A Conceptual Instructional Design Model for Executive Education

This paper presents a conceptual instructional design (ID) model for executive education derived from business school good practice and education theory. A review of executive education literature finds that today’s executive education offerings are required to be real-world oriented, closely aligned with the demands of the post-pandemic workplace, attuned to the changing needs and circumstances of adult learners and sufficiently able to deliver immersive learning. A reconnaissance investigation of 14 top-ranked business schools identifies the most frequently adopted teaching and learning approaches in executive education considered as good practice for the sector. These include experiential learning, collaborative learning, and technology-enabled learning. The proposed conceptual instructional design model is rooted in these approaches alongside three key principles that underpin experiential learning, namely authenticity, reflection and collaboration. Moreover the model proposes ADDIE supported teaching approaches to ensure the realisation of these principles within an appropriate constructive learning environment (CLE). Informed by activity theory, an ‘activity system’ is presented as the outer shell of the model to ensure that an executive education-oriented CLE is informed by learner needs and authentic context.