Mgt 307 Case Study

Case study 10

In a typical university, the instructor enjoys a very high level of empowerment and opportunity for creativity in achieving course objectives. Within general limitations of the course description, instructors tend to have a good deal of flexibility in selecting course content, designing instructional activities, and selecting assignments. This allows them to tailor courses in varying ways to do what may seem to work best in a given situation. For example, an instructor teaching a course four times a year may design one section to cover course content in a somewhat different manner or with a slightly different focus due to the unique background and interests of the students. Since not all students learn or can be effectively evaluated in exactly the same way, an instructor normally is able to respond to varying situations by the way in which the text is used, the specific activities assigned, and choice of tests and other means of measuring student performance.

One of the settings in which instructor empowerment has been especially functional is the presence of adult learners (those working full-time and attending school part-time, or returning to school after substantial work experience). Often adult learners have quite different needs than the more traditional student. Course variations that include unique learning opportunities that tap their work experiences and that accommodate the nature of their work schedules are often necessary. Flexibility and responsiveness by the instructor is also important. A major news event may create intense student interest in a course-related topic, but it might not occur at the specific point in the course in which the topic was scheduled to be covered, and the level of interest might require more time being allocated to the discussion than was originally planned. Assignment schedules and requirements are also a challenge when dealing with adult learners. Not all have work schedules such that they...