higher learning

Abstract

This paper describes the collaboration between Sheffield Hallam University and an International IT Consulting organisation to develop an innovative postgraduate curriculum that combines intensive, vendor-specific certification training together with a challenging enquiry-focused educational experience. Employers prefer to ‘benchmark’ potential applicants against industry certification standards, yet also desire the qualities of a postgraduate’s enquiring mind. Using research and ‘open enquiry’ as principle values, a curriculum has been created that facilitates exploration of a wide range of practical and theoretical topics in order to support the development of a highly skilled, autonomous ‘Technical Consultant’. A key aspect of this approach is to provide guidance for learners to explore their own development paths, whilst also exposing them to an established vendor specific platform in order to gain sufficient practical experience before seeking employment.

Awarded Best Paper at the 10th Annual ICS Conference, Kent 2009.

Keywords

constructive alignment, critical thinking, enquiry, research-informed learning and teaching

Introduction

Sheffield Hallam University has offered postgraduate courses together with vendor-certified training for many years, with some industrial partnerships now entering their sixteenth year at the time of writing. In particular there has always been a significant demand for computing courses that incorporate exposure to commercial information systems such as those provided by SAP and Oracle, amongst others. Graduates from these courses have tended to find employment quickly with large companies including Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, Caterpillar Logistics, W.H. Smith, Rolls Royce and Siemens. During 2006 several of the large vendors released toolsets that were significantly more advanced than previously, which enabled businesses to adopt some of the marketed advantages of Service Oriented Architectures. These tools were an attempt to align IT with business better; rather than driving the business operations with the IT infrastructure, the platforms could now be developed in much more flexible ways to realise emerging business trends. Out of this development emerged a need for highly technical individuals who would be able to configure and compose business services to meet the needs of the business. These individuals would also be able to identify new business opportunities and have the expertise to rapidly react with innovative IT solutions. As a result Sheffield Hallam University decided to explore the potential to provide individuals with an experience that would support the acquisition of these skills, by utilising a long-standing relationship with an international consulting company together with an established information systems vendor.

Business Process eXpert

The ‘Business Process eXpert’ or ‘BPXer’ for short, is an attempt by the information systems industry to describe a role that is beginning to emerge in its own right. BPXers are primarily focused with the business, and possess the requisite skill-sets to enable existing and new IT infrastructures, together with the associated human interactions, to be modified and harmonised to enable economic advantage. Large communities such as that created by SAP (https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/bpx) illustrate the interest in this particular area. Similar to many institutions, Sheffield Hallam University already taught many of the individual skills of the BPXer role, and indeed many alumni graduates were already performing such a role in industry. However, this new role description, together with an obvious demand from industry, suggested that there was an opportunity to develop a specific learning experience for potential students who aspired to work in this particular sector.

Curriculum Design

Recognising that students should develop and practice key skills during their Higher Education experience, they should understand not only the process of knowledge creation, but how that knowledge is applied to different domains. The ability to be critical, whilst understanding the legitimacy of academic integrity, will serve to create the well-rounded, articulate, autonomous learner who can subsequently engage in a life-long process of self-development. Research is often seen as an activity that supports a desire to facilitate student growth, and many institutions have integrated discipline research into their curricula. Elton [2] argues that learning and teaching environments that support the processes within learning, teaching and research create more positive links between research and teaching for learners and academic staff. Healey [4] suggests that undergraduates are likely to gain most benefit from research in terms of depth of learning and understanding when they are involved through enquiry-based learning. Curricula based upon research activity provides challenges for academic staff, since they may need to find new ways to work with students. The use of research to inform the curriculum makes explicit the systematic enquiry into the teaching and learning process itself, which has been achieved by embedding three key principles into the course curriculum. The key principles are to: integrate discipline research into the curriculum, demonstrate teaching and learning research to inform practice, and to engage students with research.

