Embedding 21st-Century Skills Through Challenge-Based Learning. Delivering Operations Management to Undergraduate Students

Abstract

In this chapter, we show how to use challenge-based learning (CBL) in Operations Management (OM) education, with a focus on Industry 4.0 technologies. CBL is a cutting-edge educational approach that integrates traditional learning modules (theory and practice) to real-life challenges that require solutions. The UoL4.0 Challenge is an initiative that implements CBL in an English university. In there, an OM module was designed to provide the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge to solve challenges concerning digital technology implementations within real organizations. This chapter explores the effectiveness of UoL4.0 Challenge in providing opportunities for experiential learning and evaluates the appropriateness of CBL to develop twenty-first-century skills. Results suggest that the proposed CBL approach is an experiential learning approach that may increase students' understanding of OM in real-life settings and can be conducive to students' development of twenty-first-century skills, including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Citation

Vilalta-Perdomo, E., Mapfaira, H. and Michel-Villarreal, R. (2022), "Embedding 21st-Century Skills Through Challenge-Based Learning. Delivering Operations Management to Undergraduate Students", Vilalta-Perdomo, E., Membrillo-Hernández, J., Michel-Villarreal, R., Lakshmi, G. and Martínez-Acosta, M. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of Challenge Based Learning, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 199-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-490-920221009