Aligning Workforce Skills with Industry Needs Through Problem-based Learning Environments

Industry continues to require more of workers. The skills it takes to get, and keep, a job in the global marketplace for labor are expanding. For no group is this truer than for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workforce. Due to the advances in information technology (IT) applications, nearly all business practices today are “IT-enabled.” There is continued demand for skilled ICT workers, but largely only those who possess both ICT skills and a range of employability (soft) skills that add value to their work. The maturing of IT jobs calls for the integration of employability skills with technical skills. The Boston Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC) Workforce Skills Study, along with independent research by industry trade groups indicate more holistic teaching methods that involve students in complex problems developed from industry input are in order. In fact, the only plausible way to cover competencies in both areas is to develop a problem-based learning scenario that enables students to learn within a context, integrating real-world business problems into ICT classrooms. Classroom research and evaluation findings from a problem-based learning implementation for the purpose of infusing employability skills indicate that students are being taught problem solving and critical thinking skills through the use of project-based learning in introductory IT courses. By introducing project-based learning into introductory IT classes at two Colorado community colleges, hundreds of students are mastering academic competencies in the context of solving “real world” problems that require collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking and other employability skills. Teachers report that students engaged in project-based learning are energized in new ways and demonstrate improved learning outcomes. Classroom research has been, and continues to be, conducted to document these results. External evaluation extended throughout the first three years of the implementation. This paper provides the steps taken by two community colleges to infuse employability skills into their introductory Computer Information Systems (CIS) classes via problem-based learning. The authors outline how the employability skills were identified and vetted with industry; how faculty were engaged and prepared for a change in mindset, as well as in curricular design and implementation; the framework of the real-world project; and the differences this approach continues to make in students’ understanding and application of the skills they need to be competitive in the global marketplace. P ge 26168.2 The National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program funding for the project that initiated this work ended in August of 2011, and follow-through by CIS faculty in continuing the problem-based learning methodology has been inconsistent.