Pedagogical advances in business models at business schools – in the age of networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on potential advances in pedagogy and on the process of learning in business schools. It examines innovations in teaching and learning methods particularly in the context of networked organizations. Design/methodology/approach – It approaches, and examine the impact of, three key developments in business schools, namely, recent advances in IT, changes in the architecture of classrooms and learning spaces and advances in the way teaching is undertaken. Findings – The paper suggests that a blend between self-learning via distance approaches and face-to-face learning will increasingly become the norm. Face-to-face sessions might be in a “flat room” environment with a creative mix of short lectures, experiential, group learning and conceptual plenary lectures, software innovations, and digital textbooks “open plan” learning spaces would complement the instructional process. Research limitations/implications – There are clear implications for parallel IT (developments in course modules) and architectural innovations for the design of more effective and creative learning spaces. Practical implications – Improving pedagogy together with the physical design and layout of learning spaces is critical. The aim is, through enhanced participative pedagogy and “friendly” architecture, to improve learning by encouraging dialogue and closer interaction between students and professors from different disciplines and fields. Social implications – The authors argue that this model of collaborative learning and an interactive teaching framework should enable the same amount of learning material to be covered in a business school in approximately half-the-time required in conventional pedagogical approaches. Originality/value – It offers a prescription for a participative, technology enhanced and interactive teaching pedagogy that could produce more effective and efficient, teaching outcomes. This has strong implications for the sustainability, and funding capability, of many existing business schools and business school models.