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Using Deliberate Practice to Transform Learning Culture: Helping Students Put Real Skills in their OSCM Toolbox
Author(s) -
Fawcett Stanley E.,
GiraudCarrier Francois Charles,
Fawcett Amydee M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
decision sciences journal of innovative education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1540-4609
pISSN - 1540-4595
DOI - 10.1111/dsji.12204
Subject(s) - graduation (instrument) , toolbox , curriculum , psychology , work (physics) , pedagogy , computer science , knowledge management , medical education , mathematics education , engineering , mechanical engineering , medicine , programming language
Students select majors like supply chain management largely because they want to obtain a high‐paying job at graduation. They expect that after 4 or 5 years of studies, they will be ready to achieve early‐career success. Data, however, reveal that students often are not prepared. Recruiters are noticing. In various studies, employers say that a large majority of graduates are not workplace ready. We argue that this readiness gap results from a mismatch between academia's focus on knowledge transfer and employers’ expectations that new hires possess real competencies. To remedy this readiness gap, we redesigned our curriculum to adopt a deliberate practice pedagogy. What have we learned? Deliberate practice is hard work. Both faculty and students must learn and practice new behaviors. The good news: deliberate practice helps students acquire real expertise that recruiters value. This article makes the case for deliberate practice and outlines a proven path to transformation.