Postgraduate curricula at Sheffield Hallam have traditionally allowed students to conduct enquiry in an open way and the subjects of study have typically concentrated upon the development of critical thinking skills and learner autonomy. One of the immediate challenges was presented by the ‘industry view’ that students should have specific, technical skills and the attributes of a postgraduate learner. Recognition of the technical proficiency was with reference to the benchmark - whether or not the student had passed a proprietary vendor-specific certification examination. The approach to vendor-specific training and assessment methods is clearly at odds with the remit of a postgraduate learning experience and there appeared to be little room in a curriculum to support the attainment of these two ideals. In prior years, Sheffield Hallam had offered students an MSc programme, together with an additional training academy, provided by the relevant information systems provider. Whilst in some cases this had been an unmitigated success for students, who rapidly became employable after successfully completing both aspects of the course, many students could not cope and found the extra burden of vendor training on top of an MSc just too excessive. Stevenson[6] describes how materials for a proprietary Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system were included at module-level, though this did not attempt to prepare students for the breadth of role that a BPXer demands. The intention of this course was to use the research interests of staff to enthuse students to conduct their own enquiry, by embedding the processes of research and including an awareness of learning and personal development.

Programme Outcomes

Discussions with three consulting companies revealed that they were all too aware of the danger of placing too much emphasis upon vendor-specific training methods and the unhealthy pre-occupation with proprietary certification examinations. However they were also unanimous in declaring that the certification test was a way of deciding which potential candidates to interview; they felt that passing the test was one indication that the candidate would demonstrate some useful attributes. With this in mind, the learning outcomes for the programme were explored in an attempt to understand the perceived need from the IT consulting industry. With reference to Biggs’ constructive alignment [1], the attributes of the BPXer role were investigated with a view to developing a curriculum that facilitated the exploration of the learners themselves, whilst also gaining valuable skills with proprietary tool-sets. Utilising a long-standing relationship with an international IT consulting organisation, the following traits of a BPXer were identified as; an ability to understand the business impact of innovative IT solutions; a broad technical ability to architect and configure IT systems; ‘organisational awareness’ - an appreciation of managing change and culture; be an expert facilitator - educating and providing encouragement to support the proposed innovation. Whilst there were existing modules that could provide a learning experience to support the acquisition of these attributes, the onus of constructing the links between the MSc curriculum and the vendor-supplied training academy laid firmly with the student. Since the training academy is delivered over two weeks, there was little opportunity for the students to gain any practical, useful experience of the system.

The Approach

To create the balance of skills necessary it was decided to incorporate direct experience of using the information systems platform throughout the course. However it was not feasible to incorporate this into every module since these are often taught to multiple cohorts concurrently, the students of which are enrolled on courses with different specialisations. One module from each semester, Enterprise Architectures and Enterprise Systems, was chosen to modify to include learning based directly upon the information systems platform (see Table 1 for a complete list). Using an open enquiry approach, the exercises were mostly based upon students building solutions or resolving problems. After students had received basic instruction for accessing the platform in the first session, no more training was delivered and students were guided to manuals and support information for further reference. Out of the remaining modules, a further set were identified that could usefully contribute towards the students’ experiences of a proprietary platform; Change Management and Sytems Implementation (CHMSI), Business Intelligence, Communication and Behaviour (BICB), and Consultancy Theory and Practice (CTP). All of these modules had a strong reflective component, typically based upon a case study. In these cases students apply their learning to their chosen context, which is use of the information systems platform. The Research Principles and Practice Module, in preparation for the Dissertation, allows students to conduct a significant research project of their choosing.

Module	CATS	Content
Study Skills for Professionals	15	An advanced programme of professional development.
Web Application Design and Modelling	15	Fundamentals of software engineering for portal-based information systems.
Enterprise Architectures	15	Models for large-scale information architectures are produced and formally tested.
Business Processes	15	Modelling, design, re-engineering and optimisation of business processes for information systems.
Change Management & Systems Implementation	15	Understanding the human factors of change management.
Business Intelligence, Communication and Behaviour	15	Using theoretical models for knowledge management, prototype tools are built to enhance the opportunities for businesses to work collaboratively.
Enterprise Systems	15	Models for service orientation are explored using an information systems platform.
Consultancy Theory and Practice	15	High-level consulting skills such as negotiation and selling are explored in practice by critiquing established consultancy theories.
Research Principles and Practice	15	Research methods prepare the students for the dissertation stage.
Dissertation	45	An extended professional research project

Table 1. Course Outline.

