
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| Ant Hesketh is a Senior Lecturer in Lancaster University Management School. Ant’s research largely focuses on how organisations can better understand the value they have under their management. He is the author of books on performance (Cambridge University Press), labour markets (Oxford University Press) and leadership (Palgrave). Neil Ralph is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University Management School with a passion for harnessing the power of reflective practice. His work with groups and individuals draws upon nature to help them gain perspective, explore possibilities, make choices and see results. Lucas Introna is Distinguished Professor of Organisation, Technology, and Ethics at Lancaster University Management School. His research focus is the phenomenon of technology broadly defined and information technology more narrowly defined. Specifically, his focal concern is how information technology transforms social spaces and practices (both individual and collective spaces and practices). a.hesketh@lancaster.ac.uk; neil.ralph@lancaster.ac.uk; l.introna@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| In his 1973 Harvard Norton Lectures, the conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein outlined how the best way to a know a thing was in the context of another discipline. Intradisciplinarity is now common practice in management development circles. |
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| On the International Masters Program for Managers (IMPM), we have for over 25 years used different contexts to deepen management learning through various lenses, including the dawning of modern capitalism in Lancashire cotton mills, the origins of responsible capitalism at the Lever brothers’ original Port Sunlight, and the landscape-inspired writings of the English Lake District art critic and social commentator John Ruskin. The pedagogical underpinning of the IMPM is that there is no learning without reflection, which we achieve through intramodality (various methods) as well as intradisciplinarity (various contexts). Different reflections Programme participants reflect upon their managerial practice through the lenses of Romantic English literature, Quakerism, as well as more conventional management theories. They have envisaged their futures whilst gazing on a Lakeland vista, itself the inspiration for William Wordsworth’s choosing to be a poet, and transformed their careers reflecting on the positive power and shaping of key moments or ‘spots of time.’ Students have reported near-religious experiences as they “let nature be their teacher” in boats on the surface of Grasmere. But what if all this intradisciplinary and intramodal “opening up” was itself still limiting to explanation, understanding and management learning? Can we break free from the tightly defined parameters of Schon’s established reflective processes and, instead, embrace a more pragmatic, Deweyan-inspired understanding of our location in the challenges of things expressed through the alternative modality of art? A new approach Our novel pedagogy, drawing on practices stretching back over a millennium, takes inspiration from the ancient Chinese artistic practice of shanshui painting – literally mountains and water – to decouple managers from the Western tendency of attempting the accurate depiction or computation of the empirical form which lies before them. As an antidote to the “hot air” of management theory, which perpetuates the tendency of organisations to imitate others, we breathe the “fresh air” of shanshui. Shanshui rejects the exactitude of forms (xing), seeking the bigger picture (xiang) beyond form (dao) to grasp the sense (yi) of the subject under scrutiny. Where Western art seeks the sublime, Chinese art offers an initial blandness. But this same blandness dissolves the subject by ‘recursively throwing it into broader realities which allow the subject to recognise its own significance and appreciate its existence not as master of nature but rather as part of dao (Hui, 2023). Before we can let nature be our teacher, we must first be aware of its existence beyond our conventional ontologies and experiences. The techniques underpinning shanshui offer managers such an opportunity. Unexplored horizons The IMPM affords the opportunity to take participants to hereto unknown places to engage in unique experiences. It is in disrupting participants’ perspective that we provide the chance to gain new insights into management and leadership practice. It is in making connections with their own context and experience that participants grasp the sense (yi) of a situation and can apply new thinking to otherwise intractable problems. Arguably, the English Lake District provides too much stimulus and is anathema to shanshui so we are developing learning opportunities that build on our established impactful pedagogy. Drawing upon Bernstein’s Artful Learning Sequence, practitioners make connections between seemingly disconnected ideas. This builds higher level thinking skills in students and collaboration between educators, through the vehicle of a masterwork that “awakens ideas, emotions and new understandings through visual, auditory and kinaesthetic modalities.” (Bernstein, 2024). This experience causes participants to engage in inquiry-based investigation leading to an Original Creation. How Wang Wei or Dong Yuan (Chinese artists of the Tang Dynasty) may have painted the Lake District, or, stretching our imagination even further, captured the xing, xiang, dao and yi of Unilever’s balance sheet, business model or future strategy, for us represents an enticing departure point. How we feel as well as think become visually expressed, as artists have been demonstrating for millennia. Far from painting by numbers, or being restricted by mere convention, management learning can be set free and limited only by its own artistic imagination. |
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| Lessons from teaching mixed-sized cohorts |
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| Mike Ryder is a Lecturer in Marketing. He currently leads the Digital Marketing pathway on the MSc Advanced Marketing Management programme. His research explores impact of new technologies, and the philosophical relationship between humans and machines. His website is www.mjryder.net. Anna Galindo is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Marketing, and Programme Director for BSc International Business Management. She has more than 10 years’ experience teaching in Higher Education, where she shares industry insights into the use of technology in business, alongside emerging trends in the field. m.ryder@lancaster.ac.uk; ; a.galindo@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| The teaching of large cohorts can be extremely challenging and has been widely discussed by the likes of Hornsby and Osman (2014), Maringe and Sing (2014), and Clarke (2011), to name but a few. |
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| However, there is very little advice available for those required to deliver modules to both large and small cohorts at the same time. This is a pressing challenge for teaching teams, as the internationalisation agenda has led many universities to offer the same courses across a diverse campus network where enrolment numbers can vary widely. Teaching context MKTG234 Social Media Marketing is one of the largest modules taught in the Marketing department in Lancaster University Management School. Cohort sizes vary by year, but we typically have up to 400 students in their second, third, or in some cases, fourth year of study. These students come from a range of different disciplines, from Marketing and Management to the likes of Sociology and Cultural Studies. The sheer size and diversity of the cohort poses many challenges – not least in terms of the varied experiences and expectations of the students enrolled on the module. To add to these challenges, the module is now taught concurrently at our sister campus in Leipzig, Germany. The module is still led by the UK campus tutors, but the same lectures and seminars delivered in the UK are also then delivered in person by a colleague based in Leipzig. The material is delivered in English, however, the teaching context is quite different. The first three cohorts at our German campus have been significantly smaller than that in Lancaster, with the total number of students enrolled (13), smaller than a single UK seminar class. Lessons from practice At the time of writing, we are in our third year of running the module across two international campuses. From our experience, we have identified four areas of focus that allow us to succeed. Planning and preparation: The core teaching team plan the module together to ensure leaders of both cohorts can shape the content year-on-year. This helps us identify where the difference between large and small cohorts needs to be reflected and adjusted for the benefit of students. Working with Leipzig-based colleagues, we can also adapt for any specific cultural differences. Examples include lecturer-student communication channels and assessment questions reflecting the local market. Assessment: Students are required to conduct a social media analysis of a local business, which we tailor each year to the cohort and campus. This way students can observe social media practices in the country in which they are based, and reflect on any differences where appropriate. Assessment support: To create an equitable experience, we use a shared Google Doc where all students can post their questions anonymously and can also read the answers already given. This has proven to be a most effective way of handling questions as students receive the same experience no matter where they are studying. This also reduces the workload for seminar tutors and removes the risk of students receiving differing advice. Lectures and seminar activities: Even though the core module content is identical for both cohorts, we have introduced localised differences for the optimal learning experience. Capitalising on the benefits of small group learning (Steinert, 1996), more interaction and dialogue is used with the smaller cohort in our German campus; while these approaches tend to be less effective with the large lectures of our UK campus, where students are often more unwilling to interact (Saunder and Gale, 2012). We have also introduced other located differences, such as invited industry guest speakers, to ensure that both cohorts receive content relevant for their local industry market and feel equally valued with in-person speakers. This approach has proved quite effective so far, with both campus module teams receiving positive evaluations from students. Conclusion As a result of our work on this module, the module leadership team won Lancaster University’s Pilkington Award for Teaching in 2023, demonstrating our commitment and contribution to the University’s internationalisation agenda. This has also proven a major boon to our colleagues in Leipzig, as at an institutional level at least, it can sometimes feel as though each campus exists in isolation. |
