Tag: DePaul U.

Guest Post: Incorporating Student Blogs into the OM Class at DePaul U.

lori cookDr. Lori Cook is Associate Professor of Management at DePaul University’s School of Business. Here Lori describes how she incorporates student blogging into to her Operations Management classes. You can see her syllabus by clicking here.

 

Looking for a new dimension to enhance your OM course?  Consider incorporating a class blogging activity.  Since OM is typically quantitative, students assume assignments will not be focused on writing.  Yet the current business environment demands effective communication, especially in a written manner. For my OM classes, I came to several conclusions regarding the feasibility and benefits of incorporating the blog as a “manageable” written assignment into my classes.  First, the blog would enlighten students to a facet of social media.  Secondly, it could help students actively engage with each other outside the classroom.  Third, the students could discuss the new learning and communicating experience during an interview.  Finally, students could improve their ability to communicate succinctly and professionally.

Since Fall, 2011, I have used a blogging activity in 13 classes (undergrad and MBA), and have read over 800 posts and 3,500 comments.  Based on my experience, the following are some important issues to consider prior to creating a class blog.

1.  Which blogging provider will you use for the blog site?

2.  Will the blog site be private or open to the public?

3.  Is the structure of the site a shared site, or individual student sites?

4.  Does the student or instructor create the content for the site?

5.  Is the nature of the content structured, semi-structured or unstructured?

6.  What are the contribution requirements for post & comments?

7.  What is the schedule and frequency for posts & comments?

8.  Who will approve content for posts & comments?

9.  How will the work, posts & comments be assessed?

10.  How will you assess the overall effectiveness of the blog?

In my experience, if students perceive the blog to be “busy work” they will be disgruntled.  While if you effectively integrate the blog into your course, it can be a rewarding experience for everyone! Check out my current blog site at http://opsmgt.edublogs.org/

Guest Post: Build It and They Will Learn–Introducing OM at DePaul U.

Dr. Lori Cook is Associate Professor of Management at DePaul University’s School of Business. In her Guest Blog, she describes how important  experiential learning is to her Operations Management classes. You can see her syllabus by clicking here.

I absolutely love the first day of my OM class! As my students enter the classroom, sometimes dreading the start of a new term, I can feel the nervous energy in the air.  After teaching thousands of students, I know with certainty that from day one I need to grab my students’ attention and immediately get them to understand why OM is key to understanding business environments.

On the first day, I use the Paper Puppet activity (see Games and Exercises for Operations Management, by Heineke and Meile, Prentice Hall) to help set the stage.  Upon completion of this exercise, students have an experience they can directly relate to the challenges operations managers are forced to struggle with everyday. It can also be directly linked to the 10 critical decisions of operations introduced in the Heizer and Render OM text. Without the use of the Paper Puppet activity, the majority of the lecture would cover only the basic levels of knowledge. 

Throughout the term, I use a variety of experiential learning activities to simulate “real world” applications of OM.  Research has shown that actively involving students in demonstrations enhances their fundamental understanding of the concepts. My activities tend to level the playing field by providing students with a common understanding of the subject matter.  Each exercise is designed to either introduce or reinforce the lecture topic with the goal of enhancing overall student learning.  If you are looking for experiential activities, I would encourage you to explore the teaching briefs in the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. 

The classroom environment is a fundamental building block in the learning process. It is critical to create a classroom experience which is both engaging and enjoyable.  It must be an environment that provides motivation to assist the students in grasping the real world relevance of the material. To see fundamental change in your classroom environment, you will often have to change your process.  While most of us are fearful of change, the long-term rewards far outweigh the short-term costs.

OM Syllabi: DePaul U., U. Tennessee, Southern Illinois U., Montclair State U.

In this month’s display of OM syllabi at another 4 schools using our texts, we highlight DePaul, Tennessee, Southern Illinois, and Montclair State Universities:

DePaul University, MGT 301, Dr. Lori Cook. Lori teaches from the Principles of OM 8/e text and uses MyOMLab and i-Clickers in class.

University of Tennessee, BA 341, Dr. Bogdan Bichescu. Bogdan uses OM 10/e and MyOMLab. He integrates The Goal and extensive lean operations into his course.

Southern Illinois University, MGMT 318, Dr. John Goodale. John teaches a large section, using MyOMLab and i-Clickers with OM 10/e.

Montclair State University, INFO 375, Dr. Mark Berenson. Mark made a custom version of the text called Operations Analysis.

To take a look at February’s schools, which were : University of Alabama, University of Rhode Island, Florida State University, and Northern Michigan University, just click here.

And January’s highlighted schools were Temple University, Washington State University, Texas Tech University, and Rollins College (which was my own course). Click here to review these four OM syllabi.