Facilitating Learning

There is no doubt that students are attracted to the MSc as they envisage receiving a considerable amount of training for a proprietary product. We have directly addressed this potential challenge by spending a significant amount of time assisting students to explore their own abilities. Using the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA, http://www.sfia.org.uk/)[5] the students are required to self-assess in relation to the skills required from a BPXer. This assessment is then used as the basis of a personal action plan that the student maintains in an e-portfolio, to guide their own learning. To support this, there is an alignment between the assessments and this personal development activity. Table 2 illustrates the assessment grid for one module that supports the students in their development by exposing them to Enquiry Based Learning (EBL) by way of them designing an educational curriculum for a BPXer Consultant that employs the tenets of EBL in its delivery.

Discussion

The original aim of this programme was to develop a curriculum that incorporated education with training; under advice from potential employers there was a specific need to produce Postgraduate students with vendor-approved certification qualifications. However prior experience of delivering such programmes suggested that simply appending an intensive training course onto academic study was not feasible. By taking a more holistic approach, there was an opportunity to include the student within a community of research in order that they might deliver the autonomy demanded by a consulting profession. The learning experiences required to support this transformation are varied, and many of them are particular to an individual student’s experience. Realising that the students would progress further if they understood better the processes of knowledge creation has meant that the existing curriculum has required modification, to facilitate a teaching approach that “draws consciously on systematic inquiry into the teaching and learning process itself.”[3]

Intended Learning Outcome		How will I be assessed ?
Apply a professional development framework to assess the specific skills and knowledge required by an Business Process Expert (BPXer) Consultant (group)		The key word here is to apply; can you demonstrate that you have used a professional development framework to identify the key skills required? You will need to demonstrate that you understand what a BPXer Consultant does and what the IT industry needs - this will require other ‘knowledge’ apart from specific technical skills; have you illustrated what this knowledge is and given examples?
Construct a 12 week educational curriculum that demonstrates Enquiry Based Learning (group)		Can you demonstrate that you can apply EBL to an educational programme? Can you allocate resources to a schedule so that the learner will develop appropriately? Have you stated explicitly what the learner will achieve? How will you assess what the individual has learned?
Apply your knowledge of the role of a BPXer Consultant and present evidence in the form of a poster (group)		Can you present your work in a concise way using one A1 poster? Have you demonstrated how the group has been managed and what it has achieved?
Articulate orally a justification that will sell the curriculum to a client in the IT industry (group)		Can you ‘sell‘ your educational programme to the IT industry? Have you considered the questions that they will ask of you? What are the pressures that an IT organisation will face when considering your sales pitch? Can you demonstrate that you have considered their educational requirements?
Apply your learning to provide constructive, written feedback to other presenters (group)		Can you demonstrate that you understand how to assess other poster presentations and provide peers with constructive, written feedback? What do your peers need to know to improve their work? How can you demonstrate that you can help them improve their learning?
Apply a professional development framework to demonstrate a self-assessment of your current skills and knowledge (Individual)		Have you thought about your own skills and knowledge and presented this in a concise way? Can you articulate orally what you have learned and evidence this with a video clip? Can you demonstrate that you are ‘self-aware‘?
Review your own skills and present evidence of a personal development plan (Individual)		Can you create a plan that demonstrates how you will develop aspects of your learning to achieve greater expertise? Are your developmental objectives reasonable and achievable? Are they SMARTER?
General learning outcome		You have presented your evidence in a logical, structured way. It is easy to find the evidence that supports your statements. Your writing is factual and professional and relates to what is expected of the industry. You have presented yourself in a professional manner, in the way that you have dressed and conducted yourself. You have ensured that you have only included evidence if it supports your argument and there is no ‘waffle’. You have practised academic integrity and honesty.
Fail	Pass		Distinction
Less than Pass, plagiarism evident, work not submitted or lack of evidence of professional behaviour.	All of the Learning Outcomes are satisfied comprehensively.		All of the Learning Outcomes have been met in a way that demonstrates a deep level of understanding of both theory and application, together with creativity

Table 2. Assessment criteria supporting an enquiry-based approach to learning.