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| Writing, Researching, and Teaching Cases |
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| Bingbing Ge is a lecturer at Lancaster University Management School. She had a case writing scholarship (Case Centre) and the Paul R. Lawrance Fellowship (North American Case Research Association). She was co-chair for the Entrepreneurship track for the 2023 NACRA Annual Conference and published two teaching cases. b.ge1@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| Havard Business School is renowned for its business education globally. On their website, they say “Through the rich case- and experience-based curriculum at Harvard Business School, students build deep general management and leadership skills, setting the foundation for lifelong impact on how they lead.” (HBS, 2023). Why cases? Based on personal reflections, I have investigated the benefits of case writing, research, and teaching for scholarship development. |
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| It has been 103 years since the first case study was published by Harvard Business School (HBS, 2017). Arbitrary to discussing the impact of such an old method, exploring the role of teaching cases and writing and researching cases for such purpose in initiating scholarship development was not simple. The approach While there are always questions about how we can teach a practice, entrepreneurship in my case, teaching case is a scholarly endeavour to provide a rigorous reply to the questioning. Here, I make an initial endeavour to unpack how all participants in HE institutions – students (at all levels), educators (both research- and teaching-oriented), and the business community – benefit from the wider use of case writing, researching, and teaching. Firstly, as an effective teaching approach, cases, especially ‘decision-making’ cases, allow students to be embedded in many different business scenarios covering a broad range of industries, topics, and (academic) themes. Taking Harvard Business School as an example, their MBA students are educated using case studies throughout their degrees. These graduates go on to have successful careers in business as if they had lived through many business scenarios (cases) that one can experience in a career. The added benefits of the various levels of available teaching cases, ranging from undergraduate to executive-level that is reflected in the teaching notes, helps learners receive suitable support for their level. As an educator who writes and uses case studies, I have gained many benefits. As a user of cases, I have access to a wide range of (most often timely) teaching materials that are presented in a ‘lived experience’, creating opportunities for more engagement and providing a practical way of teaching academic theories (Anderson & Schiano, 2014). As a writer, this is not only a way of putting down the interesting research I have done, but also a serious scholarship development method (e.g., Scholarship award for LUMS family business researcher, 2022). Teaching cases requires a good depth of knowledge and engaging writing that has helped me to reflect on my research and impact on both students and business. Additionally, cases are increasingly recognised as a way of improving scholarship, and case journals are recognised in important academic outlets (e.g., Currie & Pandher, 2013). Lastly, the business community enjoys a range of benefits, including a valuable reflective experience, gaining academic insights, and collaboration with academics. This allows businesses to adopt a much more engaged role in this process, changing from ‘being researched’ to active co-researchers. For example, Kevin Shaw, co-author of a teaching case and an entrepreneur for 33 years, highly praised our engagement project as it provided an opportunity to reflect on his entrepreneurship journey, and he was excited to be involved in his first collaborative academic research project (Ge & Shaw, 2023). This case has been used widely in teaching entrepreneurship and family business-related topics in Lancaster University Management School and has inspired both undergraduates and postgraduates. It is worth noting that the case writing, researching, and teaching process is also very helpful in building much-needed rapport and engagement with businesses, and establishes mutual respect between academic knowledge and practical knowledge. During the Entrepreneurs in Residence Conference at Lancaster in 2023, a session was designed to speak about the purpose and use of teaching cases to about 50 entrepreneurs. After this session, a team (composed of four Early Career Researchers from the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy) was formed to advance their scholarship development through writing teaching cases. Many interesting insights generated through this process could inspire truly impactful research. Value for all My experience is that a good case study must engage the student’s interest through a clear focus and decision point. It should be factual and tell a clear and concise story as well as being well researched and well written. While they indeed take time and patience (and repeated practice), they provide a valuable opportunity for all parties in Higher Education. |
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| Niki Panteli is Professor of Digital Business in the Department of Management Science at Lancaster University Management School. She is the President of the UK Academy of Information Systems (UKAIS) and the recipient of the 2022 Mentor Award from the international Association of Information Systems (AIS) Women’s Network. Ling Xiao is a Senior Lecturer from Royal Holloway, University of London. The overarching theme of Ling’s research is empirical finance: time-series modelling of higher moments in financial markets. Ling also has specific interests in pedagogic research into inclusive education and education for sustainability development. Lucy Gill-Simmen is Vice Dean of Education and Student Experience and a Senior Lecturer in Marketing in the School of Business and Management at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is the Chair for the Academy of Marketing, Marketing Education SIG. She has also been awarded the Global Women in Marketing Award for her role as a marketing educator. n.panteli1@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| With digitalisation on the rise, it is not a surprise that the IT industry has become central to economic growth, contributing more than £82bn to the UK economy annually (McDonald, 2023). Despite this, the industry has remained white and male-dominated, a phenomenon that is also evident within HE programmes on Information Systems (IS). |
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| In this article we ask: How can IS educators promote inclusivity with the purpose of enhancing the career and employability prospects of students from diverse backgrounds, including female students? The Gender Gap In their Editorial of a Special Issue on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in IS education, (Lang et al. (2022) identify that IS education suffers from inequality and barriers due to gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and socio-economic status. This article is driven by an interest to overcome some of these barriers, and to identify effective inclusive pedagogical practices in the field of IS education. The ultimate goal is to increase gender representation and promote female students’ enthusiasm in IT-related careers, including leadership of digital transformation programmes. We argue that educators play a significant role in promoting (inclusivity) and examine a specific teaching practice, specifically the case method, and its role as an inclusive pedagogy. Inclusivity through case (re)-writing and teaching To promote inclusive IS education, a case study that was written by the first author for use in a session on ‘Leading Digital Transformation’ was revisited and elements of it re-written. The case sought to explore the challenges that digital leaders experience in their efforts to promote digital transformation in their organisation. Following recommendations made by the second and third authors, two particular aspects of the case were modified: 1) the female protagonist was presented as a female IT professional from an ethnic minority group, and 2) alternative employment options other than the traditional permanent and full-time posts for leaders within the IT profession were introduced as a way for encouraging students to rethink alternative, yet fulfilling careers, especially in male-dominated sectors such as IT. The revised case was taught in two separate sessions with undergraduate and postgraduate management students from diverse backgrounds and provoked discussions on digital transformation in the organisation, as well as the lack of diversity in the IT industry. Students’ feedback following the class pointed to evidence of two types of belongingness, a key feature of (inclusivity). Firstly, there was an increased sense of belongingness with the class: “The case study did give a sense of belonging socially… you are always sharing ideas … and similar understanding”. The second type of belongingness which was specific to the amended case version related to the connection that students felt with the case scenario, and in particular the case protagonist: “it was … relatable, like it’s kind of you put yourself in their shoes and being a woman … I could be in that situation … it could be me, and I’m thinking what would I do …?”. Conclusions and recommendations We posit that since the case method provides opportunities for students to foster a sense of belonging and a connection to the class and case scenario, female students can develop confidence, interest and passion in developing careers in traditionalyl male-dominated sectors. Importantly, the study reveals how the main feature of inclusive education, namely a sense of belonging, can be achieved during our daily teaching practice. This will extend our role as educators beyond just delivering content, but also by writing teaching cases that showcase characteristics of inclusivity and diversity, such as reference to female protagonists and other case participants from ethnic diversity groups. The study opens up the agenda on inclusive education within IS education. It is our strong position that it is not enough to admit students into our programmes from diverse backgrounds, but we also need to reconfigure our teaching to encompass inclusive education and increase female representation in IT employment and digital leadership in particular. |
