Abstract:

The debate regarding the future of work has been escalated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Modern remote working skills are required by workers and graduates as never before. Worldwide, organisations find themselves struggling to urgently move to emergency remote working. The organisations that are managing this best are those that already have some or significant pre-planned, non-emergency remote working structures, policies and practices in place.

An innovative, practice-based module, The Future of Work, was introduced into the curriculum of the CIPD accredited, BSc. in Human Resource Management in the Technological University Dublin for the 2019-2020 academic year. The aim of the module is to prepare the next generation of virtual team members and managers for the rapidly evolving world of work. The teaching methodology used is multi modal delivery, and the assessment strategy employed is mixed methods, utilising a combination of individually assessed online activities and group-based case study research and analyses thereby creating a combination of ‘learning-by-doing’ and ‘assessing-by doing’ experience. The module assessment included designing, participating in and critiquing online meetings using different platforms; analysing industry case studies, online viva with peer review using instructor designed rubrics and reflective practice. The assessment strategy develops and assesses in an innovative way, further supporting the learning and skills required by the modern graduate and worker.

The objective of this paper is to document and analyse the assessment strategy and learning outcomes for this innovative module. It will discuss skills development and best practice via the assessment strategy, and the use of technology, peer review and reflective practice. This paper is of value to educators, students, employers and policy makers.

Keywords:

Mixed Methods Assessment Strategy, Curriculum Innovation, Teaching and Learning, Assessment, Future of Work.