The emphasis of the MSc curriculum is now based upon the development of enquiry skills through engaging with research activity. Experience with the information systems platform is thus widened as students can engage with the tools and technologies as they conduct both guided (by academic staff), and open enquiry (self-guided with the aid of their personal action plans). Whilst the two week training academy is still provided, this is viewed more as preparation for the vendor’s certification exam, rather than learning how to use the system itself. This learning has already taken place much earlier, for a longer period of time and in a variety of contexts.

Practical Issues for Concern

Reflecting back over three cohorts there are some practical issues to consider. Firstly the facilitation of enquiry through research activity both in and out of the classroom means that student are exposed to real-life problems such as software bugs and system administration. The situations presented by modern, complex information systems are rich with learning opportunities, providing that a solution or work around can be found. This scenario is also a rich learning environment for academic staff, who either see this as an opportunity or an encumberence. Secondly, delivery of such a curriculum has required extensive (and expensive) vendor training to ensure that the systems run relatively smoothly. Thirdly, and most significantly, has been the influence upon the scheduling of resources. Established ways of scheduling teaching have been mostly based upon a level allocation of resources through the year, until the dissertation where only project supervision time is required. The adoption of an enquiry-focused curriculum has highlighted a need to conduct much more face-to-face teaching at the start of the course, to prepare the students before they are ‘weaned-off’ to conduct their own enquiry. At present we have three stages: Semester One, with the most contact time, followed by Semester Two, with less allocation. Upon completion of the two semesters the official taught phase is completed and students embark upon their own dissertations during the third stage.

Listening to the Learners

During the last taught module, students are asked to complete an anonymous opinion survey delivered via the University’s VLE. A total of 26 respondents from 3 cohorts have taken the survey, with some of the responses shown in Table 3.

Statement	Response
I feel confident that I could identify wasteful business processes and implement a solution	88% Agree or Strongly Agree
I feel that I have some useful practical experience of [the information system platform]	92% Agree or Strongly Agree
I feel much more able to evaluate and select the most appropriate software system	80% Agree or Strongly Agree
I am confident that I could argue a business case for a change to an existing system	73% Agree or Strongly Agree
I feel able to teach [the information system platform] to inexperienced staff	69% Agree or Strongly Agree
I feel more able to take charge of my own learning	80% Agree or Strongly Agree

Table 3. Student feedback from three cohorts.

The students have demonstrated a substantial engagement with the whole course, particularly when exercising their abilities to critically evaluate course content. However rather than complaining they have produced materials to supplement their own learning, whilst also making this available to their peers for their benefit also. Academic staff, as co-learners also found the course enjoyable, if challenging. The introduction of a proprietary information systems platform presented an opportunity to apply theory to critically evaluate the software, whilst also gaining valuable practical experience. As a result two members of staff successfully attempted the vendor certification examination.

Conclusions

The experience of developing and delivering this course has shown that there is much to be gained from using open enquiry as a focus for making postgraduate study relevant to the IT industry. Embedding the processes of research into the curriculum is one aspect of using research to inform the learning and teaching approach; satisfying the demands of the employers, in this case has also required a substantial financial investment in staff development in order to deliver the vendor-specific context.

References

1. Biggs, J., Teaching for Quality Learning at University. The Society for Research into Higher Education, Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education (2003).
2. Elton, L., ‘Research and Teaching: Conditions for a Positive Link’ Teaching in Higher Education, 6,1,43-56, (2001).
3. Griffiths, R., ‘Knowledge production and the research-teaching nexus: the case of the built environment disciplines’, Studies in Higher Education 29(6), 709-726, (2004).
4. Healey, M., Linking research to benefit student learning, Journal of Geography in Higher Education.29(2),183-201, (2005).
5. Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). URL: http://www.sfia.org.uk/, last accessed 28^th March 2009.
6. Stevenson, M., ‘Embedding Hands-on experiences of ERP Systems into University Courses: Aligning Academic and Industry Needs’, Higher Education Academy, Information and Computer Science Subject Centre, ITALICS Journal, Vol. 6 (1), (2007).

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