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| Instagramming Economics |
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| William Tayler is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Lancaster University. He is interested in macroeconomics and passionate about helping students make the connection between what we learn in the classroom and what we see in the world around us. Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Manchester. She is interested in applied microeconomics and social and cultural economics. She is passionate about her teaching and she strongly believes that economics is a fascinating subject, something that she always tries to communicate to her students. w.tayler@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| What is research-led teaching? And more importantly, what does it mean for the student experience? |
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| Research-led teaching is a crucial aspect of education at leading universities. The reason? The integration of research in Higher Education can have positive implications for both student motivation and final grades (see, for example, Haaker and Morgan-Brett, 2017; Land and Gordon, 2013). There are two broad categories through which research-led teaching is delivered: (1) students act as an audience – passive learning, and; (2) students are actively involved in conducting and critiquing a research activity. In practice, research-led teaching is often introduced in a passive learning style where it can be difficult to communicate at a level appropriate for the student. This raises the question of what is the best strategy to integrate research in teaching? The student experience This leads us to the motivation for this study. Given the positive effects that a stimulating research-led teaching environment can have, we would expect research intensive universities to provide the best student learning experience. However, the relationship between research intensity and National Student Survey (NSS) results reveal that the more research-focused departments are, the less satisfied students seem to be. This finding is even more apparent in specific disciplines such as economics. What are we doing wrong? There are other factors that we should be considering here, such as generational change. Traditional teaching has its perks (both of us remember fondly brilliant chalk and talk lecturers when we were students); however, COVID-19 highlighted the issue of disengagement in lectures of the new generations – 66% of students now prefer a blended way of learning that combines face-to-face and online teaching. Students in 2024 consume media, and Instagram is one of the most used social media networks in this age group. Leveraging social media tools facilitates diverse forms of learning engagement, ranging from collaborative learning and reflective practices to inquiry-based learning, extending into the realm of distance education (Deng and Yuen, 2011; Owusu-Acheaw and Gifty Larson, 2015). The use of social media has also been proven to help educators embrace diverse tools like blogs, wikis facilitate collaborative learning, and community building among students (Guy, 2012). Following this, we decided to flip the script and @dailylifeecon was born. Through engaging posts, short reels, and those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stories we make economics pop off the screen and relate it to the students’ real life. A real life reel Picture this: Explaining complex economic theories using campsite cook-offs and the Edgeworth Box (Image 1). Sounds wild? That’s just one of the Insta-tricks up our sleeve. We’re breaking down interest rates at a bar while chatting to the barman – because why not make economics a party? Our reel talk includes academic articles, case studies, and even a dash of real-life drama to make economics more relatable. Think of it as bank of ideas for econ curious minds. After all, economics is integral to our daily lives. We find a correlation between engaging (via following, comments, likes, and views) with @dailylifeecon and getting a higher mark on exams and coursework. But, hey, don’t take our word for it – students are saying it loud and clear. Feedback collected via questionnaires shows that students loved the fresh take on complex concepts, the real-life relevance, and the fact that learning economics suddenly felt like a creative escape. It’s not just us; students want to share the love too! This Insta-revolution is just the beginning. We're gearing up for a full-scale evaluation, using questionnaires both pre- and post-exposure to the account before and after the modules, to see how this Insta-approach impacts students' learning experience. We're not stopping here – it's a whole new way of learning, and we're all in and making learning Insta-cool. We're not just teaching economics; we're creating an experience that's fresh. Stay tuned, because the future of learning is looking Insta-bright! |
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| Becoming a Broadcaster! |
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| Elena Luchinskaya is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Business Analytics at Lancaster University Management School. Her research focuses on peer learning, the ‘flipped classroom’, and technology-enhanced teaching to enhance students’ academic performance and employability. Elena is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Society for Research into Higher Education. e.luchinskaya@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| Have you ever heard complaints about data analysis modules being dry, maths-heavy, and lacking in space for entertainment and engagement? |
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| This notion often resonates among students who did not actively choose to delve into the details of data analysis but find themselves learning it as part of their degree programme. But what if we could transform this perception? What if we could introduce a new dimension of assessment that, at first glance, seems to have little to do with the conventional learning of statistical tools? In this article, I will share my experience of integrating video/audio casts into the learning environment of the ‘Data Analysis for Management’ module at Lancaster University Management School, making the study of hypothesis testing not just informative but also entertaining and engaging. An audio/video medium Using podcasts as an educational tool is a rather familiar approach when we talk about podcasts created by educators to diversify the ways new content is presented to students, making it more engaging and entertaining (e.g., Kay, 2012; Prince, 2020; Noetel et al., 2021; Besser, Blackwell, and Saenz, 2022). The use of student-generated podcasts in education is gaining more attention (e.g., Almendingen et al., 2021; Hall and Jones, 2023; Wakefield, Pike, and Amici-Dargan, 2023). The purposes of using student-generated podcasts might range from learning new technology and developing communication skills to improving engagement and creativity, using them for assessment, or disseminating information. In my case, I was planning to use student-generated podcasts to help my students better understand hypothesis testing, as I have noticed that this topic is rather challenging. Business students often find learning about hypothesis testing challenging for several reasons, including the abstract nature of statistical concepts, challenges with connecting these concepts to real-world situations, and potential discomfort with mathematical calculations. Students might not be able to see the immediate relevance of learning these concepts to their future career in business. This might negatively affect their motivation and engagement with the subject. Would working on a real-life problem and presenting it in the format of an audio or video cast be a way to demonstrate to students the relevance of hypothesis testing to their future work and enhance their engagement with the learning process? An innovative challenge In the 2022/23 academic year, I introduced a new type of group assessment in my module Data Analysis for Management, offered to second and third-year students. The students were given a task to produce a video/audio cast where they had to present their study using hypothesis testing on a topic of their choice. The students did not need to produce any calculations but talk about the hypotheses they were planning to test, possible outcomes, as well as how they were planning to collect data and other necessary assumptions. The students were encouraged to be creative, and they could choose any format for their presentation. Around 70 students took this module, and they were working in groups of five. After submission, each group marked another group’s podcast using a marking scheme I developed, and provided feedback. I circulated the evaluation form asking the students for feedback. The students’ feedback was very positive. They highlighted that the group project was the most interesting part of the module and that they were having fun working on the podcast. After getting such encouraging feedback, I decided to repeat the assessment in the 2023/24 academic year. Thinking outside the box The submitted work exceeded my expectations and was very inspirational. The students went above and beyond in their selection of topics and the presentation of their material. I could see BBC news items, interviews with experts, episodes of regular podcasts on statistics, and even animation. Topic ranged from new realities of working from home, and the effects of Brexit on trade, to the impact of vaccination on the Covid-19 rate, and the impacts of hosting big football tournaments on the local economy. In the evaluation form, I asked the students what they liked about this assessment. The students pointed out that what they liked was an interactive way of learning, that they could think of a real-life problem and go through all the necessary steps in planning the study. The students appreciated the freedom of their choice of topics and creativity in presenting their topic of study, and said they now understand better the relevance of hypothesis testing to real-life problems. All in all, it was an interesting experience. From the educator’s point-of-view, it was a challenging but useful and rewarding experience. It is a challenge to deviate from a well-established route and be prepared for unexpected things, but it is always rewarding to see the positive outcomes of your efforts. |
