Advancing the skill set of SCM graduates – an active learning approach

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on a novel approach to active learning in supply chain management, the purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze how the students’ learning process as well as their learning outcomes are influenced by the learning and teaching contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study of a master’s level purchasing course carried out at two universities in which students work in projects resulting in jointly authored books.

Findings

The findings show how the teaching context influenced the learning process and the learning outcomes. Active involvement, self-directed learning, collaborative learning and learning from practice enabled by the set-up of the course are identified as key mechanisms for the learning outcomes in relation to skills and content.

Originality/value

Increasingly, supply chain management graduates have to develop professional, practical, research as well as metacognitive and life-long learning skills during their university education. This paper identifies mechanisms and illustrates how educators can use the set-up of a course to enable students to engage in a learning process resulting in a variety of skills as well as specific content-based aspects of knowledge.

Citation

Scholten, K. and Dubois, A. (2017), "Advancing the skill set of SCM graduates – an active learning approach", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 37 No. 11, pp. 1683-1699. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-11-2015-0724