This chapter analyses how the development of cognitive, professional, and key skills is embedded in the learning design of the BA (Honours) Business and Management degree qualification of The Open University. Skills development is central to learning design at The Open University (OU). The study confirmed that as they progress through the three levels of the qualification, students are expected to develop and apply both lower and higher order thinking skills (Anderson et al., A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, Longman, 2001). Throughout the BA, skills development is embedded and scaffolded in digital activities that students are asked to complete alongside module contents, to become self-regulated independent learners (Zimmerman, Zimmerman and Schunk (eds), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001). The study found evidence of a coherent approach to skills development in learning design (Conole and Wills, Educational Media International 50:24–38, 2013) and assessment (Nicol, D. (2007, May 29–31). Principles of good assessment and feedback: Theory and practice. REAP International Online Conference on Assessment Design for Learner Responsibility. http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/REAP07 ), as well as alignment with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning (Anderson et al., A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, Longman, 2001). However, student engagement with skills development activities was found to be limited and uneven, raising concerns that the metacognitive process underpinning the learning design of the qualification and predicated on a ‘dynamic link between personal, situational, process, and outcome variables’ (Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985, p. 191) may be neither activated nor fulfilled. Greater student engagement is required, as part of students’ ‘personal study contract’ (Taylor, E. (1984). Orientation to study: A longitudinal investigation of two degrees in one university [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey]., in Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985, p. 191). In confirming meta-cognition as a ‘second order construct’ (Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985), the study suggests that learning design and constructive alignment are not sufficient to deliver the intended learning experience. Further research is needed to understand what may hinder student engagement with skills development activities and how to train students to become better learners. This is especially important in the light of the increasing popularity and use of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) by students. As reliance on tools like ChatGPT increases, facilitating and supporting the development of critical thinking skills and meta-learning capabilities should be a priority.

Teaching Skills Online in the BA in Business Studies

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2025年

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Alessandro Saroli

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This chapter analyses how the development of cognitive, professional, and key skills is embedded in the learning design of the BA (Honours) Business and Management degree qualification of The Open University. Skills development is central to learning design at The Open University (OU). The study confirmed that as they progress through the three levels of the qualification, students are expected to develop and apply both lower and higher order thinking skills (Anderson et al., A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, Longman, 2001). Throughout the BA, skills development is embedded and scaffolded in digital activities that students are asked to complete alongside module contents, to become self-regulated independent learners (Zimmerman, Zimmerman and Schunk (eds), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001). The study found evidence of a coherent approach to skills development in learning design (Conole and Wills, Educational Media International 50:24–38, 2013) and assessment (Nicol, D. (2007, May 29–31). Principles of good assessment and feedback: Theory and practice. REAP International Online Conference on Assessment Design for Learner Responsibility. http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/REAP07 ), as well as alignment with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning (Anderson et al., A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, Longman, 2001). However, student engagement with skills development activities was found to be limited and uneven, raising concerns that the metacognitive process underpinning the learning design of the qualification and predicated on a ‘dynamic link between personal, situational, process, and outcome variables’ (Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985, p. 191) may be neither activated nor fulfilled. Greater student engagement is required, as part of students’ ‘personal study contract’ (Taylor, E. (1984). Orientation to study: A longitudinal investigation of two degrees in one university [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey]., in Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985, p. 191). In confirming meta-cognition as a ‘second order construct’ (Biggs, British Journal of Educational Psychology 55:185–212, 1985), the study suggests that learning design and constructive alignment are not sufficient to deliver the intended learning experience. Further research is needed to understand what may hinder student engagement with skills development activities and how to train students to become better learners. This is especially important in the light of the increasing popularity and use of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) by students. As reliance on tools like ChatGPT increases, facilitating and supporting the development of critical thinking skills and meta-learning capabilities should be a priority.