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| Using Videos to Build Assessment Literacy |
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| Jennifer Scrivener is a Teaching Fellow in the Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department of Lancaster University Management School. She is leading a project to investigate the most effective approaches to pedagogy that allow learners to benefit from the value of professional development as a core component of their university study. The aim is to develop a framework for postgraduate learners that is authentic, relevant and develops student commitment to the global sustainability agenda. j.carter@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| How can students achieve high grades if we do not build their understanding of what it takes to meet the assessment criteria? |
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| Inclusive and accessible education is at the forefront of our minds in universities, with growing diversity of students. As educators, we also have high expectations of what our students can accomplish on their degrees. An important factor in student success is their assignment literacy. When receiving multiple questions of how to do well in an assignment with ample written guidance, my instinctual instruction was to ‘read the guide!’. But with many students not grasping the expectations, I noticed that written assignment briefs are one-dimensional and can be difficult for students to translate into a submission. Having already adapted my content delivery to improve accessibility and ensure multiple ways of learning the content, I decided to apply the principles of an accessible curriculum to assessment guidance (Advance HE, 2011). The key principles of accessibility I applied to the assessment are the anticipatory principle (emphasising the proactive approach to considering what students may need in different stages of learning), the transparent principle (making it clear to students what is expected), and the flexible principle (pointing out the need for adaptation depending on changing students’ needs). My solution resulted in piloting ‘guided tour’ exemplar videos that created a feedforward tool and enhanced assessment literacy. Exemplars as Feedforward Feedforward, a process to support student improvement prior to summative assessment (Sadler, Reimann and Sambell, 2023), is more important to students than feedback but is often not possible to provide in advance of submissions (Hendry, White and Herbert, 2016), especially for non-traditional assignments that students may not have engaged with before. This leaves them unclear on how to achieve well. A common way to build assignment literacy and student confidence is by using exemplars before-task (To & Liu, 2018). The practice of sharing exemplars is varied, ranging from simply posting a past example on a virtual learning space to dedicating contact hours to students marking exemplars before discussing with a marker as a sense check and calibration effort. According to Hendry, White & Herbert (2016), the highest value comes from students hearing the marker’s perspective of previous submissions. This explains why my video exemplars have been a hit. Guided Tour Exemplar Videos Exemplar videos are an effective way of sharing the marker’s perspective without taking up valuable contact hours. They give students a ‘guided tour’ of previous submissions, briefly going through the example assignment submission, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the piece in line with the marking criteria. The videos are created in sequence, enabling comparisons between the exemplars. This indicates to students (a) different ways of getting marks for the same criteria, (b) how to personalise/ individualise assignments, and (c) what differentiates grades. It helps bring the marking criteria to life and improves students’ understanding of the marker’s expectations. These videos have been of particular benefit to my placement students completing a Portfolio of Professional Practice. This is a non-traditional assessment format, making it difficult for students to apply previously received feedback. The marking criteria are vague to enable freedom and creativity when students share their professional development from their industrial placement, but this results in students worrying about ‘getting the assignment right.’ The videos provide a timely and pre-emptive opportunity for task and marking clarification (Sadler, Reimann and Sambell, 2023). Students have commented that by watching the videos and hearing my perspective as the marker, they have a better understanding of how to approach the assignment. The videos can also act as a discussion prompt if students still have queries; helping them to articulate their concerns and ask more nuanced questions. Learning Benefits This approach is advantageous to both me and my students. For me, it saves time (the same videos can be reused until the assignment or criteria change) and allows me to focus on those who need more specialised support. For the students, it builds confidence in their ability to complete the work and clarifies what they need to do. I have found real value in using videos to share exemplars with students. I was surprised to find that while instructional videos are commonly used for teaching (Dunne et al, 2020), there is little acknowledgement of how they can be used to support assessment and feedback literacy. The next step is to explore video co-creation with students fostering the collaborative principle of inclusive curriculum and encouraging active student participation. |
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| The final examination is dead, long live the final assessment! |
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| Stephen T. Homer is a Senior Lecturer at Sunway Business School and Director of the Yunus Social Business Centre. He has taught Business Ethics and Social Responsibility at Sunway for five years and teaches the Corporate Social Responsibility module. His research focuses on stakeholder perceptions of sustainability. stephenhomer@sunway.edu.my |
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| In an increasingly interconnected world with vast amounts of readily accessible information, it seems illogical for management students to be confined to an exam hall to regurgitate memorised academic content promptly forgotten upon leaving the room. |
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| These prospective managers desire distinct skills, necessitating assessments to develop specific abilities. Group work to foster interpersonal skills and leadership; assignments involving interviews to understand diverse perspectives; and presentations to peers, equipping students to articulate and defend their views. Given that management involves handling and controlling a magnitude of individuals, it is crucial to prioritise the development of flexibility, adaptability, and soft skills. A practical solution In my recent semester teaching Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), I attempted to address some of the above issues. The main coursework was a group project of multiple stages, presenting different challenges in each. Group work assessments enhance interpersonal skills and promote collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution. They foster empathy, teamwork, and diversity, improving active listening and leadership. This interaction aids in understanding social dynamics, solving problems, and collaborating in diverse teams (Rice-Bailey and Chong, 2023). Simulating real-world scenarios prepares students for post-graduation challenges, such as group members underperforming, communication issues, or differing expectations. Firstly, in groups of three to five, students survey their peers around the university on the relative importance of each factor in Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR, using the measurement instrument from Ehie (2016). However, this was explicitly designed so that the students could not use Google Forms, with each having to interact with 10 fellow students drawing into the affective domain. Thus, each team member is committed to fulfilling their group responsibilities. This responsibility was necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns affected students’ interpersonal skills; despite remote education, the loss of in-person interactions hindered vital skills like active listening, understanding non-verbal cues, and building rapport (Greaves, 2023). Furthermore, with each student having a responsibility to the group, conflict resolution is possible, which is crucial for management students, as some students may not complete their tasks or underperform. The survey results were tabulated and compared to the academic model. Each group then interviewed three other students as to their thoughts on why there was a difference between the results and the academic model. This necessitates students to engage in probing questions to ensure enough depth to answer the questions within the brief and further enhance affective skills through social interaction. During COVID-19, the university’s social environment, crucial for peer interaction, was disrupted by isolation measures. Opportunities for casual socialising, networking, and forming friendships were limited, impacting social skills and emotional intelligence. This isolation, compounded by the pandemic, could lead to increased stress, anxiety, and loneliness, indirectly affecting interpersonal skills. Thus, the human-to-human interaction in an interview assists the interviewer and interviewee. Reduce the Artificial Finally, students were asked to present their key findings in a five-minute presentation to the rest of the class, emphasising explicit and concise communication with the limited time available. The written component is kept to a minimum word count, reducing the opportunity to use ChatGPT or other tools, as AI tools challenge the traditional short essay assignments (Baidoo-Anu and Ansah, 2023). According to Bloom’s taxonomy, AI excels in lower-order cognitive skills (remembering, understanding, applying), allowing students to focus on higher-order skills like analysis and evaluation. Creativity, a domain where AI falters due to its reliance on existing data, becomes crucial for higher-order thinking skills typically developed in a student’s final year and postgraduate studies. The Affective domain addresses emotions, social interaction, and ethics, enhancing emotional intelligence, teamwork, and leadership (Zach and Rosenblum, 2021). The Psychomotor domain emphasises manual and physical skills, with students developing crucial abilities through roleplaying, teamwork, and practical experiences. Thus, students presenting their results verbally, visually and written concisely drives creativity. Conclusion Whilst none of the components were difficult, it exposed students to multiple facets of the real world. The main challenge is that there is no predetermined answer, as anything can come to light with actual data, thus developing critical thinking skills to address the problem. Activities like case studies, interviews, and surveys involving real-world companies and managers are essential to showcase academic prowess and develop practical managerial skills. A re-evaluation of assessments, focusing on the affective and psychomotor domains, including case studies, projects, group work, and role-playing, is proposed. Shifting away from a predominant focus on the cognitive domain diminishes the impact of ChatGPT and AI tools. |
