=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1841/E07_118
|storemode=property
|title=Designing SPOCs for Student Engagement – Experiences from Management Education
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1841/E07_118.pdf
|volume=Vol-1841
|authors=Karina Piersig,Marc Egloffstein,Martina Pumpat,Andreas Eckhardt,David Wagner
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/emoocs/PiersigEPEW17
}}
==Designing SPOCs for Student Engagement – Experiences from Management Education==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1841/E07_118.pdf
Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
Designing SPOCs for student engagement – experiences
from Management Education
Karina Piersig1, Marc Egloffstein2, Martina Pumpat1, Andreas Eckhardt1,
David Wagner1
1
German Graduate School of Management and Law, Heilbronn, Germany
{karina.piersig | andreas.eckhardt | david.wagner@ggs.de}
pumpatmartina@web.de
2
Mannheim Business School, Mannheim, Germany
egloffstein@mannheim-business-school.com
Abstract. This paper reports the experiences from the implementation of a
Small Private Online Course in Management Education which has been de-
signed to support learner engagement and promote digital competency. We de-
scribe the instructional design in detail, present some exploratory findings from
a mixed-methods course evaluation and reflect on the lessons learned.
Keywords: SPOC, Management Education, student engagement
1 Introduction
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become an important factor in the
delivery of business education [1]. They are associated with flexible, scalable and
measurable knowledge transfer for lifelong learning, both in academia and profes-
sional development [2] However, completion rates are unsatisfactory and the ques-
tionable instructional quality of MOOCs has been identified as one major reason for
this [3]. As modern business education calls for learner activation and the application
of models and procedures to practical problems (e.g. case based teaching), adequate
online courses must be designed accordingly. Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs)
have evolved from traditional MOOC concepts to address this target [4]. SPOCs usu-
ally follow the xMOOC model, but only for a limited group of participants. This al-
lows for a better instructor support as well as peer interaction and collaborative prob-
lem-solving. The underlying question is: how can SPOCs in management education
be designed to promote learner engagement? In this paper, we describe the instruc-
tional design (ID) of such a SPOC, present some findings from the exploratory course
evaluation and reflect on the lessons learned and further steps to take. By conducting
an ongoing iterative process of developing, testing, implementing, evaluating and
redesigning the course, we follow a design-based research approach [5].
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Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
2 Human Resource Management in the Digital Age
The German Graduate School of Management and Law (GGS) is a private business
school offering degree programs for full-time working professionals. The SPOC was
integrated in the curriculum of the MBA program at GGS. It was compulsory for
GGS students and open for external business students and professionals interested in
human resource (HR) management, digitalization and digital learning. Externals had
to pay a fee of 149.00$ which kept the number of participants reasonably low.
2.1 Course Objectives
The online course deals with the effects of the digital transformation on the core func-
tions of HR management, thus linking content and format by offering this course as a
SPOC. Along with knowledge transfer on digital HR, the course was designed to
strengthen the participants’ digital skills. They are key qualifications in today’s
knowledge society. However, aspects such as the development of soft skills are insuf-
ficiently addressed in the curriculum of most business schools [6]. To better prepare
students for an increasingly digital workplace, this kind of skill development was a
crucial learning outcome of the online course.
2.2 Instructional Design
The core idea of the ID (Fig. 1) was to complement knowledge transfer with the facil-
itation of significant social and constructive learning processes. It was based on the
3C model by Kerres and de Witt [7], who suggest that any learning environment con-
sist of three components: content that is provided to the learner; communication that
takes place among learners and between learners and the teaching team; and a con-
structive component that consist of individual and group learning tasks. In the follow-
ing each of these components will be discussed in more detail.
