Developing successful intelligence : a curriculum for employability in changing markets for graduate labour

A key pedagogical challenge for undergraduate educators in integrating work and learning in the curriculum, is the identification of appropriate conceptual constructs to facilitate student learning and development. State and employer organisations have articulated a discourse of 'key skills' which has been adopted by universities, and yoked to innovations in pedagogy for employability. We propose the construct 'successful intelligence' to enhance pedagogy for employability. We show how it might be introduced to the undergraduate business curriculum, using a case study of the evolution of an undergraduate management development programme to ground our thinking in practice. We also use student perceptions of teaching, learning, and career planning to distinguish what students regard as real and relevant in their studies, contributing to employability

Academic credit and career education for engineering and surveying students

Research has indicated the potential of career education for academic credit at university. This case study describes how a university careers service integrated careers education workshops into the academic curriculum of an engineering and surveying faculty. Workshops on Job Skills and Career Transition were presented to 118 undergraduate students. Participants completed assignments for academic credit. These were 'marked' by career counsellors and follow-up careers counselling was provided to interested individuals. This pilot project confirms the utility of curriculum-integrated career education. Implications for career education across an entire undergraduate degree course and on-line education are raised

Preparing a Better Doctor: the C3 curriculum and OSCE scores

In 2013, a horizontally integrated 18 month curriculum (C3) for undergraduate medical students, which replaced the traditional 24 month basic sciences curriculum, was implemented at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. A retrospective, all-inclusive study was conducted comparing the performance of the last group of students completing the 24 month curriculum (the Class of 2016, n=196) and the first group of students completing the 18 month curriculum (the Class of 2017, n=205) on the end-of-course OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Exam). Students who completed the 18 month curriculum had significantly higher OSCE case scores (7.7 points, p \u3c0.0001) as well as higher OSCE category scores (2.2 points, p = 0.002)

Teaching Macroeconomics after the Crisis: A Survey among Undergraduate Instructors in Europe and the U.S.

An online survey among undergraduate macroeconomics instructors reveals that roughly half of them were scared when the crisis erupted and remain wary that more may be in the offing. As regards teaching, courses feature much the same lineups of models as they did before the crisis. A striking change concerns public debt dynamics, which receives much more emphasis. Regarding the finer fabric of undergraduate macro teaching, exciting things are going on. A host of topics related to financial markets has entered the curriculum, and there is more interest in economic history, the history of economic thought and case studies.Financial crisis, teaching, undergraduate, macroeconomics.

Angels in the architecture - and devils in the detail: how the learning space impacts on teaching and learning

An innovative classroom design pioneered in the US, which aims to facilitate greater student engagement, has been piloted in a UK University for the first time. This case study reflects on some of the advantages and the challenges of this technology rich learning space and considers its impact on curriculum design in a module which aims to develop academic, research and digital skills in first year students on an undergraduate Health and Social Care course

Creative writing, literary studies and global thinkers

There has been growing interest in how to make tertiary education more global and international not only in context but, also, in approach and methodology. One area of the education sector that has come under specific focus is the higher education sector curriculum and its design. This paper addresses the process of ‘internationalising’ the curriculum through the specific example of designing a new literary unit for undergraduate students, mainly literary studies and creative writing students. The literary unit entitled: Imagining the Americas: Contemporary American Literature and Culture, has the added complexity of being a unit about national fiction. This paper explores the practical problems and obstacles encountered in setting up this unit while using a framework of internationalisation. The case study examines the practicalities in implementing strategies that reflect the overall objective of creating global thinkers within a tertiary environment

Undergraduate dissertations in a department of architecture

Undergraduate academic writing in a Department of Architecture offers opportunities as well as challenges. To students, it can be a source of independent research and learning, enriching their development as architects and critics of the built environment; at the same time it can be an obstacle, a perceived impediment to design work. To staff, it can be a chance to share their research interest with colleagues and students, so enriching exchange and debate; it can also be time consuming and not clearly relevant to the formation of a professional. This case study argues that a change in attitude towards the objectives of the dissertation, coupled with careful consideration of its curriculum, can enhance the role that undergraduate academic writing plays in a School of Architecture, extending its benefits to the development of research and design agendas