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| Teaching the cyborg student |
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| Josi Fernandes is Lecturer in Marketing at Lancaster University Management School. She is interested in the socio-material and spatial nature of market-making. Questions related to the (re)organisation of ethical and responsible markets, connected with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are of particular interest. j.fernandes@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| Considering the widespread (mis)use of AI tools in Higher Education, how can educators promote criticality and ethical practice? |
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| The cyborg student Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to transform labour markets (Felten et al., 2023), which are increasingly cyborg in nature (cf. Haraway, 1987; Haraway and Wolfe, 2016). Embracing the rise of AI, job-seeking students focus on what Generative AI can do for them while overlooking what AI might do to them and their career prospects. A cyborg is “a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism” (Haraway and Wolfe, 2016: 7). From this purview, modernity is populated by “theorised and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism”. The lives of HE students are no exception. Little (nothing?) in their journey is accomplished without some form of ‘machine’: from applying to university, to interacting with lecturers and classmates, to crafting assignments, students’ practices are inescapably intertwined with internet, smartphones, apps and other gadgets and tools. The same can be said of educators (note where you are reading this piece). We are cyborgs teaching cyborgs. This cyborg nature of social relations is not static. As mature technologies become mundane, new technologies develop, raising new challenges in the relationships they mediate (cf. Leszczynski, 2020). The development of new generative-AI applications is exemplary, with much debate flourishing about its implications on sports, management, neuroscience, education, health care and more (Freitas, 2023; Chui et al., 2023). On an optimistic note, Korst and Puntoni (2023) pose that AI is a “capable co-pilot” as it can “[boost] productivity and [free] us for tasks requiring our judgement, emotional intelligence, or other complex decision-making”. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The reality in the classroom is a bit more complex.assists the interviewer and interviewee. Cyborgs teaching cyborgs I develop my teaching and learning activities aiming at helping students reach higher levels of understanding (Biggs, 1996), weaving theoretical reflection in practice-based assignments where students analyse real-case companies, identify challenges and propose paths for action. However, since some students are outsourcing much of this work to AI, they are uncritically ignoring the processes that would lead to learning. The experiment I teach business-to-business (B2B) marketing at a stage in the undergraduate degree when most of the cohort is concerned with job markets and are work-skill oriented. To cater for these aims, I adopted an assessment-for-learning approach (Brown et al., 2013) and asked students to craft a (very short) white paper – a key piece of writing in B2B markets – for a market of their choosing. They should conduct secondary data research, identify challenges for the market in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and propose recommendations. Thus, this assignment provides the opportunity for students to develop critical thinking, argumentation, communication, research, and decision-making skills that are invaluable for a career in marketing. Determined to ensure students take this opportunity, and aware of the widespread use of AI amongst our cohorts, I asked students to employ AI at the various stages of crafting. Students were also asked to end the paper with a paragraph reflecting on their interaction, and to identify and defend the value of their work in comparison to AI. Lessons and paths forward Most students were able to write a few sentences on where their unique contributions lie, but this was because of what I found to be the most valuable part of this experiment: the discussions during assignment support sessions. These sessions allowed me to confront students with fundamental questions about their role in job markets where AI may replace many of the activities currently undertaken by market graduates. We as educators play a key role in helping students harness their cyborg nature ethically by discussing AI ‘out in the open’. Upon reading students’ reflections, I found three lessons. First, we need to develop activities that push students to think critically and relationally on what knowledge and creative skills produce irreplaceable outputs. Students are outsourcing work to AI while ignoring how this practice is superseding their own learning process, and ultimately what contributions they will be able to offer. Second, degrees must be designed to transform students into lifelong learners so they can navigate turbulent and ever-changing cyborg societies. AI is the latest major technological disruption; it is neither the first nor the last, so students are likely to face these challenges again. Third, students must learn to set ethical boundaries. In the experiment, students were more concerned with Turnitin results, and the impact on their grade, than with authorship and academic integrity (see Lindebaum and Fleming, 2023). This is not to say students are unethical by default. However, educators have a role to play in facilitating learning that prevents students from overlooking the multiple effects of the cyborg nature of societies. While AI may be a “capable co-pilot”, students must learn to become a capable pilot (Korst and Puntoni, 2023). |
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| Civic-ness in the Ivory Tower |
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| Radka Newton, Personal Chair in Management Education and Innovation, and Jekaterina Rindt, Lecturer in Marketing, collaborate on research related to design thinking in the curriculum and design in regional policy-making related to net-zero. Their Regenerative Curriculum Design was nominated for Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence in 2023. r.newton@lancaster.ac.uk; j.rindt@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| The ‘ivory tower’ perception of business schools generates countless debates about their contribution to regional socio-economic development. While subscribing to the rational and analytical learning paradigm once served to enhance business schools’ reputation by signalling their commitment to the ‘scientific model’, it now appears insufficient in addressing the multiple challenges society is facing. |
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| As Bennis and O’Toole (2005) note in their article (“Have Business Schools lost their way?”), the “problem is not that business schools have embraced scientific rigor but that they have forsaken other forms of knowledge”. And 20 years later, with increasing scrutiny placed on the value of business education and the integration of responsibility and sustainability into our curricula, this problem is as relevant as ever. Regenerative Curriculum Design matters The Regenerative Curriculum Design is rooted in disrupting the analytical and linear approach dominating business education by introducing creative methods that have been practiced under the umbrella of “Design Thinking” in design schools (Dunne & Martin, 2006; Glen et al., 2014). We argue that Design Thinking “cannot be taught through traditional lecturing pedagogy” (Çeviker-Çınar et al, 2017). The Design Thinking focus on human-centricity, empathy, collaboration and interdisciplinarity proves to serve as a valuable vehicle for civic engagement that requires students’ active engagement with the local community and enhanced critical reflectivity (Boland, 2014). Taking students out of the classroom and into the ‘place’ stimulates the sense of urgency and complexity, and emphasises the reality of how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals manifest locally, right here and now. In our scholarship, we draw on the recent (sector enquiry) that draws attention to the importance of integrating business education with (civic engagement). Our regenerative curriculum approach is characterised by practice-based, immersive, stakeholder and context-driven teaching and learning. Our vision is to co-create innovative and collaborative learning experiences that will leave a positive impact on our society. Using experiential learning and design thinking principles in the delivery of the Lancaster University postgraduate module “Design Thinking and Innovation” and associated extracurricular engagement, we created a blueprint for a transformative, cross-disciplinary and practice-based approach to curriculum development in business education. Student-led place-making We implemented the regenerative curriculum approach on the