Fig. 1. ‘Digital HRM’: Instructional Design
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Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
Content: The course was structured in five modules that spread over a period of
ten weeks with a weekly workload of approximate hours. Each of the modules exam-
ined a core function of HR management. Content was delivered on three levels. First,
using video lectures, slides and research articles, GGS professors provided theoretical
input on the processes, practices, and technological systems that organizations employ
when managing HR. Second, to guarantee knowledge transfer from theory to practice,
GGS professors interviewed a diverse group of leading HR experts on how they man-
age the challenges of the digital transformation in their organizations. Third, a content
library with additional multi-media resources for continuing self-study was offered.
Communication: To address the social aspects of learning a focus was placed on
building a learning community. Learners were encouraged to set up profiles that also
displayed their learning portfolio (submissions, posts, endorsements etc). An open
discussion forum for exchange was provided and moderated. Most importantly, learn-
ers could form small teams and were given virtual team spaces with a set of integrated
tools for online communication and collaborative problem-solving. The learning
community was supported by a proactive community management and weekly con-
sultation hours with the instructors. The learning progress of teams and individual
learners was tracked and prompt support from the teaching assistants offered.
Construction: Each of the modules provided a set of assignments for learners to
deepen their knowledge and apply their skills. On the individual level, learner com-
prehension was tested through short multiple-choice quizzes. Additionally, learners
were contributing real-life cases from their working environments to the submission
galleries, which were then peer-reviewed and discussed among course participants.
On the team level, learners were working on small project-based assignments using
several online tools, including chats, video conferencing tools, shared documents, live
streaming channels etc. Participants who completed all five modules were issued a
certificate of participation. Additionally, learners were given the opportunity to hand
in a written paper after the end of the course and received ECTS-points.
2.3 Platform Provider
The course was set up on NovoEd, a platform specialized in social and experiential
learning. The platform’s user interface centers on the learning process rather than the
course content. Participants were provided with an individualized study plan that
displayed their learning progress. The start page included a social feed with trending
posts and announcements. The most innovative aspect was the provision of virtual
team spaces with integrated collaborative tools, submission galleries and means for
structured peer feedback. The analytical and communicative dashboard features
formed the basis for supportive community management. In brief, the NovoEd plat-
form turned out to be a good fit for the specific ID focusing on learner engagement.
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Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
3 Course Evaluation
The course ran from October to December 2016. Data was collected and analyzed
until Jan 2017. For the explorative evaluation, a mixed method design was set up.
Invitations were sent out to all course participants of which 30 (7 m, 20 f, 3 N/A)
completed a post-course survey with multiple-choice questions that focused on two
areas. (1) How do students perceive the instructional design? (2) How do students rate
their learning experience? Additionally, semi-structured focus group interviews on
learning engagement were conducted. Three groups with four members each (90min)
reflected on their learning peaks and the corresponding instructional elements.
3.1 Quantitative Results
The overall rating of the course was very positive. Most of the participants indicated
that they would recommend taking this course (M 6.26, SD 0.96). Concerning In-
structional Design, results are as follows (Tab. 1):
Table 1. Survey results on Instructional Design
Item M SD Min Max
Course well structured 6.39 0.72 5 7
Study material up-to-date and relevant 6.26 0.82 4 7
Realistic assignments 6.03 0.84 4 7
Balance between research and practice 5.68 1.11 3 7
Virtual teamwork enhancing learning 5.23 1.63 1 7
Peer interaction helpful 5.19 1.54 2 7
Results indicate that the course was perceived as well structured, providing a good
balance between theory and practice and a clear link to real-world problems. Peer
interaction and teamwork were seen in a more differentiated but nevertheless clearly
positive way. With regard to learning, quantitative results are as follows (Tab. 2):
Table 2. Survey results on learning
Item M SD Min Max
Usefulness for professional life 5.77 1.23 3 7
Learning goals achieved 5.48 0.96 3 7
Increased collaboration skills 4.81 1.70 1 7
Again, the usefulness of contents for professional life was emphasized. Regarding
collaboration skills there were considerable individual differences on this topic.