Interdisciplinary Studies Integration from the Faculty Point of View: A Case Study

The purpose of the case study was to examine the perceptions of university faculty regarding the impact that integrating interdisciplinarity into the undergraduate curriculum had on their work in curriculum development and teaching; specifically, as it related to the navigation away from their discipline specializations, and through completion of professional development, creation of new courses (First-Year Seminar), and teaching FYS. Because they serve roles in the development and delivery of the curriculum that are integral to the institution and its culture, faculty perceptions about the process of change and the establishment of interdisciplinarity in the undergraduate curriculum are significant. A researcher-developed survey and participant interviews were used to collect data. The study population consisting of faculty who taught the First-Year Seminar (a required general education course in the undergraduate curriculum) were surveyed. A sample of faculty representing a cross-section of disciplines was interviewed for their perspectives on preparation, development, teaching, and reflections of their interdisciplinary courses. Findings from the case study revealed that FYS faculty perceived their role as integral to university-wide initiatives to establish interdisciplinarity in the undergraduate curriculum; that they focused on interdisciplinary learning activities and assignments supportive of the university’s learning outcomes; that they spent a greater amount of time researching and designing different types of projects focused on active learning than in their disciplinary-specific courses; processes instead of products were stressed in FYS classes (e.g., critical thinking and problem solving, the core modes of thinking in FYS); and, their interdisciplinary backgrounds prior to completing the required professional development course were important to their interdisciplinary curriculum development and teaching. Overall, the study’s participants perceived that their interdisciplinary work provided opportunities to explore new approaches to teaching and learning outside of their disciplinary specializations. While they valued their interdisciplinary work, FYS faculty reported unexpected challenges such as an unusually large of amount of time required for interdisciplinary work, a need for increased knowledge in unfamiliar disciplines, and development of new classroom strategies focused on teaching primarily freshman students

Creating SMART Supply Chain Scenarios Using SAP R/3

Pedagogical revisions to the undergraduate Haub School of Business curriculum at Saint Joseph's University employing the SAP R/3 system encompass the core accounting courses traversing the sophomore and junior years.  The entire accounting curriculum was overhauled in order to integrate SAP R/3.  Each course progressively builds upon and expands the knowledge base in the prior course(s).  Substantive pedagogical modifications have been integrated into the material delivered and methodologies utilized in selected sections of the required sophomore and junior accounting courses.  SAP supported material, created and modified by a student team, is delivered in the classroom using a team-oriented format within a business case context.  It is envisioned that the SAP material will seamlessly present accounting issues currently in the curriculum, while allowing the students to observe the capabilities of SAP R/3.  This paper discusses the design, implementation, and execution of collaborative supply chain business scenarios using SAP R/3 as the platform.  Its use within an undergraduate curriculum is assessed and evaluated.  Sample scenarios and a demonstration case are included

Forensic flavour

Databases often receive an uninspired and uninterested response. The curriculum content of a database module generally involves the design of entity-relationship models, SQL programming, application development and advanced database applications such as data warehousing and data mining. These are often taught within the tired and relatively worn case studies of purchase order systems, retail or health care systems. However the current trend for crime scene investigation drama and the frequent stories in the news of personal tragedies involving incorrect data, missing data or data mix-up capture the attention of many. The truth is that crimes require data investigation and expert database witnesses to provide evidence and this requires database knowledge and skill. This project involved the introduction of a ‘forensic flavour’ to the teaching of databases as part of an undergraduate Computing Degree to students. The ‘forensic flavour’ involved introducing investigative and enquiry based learning techniques as well as selecting case studies based around real-life crimes and crime data. The learning objectives remained unchanged for the modules as did the curriculum content. The initial findings are that the students engaged on average 40% better and enjoyed the experience more