postgraduate Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme, and then expanded into extra-curricular initiatives involving the Lancaster Business Improvement District and the Lancaster City Council. Instead of relying on a preconceived case study, the curriculum revolves around a live(d)-case: the (Lancaster City Challenge). Using Design Thinking methods, students engage with the city through various immersive research methods such as ethnography, observation and experimentation with visual data capturing techniques. Students navigate the complexity of the place and build a new identity as ‘agents of change’ that comes with an increased sense of belonging, responsibility, and a transferable portfolio of skills for their future careers. We purposefully chose the term ‘regenerative’ curriculum design to capture the significant impact we achieved on local business leaders and policymakers who appreciated the knowledge exchange with students, and who now recognise the business school’s role as a place-leader and anchor institution in promoting sustainable and inclusive innovation. What are the challenges? Enacting the regenerative curriculum comes with its challenges: the three most notable ones include the changing role of the educator, the need for continuous, responsible stakeholder engagement, and scalability. The educator is required to become a facilitator of a longitudinal, real-life experiment where students and local communities co-design the curriculum in real-time. Developing a reliable network of external partnerships requires continuous investment in developing and managing external relationships while remaining mindful of reciprocity, possible ethical constraints and community over-engagement. Finally, there is a logistics challenge associated with scaling delivery given the trend for larger cohort sizes and fewer appropriate delivery venues. Is it worth it? Our students’ and stakeholders’ feedback and enthusiasm for local responsible change nourish our purpose and vision: “My personal learning that I will take with me is paying more attention to the role of the place in identifying and seizing entrepreneurial opportunities. We are proud of ourselves to help make contributions to the city we now call home.” (Postgraduate student, 2021) Our unifying aim is to transform the connection between the campus and the city through incorporating a design-led, place-based pedagogy. Our experience shows that instead of teaching about responsibility and sustainability, we must invest in an immersive, place-based curriculum that enhances students’ commitment to regenerative actions and place stewardship on their journeys to entrepreneurship: “The academic team has a collaborative approach, which will contribute to the University’s civic agenda and meet the needs of our local communities, with an underpinning aim to foster students’ understanding of place and the importance of local innovation systems as part of their entrepreneurship education.” (Head of Stakeholder Relations, Lancaster University) |
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| Do you see what I see? |
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| Emma Watton is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Entrepreneurship and Strategy department. Emma came into academia after working in Financial Services and Leadership Development consulting. Emma’s teaching is predominately in responsible leadership and consultancy challenges. Emma’s research interests are in reflective and reflexive learning and leadership for sustainability. e.watton@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| The merits of students and managers on leadership development programmes utilising reflective and reflexive learning approaches have been established in academic literature over many decades. How can we enable them to achieve depth to this learning and to maintain it as an on-going practice? |
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| Lack of time, unconducive environments, cultural norms or negative past experience are just some of the reasons that participants give for not maintaining their reflective practice after their studies (Cox, 2005). In this article I explore several opportunities that have been tested at Lancaster University Management School over recent years that create different approaches to developing reflective and reflexive practice. In a sense, they offer more choice for individuals to find a method that works for them. Reflective or Reflexive Reflective learning has a rich history of research and application through practice-based approaches at Lancaster, epitomised by management learning pioneers such as Michael Reynolds, John Burgoyne and Mark Easterby-Smith. Reflective learning has been defined as a mirror image (Cunliffe, 2002). Reflexive learning is a more recent development, with Ann Cunliffe championing its significant benefits within management learning. Reflexive learning is often seen as a progression from reflective learning and has been defined as ‘bending back on itself’ (Steier, 1991) as a form of self-analysis. Both reflective and reflexive learning methods are used extensively in leadership development programmes, with managers drawing on relevant experience for reflection and learning. At Lancaster these approaches are used on programmes such as the MBA, Executive MBA (EMBA), Senior Leader Apprenticeship and International Masters Program for Managers (IMPM). Different methods enable learners to stimulate their thinking, such as learning journals, classroom dialogues or critical incident diaries. Some learners find it hard to engage with these approaches, perhaps not knowing where to start. I faced this experience myself when I came to a residential at LUMS in 2009. I felt anxious and daunted when faced with spending 30 minutes completing a daily reflective diary on my emotions. Creating a more varied range of methods that enable reflective and reflexive learning to take place therefore has appeal, akin to having a range of different learning styles to suit individual preferences. Two approaches I have developed in my own teaching practice are examined here as inspiration for educators. The earlier definitions are helpful as the first activity aligns to the idea of holding up a mirror to oneself in recalling a significant incident. The second activity augments the notion of reflexivity through self-analysis and being more critical about oneself. Activities Firstly, artefacts are a novel way to ask learners to reflect on their past experiences. I typically ask participants to select an artefact that holds leadership significance for them and to bring this into the session. Each person then shares their object, the story behind it and why it holds importance for them. I have found this a particularly valuable activity at the start of a programme as it helps people to get to know one another and builds trust through the sharing of personal aspects of one’s lived experience. Further information on this activity can be found in a book chapter in a Field Guide to Leadership Development (Watton and Chapman, 2017). Secondly, I have developed a written form of reflection using letter writing exchanges. These can be done in pairs or triads. The letter is sent with the expectation of it being read and you receiving a reply. The decision as to what to share and reveal is very personal and it affords new insights into oneself from both the sender and recipient. The letters themselves form a reflexive dialogue between the authors over time whilst being embedded in practice (Cunliffe, 2002). This proved to be particularly powerful for EMBA alumni and students when writing their reflective dissertations. Better understanding These two activities create important spots of time for learners to engage with both sensemaking and dialogical practice. We know that these two elements are important components of reflective and reflexive learning as well as leadership learning. From a leadership development perspective, activities such as these enable learners to do, see, talk, read, and write about leadership which in turn enables an increased understanding as what good leadership looks like (Jackson and Parry, 2011). This is vitally important in developing the leaders of the future. I would encourage other management educators to consider how they might design different methods and opportunities for reflective or reflexive moments in their modules. How might we draw on other academic disciplines to explore creative opportunities which are out with the norm or unexpected? I continue to look at how I can extend my personal application of these types of activities and how I can capture and share these with others through my research. |
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| Surfacing the ‘speculative’ in management education |
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| Philip Devine's expertise in digital education spans from CD ROM development to the implementation of novel digital technologies in learning and teaching. He has a strong focus on innovative pedagogy, evident in publications like ‘Locating the Babel Fish’ and presentations at conferences. His artistic insight and technical skill provide a distinctive edge in the evolving landscape of digital education. p.devine@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| What is it that we might conceive as a problem, and where does that conception begin and end? Speculative thinking affords us ways to approach the art of the preferable, without being constrained by an existing framework, practice, expectation, or self-regulated boundaries. |
