Decision Sciences-Journal of Innovative Education最新文献

As universities seek to innovate to meet the needs of students, compressed courses are becoming more prevalent. This study compares a compressed-format course to a traditional format course in economics that were each taught in the summer. Results indicate that student performance in a compressed course differs in meaningful ways. Effort-based assessments show that students in a compressed course perform just as well and, perhaps, better than students in a traditional-length course. However, assessments measuring mastery of course material indicate performance declines in compressed courses. Student ratings also indicate that students may perceive their experience in a compressed course as being worse than in a traditional format. This article analyzes the differential performance between the two types of courses and provides a discussion regarding possibilities for future compressed course design.

Business schools have a responsibility for educating global citizens capable of understanding and addressing the major societal challenges of the 21st century. However, working on complex societal problems within business school curricula remains a challenge. This teaching brief presents a learning project that helps instructors introduce systems-thinking skills into the classroom to address complex problems of sustainability. The project involves students studying an issue of their choice within one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and designing a multi-stakeholder strategy to both alleviate problem symptoms and address their underlying causes and drivers. Analysis of student evaluations and feedback show that the project engages students and favors systems-thinking skill acquisition. The project can be run either online or in the classroom, individually, in small teams, or with an entire class. It can be used by instructors for sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, and systems-thinking classes, or be run as a capstone activity.

This empirical study evaluates the impact of faculty training in online teaching on perceived comfort, perceived effectiveness, and stress during the Emergency Transition to Online Learning (ETOL) caused by COVID-19. Survey data revealed a positive relationship between training in online teaching and perceived effectiveness during the ETOL. However, this relationship is fully mediated by perceived comfort in teaching online, meaning training in online teaching significantly increased faculty perceived comfort, which in turn increased perceived effectiveness. Relative to their counterparts, faculty who agreed that the ETOL was stressful were significantly more likely to cite working from home distractions and a lack of physical resources as the greatest challenges. Going forward, our results suggest faculty should be trained in best practices in online teaching as a regular part of their development. Doing so would not only benefit online courses, but the tools used in online courses can also benefit faculty teaching in-person courses. The emerging tools used in online courses can also serve to enhance teaching in emerging, technology-based disciplines in business, such as digital marketing or business analytics. In addition to ongoing training, another best practice to prepare for a future ETOL would be to allow business school faculty to share what they have learned with other business faculty.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced instruction into remote formats, rendering active learning efforts in business classrooms infeasible. In response, we adopt a novel model for interactive classroom activities by hosting classroom games on Google Sheets, the free and widely used cloud-based spreadsheet application. First developed for a synchronous Zoom class during the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach was integrated into face-to-face courses in two countries. Due to its instructional flexibility, minimal need for resources, and tendency for student acceptance, using Google Sheets for classroom interaction has far-reaching educational applications beyond the pandemic era. To illustrate this approach, we introduce three operations and supply chain management activities created on Google Sheets: the Virtual Assembly Line (VAL) activity, the Just-in-time Game, and the Dice Game. An in-depth examination of implementing these activities in the classroom offers practical insights into the benefits of utilizing cloud-based classroom games in teaching. Furthermore, a comparison of test results between students who played the game and a control group showed significantly improved learning outcomes. We also discuss how this approach could foster active learning adoption in environments traditionally less conducive to such practices, such as remote instruction and large enrollment classes.

In the spring of 2020, universities worldwide closed their campuses and transitioned their face-to-face courses to remote teaching with educational technologies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented transition to online instruction created a unique learning environment for students and faculty. Our case-based, qualitative study explores the perceived skill level changes of professors who implemented (with minimal training) online educational technologies to deliver business courses at a business school in the southwest United States. Business faculty completed a Likert-scale survey instrument that used the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) teacher competency framework, which includes digitally communicating with students, delivering asynchronous material, delivering synchronous classes, using the learning management system, and providing digital assessments and feedback (2018). Study outcomes indicate that instructors’ perceived skill sets in most topics grew due to the adoption of online educational technologies at the onset of the pandemic. Further study might focus on determining the long-term implications of the growing integration of educational technology on business faculty instruction in both online and face-to-face classrooms.

This study analyzes students’ future preferences for online business courses based on responses from a spring 2021student sample from a California public regional university. The timing of this research takes advantage of the COVID-19 “sudden disruption” that provided a unique opportunity to examine factors (including challenges specific to COVID-19) that affect student choices about course delivery modality. Academic background, remote-learning experiences, and mental health significantly impacted future course enrollment decisions. Study results provide insights for both university administrators and faculty who will need to plan curriculum in the challenging postpandemic higher education setting.

Information flow is one of the three main flows of supply chains. It is an abstract concept that can be challenging for students to grasp in its entirety. This article describes a role-playing game for teaching the topic of information flow in an undergraduate supply chain management course. The game allows students to simulate receiving and fulfilling customer orders by playing five roles within a manufacturing company. Students use TagScan, an augmented reality barcoding and logistics system launched by a technology company in western Canada, to track information throughout the game. Pre- and postsurvey results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed game in helping students visualize abstract course concepts and understand the types of information being tracked, the available information transmission technology, and the dynamics of information flow in a supply chain. Students were actively engaged in this in-class activity and responded positively to the learning-by-gaming experience.

This research demonstrates a method to introduce blockchain technology in the classroom based on the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP). A blockchain is a digital distributed ledger with the potential to improve transparency and trust between parties. Businesses are testing, piloting, and deploying blockchain technology across their organizations, and students show growing interest in the technology. This teaching brief proposes an exercise that uses POAPs, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) associated with an event, to help students understand blockchain technology within supply chain management contexts. Instructors can use the exercise for various purposes: as incentives for behavior the instructor wishes to encourage (such as attending class) or as prizes for games. The exercise also includes a glossary of blockchain-related terms to introduce the language of this industry to students. Student surveys showed a significant change in their knowledge of blockchain technology, specifically, a 41% increase in understanding of how blockchain technology may benefit supply chain management and a 35% improvement in the ability to explain blockchain technology to others. This brief concludes with resources to create and distribute POAPs for courses and other settings.