Continuous innovation: interrogating the intersections and gaps between theory and practice for enhanced undergraduate learning and teaching in operations management

Abstract

To ensure that graduates are adequately prepared for the demands of rapidly changing industry and labour market contexts tertiary institutions need to engage in a process of continuous curriculum renewal and innovation. Using operations management (OM) teaching practice as a case study this paper explores the tensions and gaps between the pedagogical approaches underpinning dominant approaches to tertiary teaching and contemporary operations management practice. Drawing on the extant literature, academic teacher perspectives and student feedback the challenges and opportunities associated with providing tertiary learners with meaningful opportunities to engage with and test OM theories in authentic applied contexts are illuminated and explored. The conclusions and recommendations offered are valuable as OM has characteristically been taught from pedagogical perspectives where students are provided with insufficient curriculum opportunities to practically apply empirical concepts and ideas. This research can provide a foundation from which tertiary educators and degree programs can benefit by contributing to a culture where continuous innovation in curriculum design and practice is better enabled and valued.