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| The diagram ‘Possibility Core’ (right) talks to the Possible, Plausible, and Probable, with focus on the preferable. (Dunne and Raby) (2013) explore aspects of what Nigel Cross talks of as (‘Designerly Ways of Knowing’) in his seminal book (2006). They investigate ways to empathise, and perceive in multiplicities and complex contexts, enlisting the support of ‘imagination’. This involves using the imagination’s power to juxtapose, critique, and articulate concepts spatially and longitudinally, in a context-appropriate manner. In doing so, we unlock the full potential of our imagination in the realm of the ‘speculative’. This is exemplified in the diverse and implausible manifestations of surrealism, where the conventional boundaries of reality and fantasy are blurred. Surrealism continues to affect and underpin 21st-century cultures. Where might we find the ‘speculative’ Management education is often bound by taught and applied frameworks. I argue that such frameworks can be reductionist in nature, lacking plasticity and contextual relevance, due to the linear nature of application. My concern is that we have witnessed a transformation of pedagogies towards a ‘technocratic’ formalisation that might benefit greatly from aspects of studio-based pedagogies, enhancing the application of applied frameworks. Studio-based pedagogies, originating in art and design education in the 1830s under managed capitalism, serve as an induction into a shared practice by professionals “developed over centuries from an historic model of apprenticeship” (Crowther, 2013). They emphasise technical skills, conceptual awareness, and understanding of various styles and practices, and are formalised through the ‘crit’ process. Below is an example of the implementation of ‘Designerly Ways of Knowing’ in a management educational context that emerged as a part of the externally-funded scholarship project Good Place Innovators. My role was to translate speculative thinking and studio-based learning as a student-centered approach to learning to a digital asynchronous and self-guided learning experience. Good Place Lab Broadly, Design Thinking as a methodology has its foundation in work carried out at the RCA’s Department of Design Research in the 1960s and 70s, led by Professor Bruce Archer. Cross’s 1982 paper and 2006 book, Designerly Ways Knowing, extends this work, arguing for design as a third ‘culture’ in education, fostering ‘designerly’ ways of knowing in ‘all’ our students. Often, the challenge in education is introducing learners to unfamiliar professional practices. Taking this into account, to accelerate the induction of students into aspects of ‘Designerly Ways Knowing’ (design thinking), and to support students’ development of abductive reasoning, the project team developed a pre-arrival online learning resource, the Good Place Lab. Good Place Lab, developed by Professor Radka Newton, is aimed at learners embarking on entrepreneurship and innovation degree programmes. The course is structured as a sequence of steps based on a set innovation challenge related to improving a campus university environment. The main objective of the course is to facilitate basic concepts of design thinking methods applied to innovation. The underlying principles of how this course was created are based on applying the Community of Inquiry framework (Swan et al., 2009)) complemented with Salmon’s (2013) concept of short and engaging e-tivities. Learners are introduced to an innovative interplay of the application of teaching pedagogies in online environment, student-centredness and the value of design thinking in management curriculum. The course has been completed by more than 50 learners who have reported enjoyment, unexpected fun with learning, and new perspectives on their personal practices to problem solving. As a result, they joined their postgraduate studies with greater awareness of the subject and practice of innovation, and they also enhanced their reflection abilities. “I have realised the importance of stepping away from my initial solutions to a problem, examining their pitfalls, and testing new solutions.” (course participant, 2022) Additionally, the learners developed a greater sense of belonging to their University degree programme and confidence in sharing challenges and learning from mistakes. Conclusion The first part of the 21st century has delivered several global [wicked] existential problems. Problems that ‘risk’ not only our post-Second World War belief systems, but also require radical thinking to acknowledge then counter, or adapt to, the effects of the Anthropocene and the resulting climate crises. Considering this, I argue the speculative, often considered peripheral or even ephemeral, must now be recognised as being central to the development of an innovative and adaptive mindset, a requirement of 21st-century leadership. |
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| Service and education in one sentence… |
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| Radka Newton is one of the Lancaster Curriculum Transformation Programme Leads focusing on Enabling Educators theme. In 2019, she founded a global education network Service Design in Education. She is a chief-editor of a Routledge publication project Transforming HE with human-centred design (2024) and a co-investigator on the Advance HE Collaborative Development project HE Workforces of the Future. r.newton@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| In my first annual programme review (APR), somebody suddenly said: ‘…and what about the student voice?’. That comment left me wondering whether the established institutional approach to student voice has become self-serving and compliant with global rankings and national student surveys, rather than a true reflection of the changing needs of our students. Is there an alternative for the student voice to be right in the centre of APR? |
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| The value of Service Design My curiosity about how we could bring a fresh perspective to achieve a more inclusive student representation led me to explore new trends in industries that have mastered the excellence of user experience. The world of innovation that emphasises empathy has offered me an approach referred to as service design (Stickdorn et al., 2018). Through a Lancaster University Management School-funded scholarship project, Investigation into service design approach to the annual programme review practices (2018-2022), that was run as a participatory action research project across three UK Universities with more than 100 participants, I experimented with the application of design methods to understand how degree programme reviews could become a space for empathy, co-creation and iterative improvements. Inspired by the application of service design in the public sector documented by Lou Downe (2020), a former Director of Design for the UK Government, I adapted the service design steps to a programme review. The most impactful aspect of designing good service is research, it is that simple. Design research, however, builds on participatory methods rarely applied to student feedback collection such as ethnography and emphasises the importance of data visualisation. What does this look like in practice? The main service design methods used to develop empathy and verify assumptions that I applied together with my students are persona co-creation and emotional journey mapping (Newton & Doherty, 2023). Students work in self-selected teams of four developing a visual poster of a typical postgraduate student, channelling their collective characteristics and providing in-depth insights into their often invisible lives outside the classroom. Once the personas are brought alive, students map the personas’ emotional journeys throughout the programme, recording the ups and downs of their experience. The practical outcome of the scholarship project is a development of an Inclusive Programme Review method (IPR) underpinned by holistic understanding of student experience during their degree programme. The method is built on co-imagining and co-creating a roadmap to the future of the programme by exploring possible alternatives, and draws on the following principles: 1. It is holistic – it places the degree programme into a wider University ecosystem and heightens the awareness of the programme’s relation to other interconnected components such as governance systems, decision-making structures, legal and financial obligations, etc. 2. It is human-centred – it places the human actors involved in the programme, staff and students, in the centre of the review enquiring into their experience of the programme flow, their expectations, hopes and struggles. 3. It is co-created – it places agency on both, staff and students, who collaboratively define the programme highlights and challenges and co-create solutions together, in partnership. 4. It is visual – design methods of student persona profiling and emotional journey mapping are developed as boundary objects facilitating educators’ understanding of the heterogeneity of students’ needs. 5. It is iterative – instead of aiming for a perfect and polished complete programme redesign, smaller and regular improvements lead to higher level of responsiveness. Assumptions busted The scholarship project has confirmed that the depth of insights collected through such engagement far outreached the traditional level of information gained in surveys and developed a profound cohort commitment to programme improvement as an integrated part of the university programme experience. Additionally, the method of data collection through the generative sessions (Sanders, 2000) helps establish meaningful and authentic human connections essential for creating effective learning environments. The programme team confirmed enhanced understanding of their cohort leading to greater empathy and better programme design. Students involved have reported increased sense of belonging and appreciation of being considered as human beings. “...I feel it positively included everyone, we were able to all of us get involved and contribute for the improvement.” (postgraduate student, 2019) Off-the-peg resource The research phase of the project has been completed and published as an accessible digital workbook accompanied by a video narrative that can be utilised for a variety of degree programme evaluations. The impact has been noted on Lancaster’s MSc Management programme, which was redesigned with this method for a sequential period of four years with a subsequent significant increase in student numbers, harmonised curriculum, and reinstatement in the Financial Times rankings. |
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| Constructive alignment in programme design |
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| Paula Ainsworth is a quality specialist with more than 20 years in Higher Education. Her interests include inclusive assessment, holistic programme design and the translation of strategic intent into meaningful academic practice that benefits all. Rose White has 15 years’ experience working in Higher Education. She manages LUMS’ suite of accreditations, including the ‘Triple Crown’ of AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. Rose is a former Co-Chair of the UK and Ireland Accreditation Group and is an active member of national and international accreditation and rankings networks. r.c.white@lancaster.ac.uk; p.ainsworth1@lancaster.ac.uk |
