Applying Interactive Learning in a Process Innovations Course

Principal Investigator: Rajiv Kohli, Department of Management,  Mendoza College of Business

Contact: Rajiv Kohli, Rajiv.Kohli.2@nd.edu
 
For this Carnegie Scholarship of Teaching project, Dr. Kohli asks the question: How does interactive learning affect the student's ability to solve Process Redesign and Total Quality Management problems?  Dr. Kohli will examine students' (a) understanding of the problems, measured by their ability to diagnose and structure problems; (b) application of Process Redesign and BPR concepts to real-life situations, measured by drawing parallels from Baldridge award-winning companies; and (c) confidence in solving problems, measured by a web-based survey of student perceptions.  Three independent reviewers will also examine the deliverables of the students to assess the impact of the increasing interactive learning.

Outcomes

In this project the following methods were implemented:

1. Using methods from “Teaching Well, Saving Time” and
2. Barbara’s Walvoord's approach to move the readings to outside the class and using the class for collaborative learning

And the follwing outcomes observed:

The changes proved very productive and we found that the students felt the same.  We were able to use the class time constructively, including that with the guest speakers and indications were that students preferred this method.  The class outline is still available at http://www.nd.edu/~rkohli/tqm/  If you are interested, please see the slides for Jan 22 (Class 1) where I introduced the students to the concepts of interactive learning.

I had proposed an add-on to the project where I would monitor the students’ project quality and compare it with those from the previous class (control group).  This did not work out well because of the small number of students registered.  Overall, it was a good learning experience for me and the students.  I think the course topic also was quite suited to the collaborative nature of the course.