Using Disruptive Innovation and Content Curation to Create Leadership Degree Programs

• In Event: It's Not that Simple: Revising Our Understanding of What We Teach

Short Description

Demands on global leaders are constantly evolving due to social, industrial, and technological changes happening around them. The presenter will share a conceptual model for creating dynamic leadership program structure, content, and delivery in higher education that mirrors global industry practices and technological advances.

Detailed Abstract

As the world becomes more global and accompanying societal and industrial issues continue to emerge, the demand for both the discipline of leadership and leadership education increases as well (Willis, 2008). Leadership education has a critical role in global industry to prepare people for an ever-changing workplace (Stork, Grant & Darmo, 2015) and leadership is one of the top skills desired by employers (NACE, 2014). Leadership skills and knowledge should incorporate both local and international contexts and have continued relevance to the workplace (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague & Qin, 2016).

In order for leadership education, specifically leadership degree programs, to achieve both a local and international view of leadership and continue to be relevant, a paradigm shift is necessary for how leadership programs are created. To date, higher education institutions have not developed parallel methods for functioning within the greater society and every day experiences of students including technological innovations. More specifically, higher education has lagged in the following areas: (a) analog versus digital information dissemination, (b) tethered versus mobile information access, (c) isolated versus broader connected communications, (d) generic versus personal consumer interactions, (e) consumption versus creation of publications and media, and (f) closed versus open channels of information distribution (Wiley & Hilton, 2009).

Higher education leadership programs have the goal of educating future leaders. In order to appropriately prepare leaders and maintain a critical role in their education, there needs to be more innovative thinking and innovative educational practices. This research introduces a conceptual model for higher education institutions to use in developing dynamic and innovative global leadership programs. The model highlights the criticality to maintain a standard of innovation, learning curation, and collaboration to maintain flexibility and move with shifts in industry and technology.

The model includes cultivating innovate program structures and educational content, developing engaging delivery methods, and developing collaborative industry and organizational partnerships. Innovation can be accomplished through content curation, which involves viewing curriculum development as an ongoing activity rather than a project-based design event. Higher education is currently lacking in the ability to embrace content curation as a competency. Curriculum should constantly be refined and evolve to mirror industry and societal practices (Ungerer, 2016).

Delivery of programs is another facet of the conceptual model. Traditional instructor-led models as well as existing eLearning models can be challenged to evaluate how they can evolve and be delivered more quickly and interactively and in parallel with what is occurring in global industry. In order to fully shift from the traditional paradigm of existing curriculum development and delivery models, collaboration with technology companies, industry subject area partners, nonprofit organizations, and other partners is vital for higher education institutions to cultivate disruptive innovation within its leadership degree programs.

Participant

• Jennifer Aden Murnane, Indiana Tech