Therese Grohnert

Academic and social integration of international and local students at five business schools, a cross-institutional comparison

An increasing number of students choose to study at a university in a foreign country. A common belief among educators is that international students are insufficiently academically adjusted. Recent research has found a mixed picture on whether international students underperform in academic integration and academic performance. Therefore, Morrison et al. (2005) argue that research should extend its focus to understanding the underlying reasons for these performance differences of international versus local students.In a cross-institutional comparison among 871 students of five business schools, we investigated the differences in academic and social integration amongst local and international students. International students value their faculty and educational system more than local students. However, international and local students have limited social contact with each other and spend their private time differently. Finally, students with a non-Western background are less integrated than Western students, have considerable lower academic and social integration scores and have (marginally) lower grade point average (GPA) and European credit transfer system (ECTS) scores. Institutes with small classes and collaborative learning settings seem to provide a more favourable learning environment for international students.

Pitfalls of personal development plans : the user perspective

This study was conducted to investigate which pitfalls users of personal development plans (PDPs) perceive in business and governmental organisations with mandatory PDP use. Hundred and thirty-one written statements of PDP users across three Dutch organisations were analysed and categorised into nine pitfalls. Next to an overall lack of use and incentives for use, PDP users emphasised the need for the tool to be properly implemented and supported in terms of learning and reflection, instruction and feedback, and having a motivating supervisor. Implications for practice include the need to commit to the tool on an organisational, supervisor and individual learner level.

Problem-based learning in hybrid, blended and online courses: Instructional and change management implications for supporting learner engagement

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional format which emphasizes collaborative and contextual learning and hence has favored face-to-face course design. However, with the plentitude of online tools which technology offers nowadays, PBL courses can also be effectively offered to students who cannot physically be present at the campus. The change process from offline to hybrid, blended, or online PBL courses need to be carefully managed and the right combination of technology and learning activities selected from the ever increasing available set. Hybrid, blended, or online courses differ in the amount of integration between offline and online activities. A mixed-method design was used to elaborate on how the different (hybrid, blended, or online) PBL courses can be effectively build and taught to create learner engagement. Twelve people (change agent, instructor, and participants) were interviewed and 82 students filled out a course evaluation form. The data was used to describe how a hybrid, blended, or online course was created and how the instructor and students perceived it. Instructional and change management implications for implementation are presented. Instructional implications deal with the needs of the learner, the role of the instructor, and the importance of sound technology integration in the course. Change management implication highlights the need to foster intra-institutional collaboration.

Valuing Errors for Learning: Espouse or Enact?.

Purpose This study aims to investigate how organisations can discourage covering up and instead encourage learning from errors through a supportive learning from error climate. In explaining professionals’ learning from error behaviour, this study distinguishes between espoused (verbally expressed) and enacted (behaviourally expressed) values with respect to learning from errors. Design/methodology/approach As part of mandatory training sessions, 150 early-career auditors completed an online questionnaire measuring error orientation and help-seeking behavior after making an error as attitude- and behavior-based measures, next to measuring perceived organizational learning from error climate. Multiple mediation analysis is used to explore direct and indirect effects. Findings Covering up errors was negatively and learning from errors positively related to an organisation’s learning from error climate. For covering up, this relationship is an indirect one – espoused and enacted values need to match. For learning from errors, this relationship is direct: espoused values positively relate to learning behaviour after errors. Practical implications By designing a supportive learning from error climate in which members at all hierarchical levels role-model learning from errors behaviour, organisations can actively discourage covering up and encourage learning from errors. Originality/value This study applies the theory of espoused versus enacted values to learning from error using a triangulation of measures in an understudied research setting: auditing.

Recommendations from Instructors for Adopting Successful Online Learning

Emergent technologies propose new ways to deliver and teach online courses, thereby offering learners more flexibility and new ways to build knowledge (Anderson and Elloumi 2004). When shifting from traditional face-to-face teaching to teaching online, universities and instructors must reconsider their teaching and learning paradigm. They must understand how to effectively design, implement and teach online courses. In this respect, the instructor has a central role. This chapter examines the role of the instructor and challenges faced when transitioning from traditional face-to-face settings to online courses. Through semi-structured interviews with experienced instructors of both online courses, this chapter derives a series of best practices addressing three key challenges for instructors: course design, learner engagement and technological issues.

An evaluation model for collaborative online courses: The impact of knowledge sharing and communication climate

Increasing globalization and changes in the business landscape have pushed the concept of lifelong learning into the center of employee development as companies’ strategic advantage arises from the knowledge and skills of employees. In order to stay competitive in the labor market, and to accommodate the multiple life priorities of family and work, an increasing number of professionals follow (part-time) courses and programs online. Yet, little research has neither focused on the perceived learning and satisfaction of professional learners in this virtual environment nor investigated the factors that contribute to them. Using a mixed method approach, this chapter compares two online courses (one successful, one unsuccessful) provided for professional learners. A model framework is presented to unearth factors that influence perceived learning and satisfaction of professionals in online courses, which results in a strong correlation between creating a positive communication climate, collaborative knowledge sharing, and perceived learning and satisfaction of professionals.