Thoughts on AACSB's Associate Deans Conference

I just got back from the AACSB Associate Deans Conference and I want to share a couple things I learned. One is that Kansas City is a great place to watch a baseball game and the other is that the Flipped Classroom is a reality in Higher Education.

I’d seen the proponents of the Flipped Classroom in a few classrooms, but wasn’t sure it would become such a popular and important topic for the Business School. There is still a lot to be gained from lectures, as Molly Worthen opines in “Lecture Me. Really”, just getting students to pay attention and listen closely helps them refine a skill they will need for years to come. I suppose a lot of humanities classes have always been flipped — assign readings to be done outside of class and hold discussions in class. But there can be so much more to it.

David Miller wrote about the Five Benefits for Flipped Classrooms in Higher Ed Tech Decisions. What resonated with me the most was the development of team-based skills. Working effectively within a team is one of the most important takeaways we can give students. It’s one of the top skills future employers seek in candidates and any way educators can build and reinforce these skills will help ensure success beyond the classroom.

At Capsim, we built our peer evaluation and team assessment software, TeamMATE, to give administrators the opportunity to measure, develop and report on student teamwork skills. With more and more emphasis being placed on these skills, we know the next step is valid assessments. If you have any of your own ideas about assessing team skills and where it’s headed next, I’d love to hear from you.

Randy Sealy
randy.sealy@capsim.com