This hands-on, minds-on roundtable we will empower attendees to develop real-world, problem-based discussion topics for online courses. The first 5 minutes of the session will include an explanation of how three professors from SWOSU, UCO and NSU were able to collaborate on designing a learning module that met their shared goals of increasing students’ understanding of ethics and the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In their online discussion, the professors shared a disaster scenario where a fictional community had several recent earthquakes and is developing a task force to discuss opportunities for future CSR.  The results were exceptional and included students sharing ideas from their perspectives as future restaurant owners, real estate agents, hospital administrators.  Engagement, excitement, and commitment for the problem-based discussion was remarkably different than the traditional course discussion posts.

In the last 25 minutes of this session, attendees will be invited to brainstorm, practice and develop online discussion assignments designed to provide students’ the opportunity to engage in transformational learning. In this session, we will discuss the importance of putting course content into a context that students can apply to their future careers. We will also encourage participants to critically think about methods of measuring the impact in student learning.

Presenters will share their experience of implementing an action-focused learning module designed to empower students to flex their ability to apply course concepts in a real-world scenario.  The presenters are part of a state-wide educational program called Reach Higher and represent three institutions: Northeastern State University, University of Central Oklahoma, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The Reach Higher program is Oklahoma’s degree completion program and brings together professors and administrators from 8 participating Oklahoma public universities. Students completing the program earn degrees in Organizational Leadership.

All of the presenters of this session work together to develop and implement a course called Markets and Stakeholders.

The class is very similar to a traditional business Principles of Marketing course.  The textbook used in the course includes a chapter about business ethics and specifically focuses on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The need for transformational education related to business ethics and corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important (May, D., et al., 2014).  Businesses globally have experienced extreme cases of leader and employees making poor ethical decisions with negative societal impacts (Torres, 2015). According to Colley, Morehead & Perkins (2016), ethics education is key in producing students who understand the broad social impact business has on society. Researchers suggest that ethics education often includes topics in social issues in management, corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship and sustainability (Franks and Spalding, 2013).

In this roundtable, the presenters want to share their experiences in developing an online module designed to have a transformational impact on students’ understanding of corporate social responsibility. The presenters will also host a discussion of teaching methods which can be implemented in an online classroom environment to engage students in transformational learning.  Educational methods discussed will include constructivist learning techniques such as problem-based, collaborative assignments.  The problem-based learning method builds problem-solving skills and encourages students to seek out new knowledge and skills. This teaching/learning method foster student-centered learning and focus on comprehension and application of course concepts.  The end result being a higher level of learning which reinforces interpersonal skills and teamwork and promotes an environment of self-learning and self-motivation.

The primary focus of the roundtable will be to empower faculty to consider ways of adding problem-based learning experiences to their online courses to maximize student engagement and opportunities for transformational learning.

Colley, M. C., Morehead, W. A., & Perkins, R. L. (2015). An education grounded in ethics. Business Education Innovation Journal, 7(2), 135-138.

Franks, R.A., & Spalding, A.D. (2013). Business ethics as an accreditation requirement: Knowledge Mapping Approach. Business Education & Accreditation, 5(1), 17-29.

May, D. R., Luth, M. T., & Schwoerer, C. E. (2014). The influence of business ethics education on moral efficacy, moral meaningfulness, and moral courage: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(1), 67-80. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1860-6

Torres, D. L. (2015). Sticky ethics, innovation, and corporate responsibility. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 80(3), 12-22.

30-Minute Roundtable Session

Communicating Transformative Learning