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| UK Business Schools are familiar with the complex landscape of multiple regulatory, quality assurance and certification processes, such as the Office for Students (OfS), QAA, AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS, which all require evidence of coherent programme design, evaluation and review as part of registration or accreditation. As well as the driver of regulatory compliance, these processes have a fundamental role to play in encouraging behaviours and practices relating to innovative pedagogic practice and instilling a culture of reflection and continuous improvement. |
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| Constructive alignment Recognising the workload that multiple such processes can entail, we developed an integrative model for Lancaster University Management School based on the constructive alignment (CA) model (Biggs, 2015), which led to a more holistic view of individual programmes and made monitoring and enhancement more effective. Taking the common principles of coherent programme design and evaluation as a starting point, we noted synergies between: • the foundation principles of AACSB’s Assurance of Learning (AOL) requirement that learning competencies are defined for all programmes and are assessed to demonstrate that they have all been achieved (AACSB 2020), • AMBA’s requirement that learning outcomes should be mapped and measured against content and assessment (AMBA 2022), • EQUIS’ requirement that students’ work should reflect the intended learning outcomes (EQUIS 2023), and • the principles laid down by the QAA that programmes of study are designed in a coherent way that enable students to learn and demonstrate the achievement of that learning through robust and secure assessment mechanisms (QAA, 2018). These approaches are underpinned by the work of John Biggs, CA theory. Biggs noted that, ‘the key [to CA] is that all components in the teaching system – the curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, the assessment tasks – are aligned to each other’ (Biggs, 2015) and described curriculum mapping as, ‘a systematic means of ensuring alignment.’ (Biggs, Tang and Kennedy. 2022). Putting in into practice Considering extant approaches to programme design and evaluation, we found that alignment of programme learning outcomes with content and assessment was not explicit. In response, we introduced a simple mapping process to demonstrate where content was delivered and assessed across modules resulting in a holistic visualisation of each programme. To implement the change, we provided guidance on the purpose of the mapping tools and how to complete them and met with individuals and teams. Departments elected to complete the mapping exercise in a variety of ways which required a flexible supportive response, sometimes one-to-one conversations and feedback, sometimes group workshops. In all cases, the retrospective application of CA highlighted overlapping module content, gaps in the introduction or development of learning, over-reliance on some types of assessment, and where learning outcomes were not being tested. Following this exercise, Programme Directors could re-engage with their programmes with a new perspective, resulting in structural and assessment improvements. The School was also able to assure itself, through its formal QA committees, that programmes were cohesive, receiving completed maps as evidence of alignment but crucially also allowing challenge to curriculum and assessment design, testing assumptions and practice and sharing examples across disciplines. Maps are now routinely used in the design, monitoring and review of programmes and these tools have been adopted across the University and embedded within design, approval, monitoring, and review procedures for all Lancaster provision, including at our partner institutions. These simple tools are widely accepted as a concise record of programme intent and a means to ensure that both learning outcomes are achievable and, where appropriate, for enhancements to be identified and proposed. Benefits to programme design We have successfully shown that adopting a Constructive Alignment approach can satisfy multiple Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies and create simple but meaningful processes that add value with minimal effort. We also believe we can extend the benefits already seen to enhance the design, planning and delivery of cohesive learning experiences. Institutionally, we are in a period of transformational change with a focus on programme-led design and delivery and strategically planned development and delivery of taught provision. At present, the mapping tools provide a measure of assurance at the individual programme delivery level, however it could be possible to use the maps to compare programmes across the portfolio, demonstrate the embedding of the School’s responsibility agenda within all programmes, and effectively plan for the delivery of supported curriculum content such as careers and learning development interventions, to name but a few opportunities. We intend, therefore, to investigate in collaboration with members of the School Leadership Team the uses of curriculum and assessment maps within a strategic and operational context across the School with the aim to support long-term planning. |
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| Shaping the future of management education |
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| The Centre for Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education has had a very successful academic year since its inception. With more than 35 members, including professional services and academic staff, we are involved in a wide range of scholarly activity: • SIME has been entrusted to lead on the PRME accreditation for Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), in collaboration with the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, and has published the PRME LUMS report. • SIME has been invited to the LUMS Education and Student Experience Committee and as a direct response to LUMS’ needs, we have launched the LUMS Student Attendance Project, a new LUMS-wide collaborative project exploring the challenges and choices in student attendance at in-person teaching sessions. • We support eight scholarship projects, of which three are externally funded. • In the past two terms, we have welcomed more than 70 attendees to our events. Aligned to the University Access and Participation Plan, SIME has secured two interns as a part of the Undergraduate Research Internships Programme who will be evaluating SIME’s impact. What we offer The Centre has an active programme of events for you to be involved in. This includes: • Sharing practice events that provide a platform for knowledge creation, exchange, and dissemination. • Workshops and initiatives to develop scholarship and promote research into teaching and learning. • Access to internal and external networks to support your practice development. • Writing and publication support to help you with visibility and dissemination of your education practice. • Access to guest expert speakers to stimulate innovation and resources to support your development. Sharing good practice Our programme includes peer-led workshops to educate, inform and inspire. Here are two examples from this year’s programme: Mainstreaming the SDGs in Management Education: Insights from the European Foundation for Management Development This lunchtime workshop led by Centre members Marian Iszatt-White and Emma Watton introduced participants to the underpinning structure of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), delving into the targets and indicators that make up each of the 17 Goals. It highlighted the journey that has brought us to the current SDG format, the tensions and trade-offs entailed in pursuing them, and the criticisms that have been levelled at some of them. SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth was recognised as being particularly challenging, with the need to move away from growth as a target if we are to live within planetary boundaries. Drawing on three case studies of how other institutions have mainstreamed the SDGs into their management education curricula, the workshop concluded with consideration of how LUMS might go about making this important transformation. Participants mapped out what we are already doing, what the most appropriate approach might be moving forward, and what should be the next steps. This workshop was part of an ongoing project within LUMS to transform our management education curriculum in alignment with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards, and has been developed into a Curriculum Transformation thought piece. Supporting others: Using blogs and social media for scholarship in management education Blogs can be a fantastic way for academics to build their profile, share practice and expand their digital footprint. But they also come with pitfalls as well! In this bespoke SIME workshop, Mike Ryder introduced colleagues from across LUMS to the world of blogging – from how to set up a blog and what to write about, right through to content strategy and using blogs to support scholarship. In a series of related activities, colleagues developed their own personal content plan before then thinking about the ‘big picture’ and how their interests might fit together with that of others within the Centre. In the final part of the session, Mike shared an example from his own professional practice, showing how blogs can be used as part of a search engine marketing strategy to reach a wide audience. Using some simple lessons from the world of digital marketing, academics can build their professional network, raise their profile, and influence the practice of others. The SIME blog has been launched as a result of this session with regular blogs on education practice and knowledge provocations written by the Centre’s members. What next? The Centre operates a small voluntary steering group that is working on a programme of activities for the academic year and beyond. Our programme includes workshops, peer-learning seminars, group conference attendance, joint paper submissions and we are always looking for new and engaging ideas. Membership The future of the Centre is shaped by its members. We welcome anyone who is passionate about teaching and learning (researchers, teaching fellows, professional colleagues) with a commitment to fostering curiosity, creativity and innovation aimed at transforming Higher Education by translating theory into practice. To find out more visit the Centre’s website.. |
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