Partnering with Industry for Providing Experiential Learning in an Under- graduate Class in Industrial Distribution

This paper presents a case of a senior level course in Industrial Distribution program at Texas A&M University. The course consists of an industry project, which is funded by a building materials distributor. As a part of class requirement, students have to complete the project during the semester, and present their recommendations to the sponsor company towards the end of the semester. In the paper, we discuss the project scope and its findings in detail along with the student learning experience, industry academia collaboration, class activities management (balancing theory versus practice), lessons learned, and several instructional insights with respect to teaching and project management. We believe that these instructional insights are very “portable” to other learning model. Introduction The traditional approach of learning is topic-based learning. In this approach, an instructor delivers lectures on series of topics, most likely from a textbook. However, the topic based approach has little correlation with what is the contemporary need of the industry. As a result, students may not be very well prepared (upon graduation) to take on challenges of the real world. Unlike in traditional learning method, in experiential learning students are involved in hands on real world problem solving environment. Thus, in experiential learning student learning takes place based on the experience of the project they work on. Capstone or senior design projects are great examples of experiential learning environment. By realizing the need of project-based learning, the US government has been encouraging the academic institutions to create such learning environment in the STEM disciplines through its funding agencies like National Science Foundation (NSF) [1]. This has generated huge interest among the engineering educators on hands-on freshmen engineering programs [2-3]. The educators and pedagogical researchers have studied many aspects of experiential learning including assessment, delivery, and impact of such model of student learning. Carlson and Sullivan [4] have presented a conceptual framework and case study of integrated teaching and learning laboratory at a major university in the US. The laboratory served as multi-disciplinary learning platform for hands-on engineering in first year engineering design and other courses like computer simulation and capstone design studios for undergraduate students. The laboratory also supported outreach activities. This specific experiential learning model has been reported to be  Corresponding author; [email protected], 1-979-845-2230, Fax: 1-979 845-4980 P ge 24970.2 very successful serving over 2500 students, 62 faculty members, and 49 separate courses across six engineering departments in one year alone. There are different models of experiential learning mentioned in the engineering education literature. For example, service learning is a type of experiential learning approach in which students can achieve their personal growth and earn professional development education while providing service to community [5]. However, researchers argue that experiential learning that takes place during community service activities is different from the one that takes place in the university laboratories [6]. The reason behind this is that the service activities are not necessarily part of the students’ degree plan. However, if a student is engaged in a co-op program that is relevant to student discipline then it can be a part of his/her degree plan. Chan [6] has presented an assessment model for community service type experience learning for engineering students. Project based learning is another form of experiential learning. In this approach, students are engaged in the active-learning. It also requires time and resource management and work breakdown structure. Therefore, it may take relatively longer time than the traditional topic based learning approaches require [7]. Ho et al. [8] define the project based learning as a learning approach in which students apply, learn, and integrate their knowledge in a coherent and meaningful way. The authors cite a senior design project in electrical engineering as an example of project-based learning environment. Robinson [9] argues that project-based learning can be a motivating factor for students especially in STEM discipline if they can see how a product or system works in real life. The author has implemented project based learning model in analytical chemistry. Most recently, Felder and Hadgraft [10] discuss different types of teaching and educational research in engineering. In their paper, the authors discuss the necessity of reforms in engineering education practice in detail. While it is very common to have a hands-on senior design course in all traditional engineering and engineering technology programs, it is not so common in other disciplines like industrial distribution (ID) even if they are housed in a traditional engineering/ engineering technology department. A part of the problem is that many people (both students and instructors alike) perceive ID as “Technical Sales only” major. However, the ID curriculum is comprised of several courses in logistics, supply chain management, quality, and several engineering and common body of knowledge (CBK) courses. Likewise, many ID graduates pursue career paths in operations and supply chain management, not just technical sales. This paper presents a case study of experiential learning model in a senior level undergraduate class in industrial distribution program at Texas A&M University. In addition to a company sponsored project, which is central to providing experiential learning environment for students, the paper discusses the course objectives, learning outcomes, and grading policy, and class assignments. How these class assignments have enhanced the student learning is also presented. The paper also describes the case study and its main findings. In the end, it discusses the feedbacks received from the project sponsor and the students who participated in the class. P ge 24970.3 Course Objectives This course focuses on new research defining distribution strategy in changing marketplaces. Students are exposed to the latest applied research initiates and how companies are successfully implementing these initiatives. In other words, it emphasizes the understanding and implementation of best practices to improve distributor competitiveness. The students are to work on a real world company sponsored research project in collaboration with Talent Incubator Program housed inside the industrial distribution program. The main objective of the class is to provide the students with an “in-class internship” opportunity thereby making them “job-ready” upon graduation. Students are required to perform independent and collaborative research activities and execute the class project by employing a scientific and project management approach. In addition to sponsored project (also described in this paper as “case study”), the course covers concept, methodologies, and implementation strategies of recent distribution research focusing on sales and marketing optimization, customer stratification, and pricing optimization. These topics are in alignment with the case study thereby helping students to better understand the research problem at hand. Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, students are able to: i) develop an understanding of the basic concepts and techniques of Distributor Sales and Marketing Strategies; ii) develop an understanding of the linkage between the customer stratification and distributor sales and marketing strategies; iii) apply a scientific approach in solving complex problems facing the real world distribution industry; iv) apply project management skills to solve the large and complex research projects; v) enhance team skills for successful project execution; vi) perform the independent and lifelong learning activities beyond the classroom; and vii) improve levels of professionalism and communication skills relating to real world problem solving. Assessment of Learning In this course, we use a number of assessment methods to assess the student learning. These methods include daily quiz, application oriented home work assignment, discussion board, project report, presentation, and team work. In the following paragraphs, we describe the purpose of these assignments and assessment techniques. Boundary spanning daily quizzes: The objective of daily quizzes is to provide students with an additional opportunity to demonstrate the mastery of the topics and improve their performance beyond the other assignment. The quiz requires students to think beyond what is being described in the text. A number of in-class short quizzes (5-7 minutes) are administered throughout the semester, which can occur at any time during the class. The quizzes are unannounced and no make-ups are given for missed quizzes. If a student has a University approved absence on a quiz day then that quiz is dropped. P ge 24970.4 Online discussion board: Depending upon the class size this can be individual or team assignment. There are two topics assigned on the discussion board during the semester. In order to help students with their project, the discussion topics can be related to the company sponsored project during the semester. Each team is required to contribute to the board by posting their thoughts and ideas in a timely manner. Each discussion topic carries some points towards students’ final grade. A team which makes quality posts to the discussion board on a regular basis is likely to get maximum points in this assignment. The quality of the post is judged based on how well it is researched and whether or it is based on well established facts. Merely opinion based posts are not considered as quality post. Application oriented homework assignments: Homework assignments are designed to reinforce