Organizing Education by Drawing on Organization Studies

Abstract

This study explores how scholars researching organizations and organizing processes can use and exploit their knowledge not only in terms of course contents, but also in organizing and managing students' learning activity. A design-oriented research approach is used in order to develop grounded design principles for organizing education. By drawing on the literature about organizational design and learning, several preliminary design ideas for organizing undergraduate education are described. Subsequently, two examples of how these design ideas can be applied are discussed. The first example involves the design of an undergraduate course in Organizational Behaviour. The second example is a tool for collaboratively supervising thesis projects. The design principles grounded in these two cases are, in sum: designing education as an authentic organization; exploiting the benefits of peer mentoring and assessment; acting and delegating as a senior manager; and setting vivid standards. Lastly, the contribution that organization studies can make to educational theory and practice is explored, and the role of design methodologies is discussed.