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Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
3.2 Qualitative Results
The analyses of qualitative data revealed a range of success factors for learner en-
gagement of which the following three were the most salient ones.
The integration of HR experts: From the transcripts one can assume that the blend
of theory-based lecture videos, interviews with HR experts and multi-media content
libraries was highly valued by the course participants. The interviews stimulated
knowledge transfer to real-life business contexts. HR experts, who were representa-
tives from leading organizations, were perceived as an exclusive asset, raising the
value of the course and thus the learners’ commitment to participate. Overall, we can
conclude that integrating HR experts into the curriculum had some clear advantages
with regard to knowledge transfer, interdisciplinarity and up-to-dateness of the con-
tent. However, the production of interviews is quite resource-intensive. The selection
of partners and the coordination of the media production takes up time and budget.
Learning and working in teams: Participants clearly experienced working in
groups as a motivational factor. The exchanges over content, the application of ideas
to the real working contexts of other group members and positive feedback from peers
supported the learning experience and helped to keep everyone on track. At the same
time the commitment to group work reduced the flexibility and brought with it organ-
izational and technical challenges. Groups that distributed roles and responsibilities
(e.g. team lead, technical support, expert on HR etc.) managed these challenges effec-
tively. Letting teams form their own groups increased group cohesion and course
engagement from the beginning of the course. However, proactive support from the
community managers especially in the initial phase were necessary and time consum-
ing. Teams were tracked and rearranged in case of dropouts and instructions on how
to work in virtual teams was provided.
Real-life cases and project-based assignments: Assignments contributed to the
learning experience through their practical and real-life references and the opportunity
to share insights with peers. All focus group participants highlighted the hands-on
approach of the tasks and the usability of skills for their workplace. They agreed that
project-based learning, presenting results in submission galleries and peer-reviewing
enhanced their engagement in the course, though not without facing several challeng-
es. While for some the platform use was rather intuitive, others were initially strug-
gling with the platform’s features and not making full use of study plan and working
tools. Again, the community management took a crucial role in providing individual
support, encouragement and instructions. The progress of learners was tracked; soft
deadlines and late submission permits issued in a timely manner. Most importantly,
all submission were at least briefly commented on and overall summaries on team
assignments and references to relevant work by peers provided.
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Proceedings of EMOOCs 2017:
Work in Progress Papers of the Experience and Research Tracks and Position Papers of the Policy Track
4 Lessons Learned and Further Steps to Take
• Key success factors for engagement that should be further elaborated were: In-
terviews with HR experts, collaborative group work and project-based assess-
ments.
• Learning activities should continually be tracked, prompt support offered and
feedback provided. A community management plan is essential.
• Learners should be offered an initial set of playful team building activities and
lessons on how to interact in virtual teams. Self-formation should be fostered.
• Invitations to engage in teamwork, peer reviews and forum discussions must
continually be expressed and must be linked to concrete learning tasks.
• Digital skills should not be expected, but fostered; otherwise the learning expe-
rience can become frustrating. Initial activities must be included into the design
(e.g. tutorials, guided platform tours, training sessions, peer-to-peer assistance)
• The course should provide a storyline to better align content and assignments
(e.g. tasks could be designed to generate solutions for current challenges of the
specific business partners’ companies. Ideally, business partners would offer
feedback).
• The course should be framed by a kick-off and wrap-up module to create group
dynamics in the beginning and celebrate success in the end. In between it should
address a range of learning preferences, offer a degree of flexibility (e.g. soft
deadlines) and provide several learning paths (e.g. audit, participation and ECTS
track).
• The course evaluation should be complemented by additional non-responsive
measures for more thorough insights [8].
Finally, we can conclude that the course design already fostered active learning
and student engagement to a high degree. This could only be achieved with elaborate
ID features that came along with a high course facilitation effort. From the evaluation
of the learner’s and the instructor’s experience we drew findings for further course
development. It will focus on pedagogical interventions for collaborative learning.
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