Development of Instructional Learning Material Based on Competencies for an Inland Waterway Transportation Learning Platform at Bremenports
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Development of instructional learning material based on competencies for an inland waterway transportation learning platform at bremenports Nele Sophie Albers Student number: 352753 IBS Supervisor: Rosalind Gibson Co-marker: Uli Mathies Date: 05.06.2019 Company: bremenports GmbH & Co. KG Wordcount: 14994 Abstract Due to increasing transport volumes in Germany and Europe, the demand for alternative ways of transport is rising. The free capacities on the waterways are not fully exploited partly because students are no longer aware that inland shipping is an alternative. Therefore, this project aims to support bremenports in the development of a learning inventory for logistic students in Germany by identifying competency gaps between the logistics higher education institutions and the industry as part of the #IWTS 2.0 project, co-founded by the EU Commission. To identify possible competence gaps and select suitable learning materials, nine semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with industry and educational professionals. Further, secondary research as curricula, and online databases from the Hanze media library were used. The analysis showed that inland navigation is hardly taught in logistics. Eight competencies were identified that should be taught: Selecting a mode of transport, develop multimodal transport solutions, plan holistic transport concepts, selecting handling technologies, showing environmental awareness, dealing with innovation and digitalisation, and showing endurance. The competencies should be divided into learning objectives, taught in chapters through a mix of materials. Concluding, it can be said that a large competence gap concerning inland navigation exists, which should be addressed through learning outcomes on the e-learning platform using different materials. It is recommended to develop an asynchronous e-learning portal with a multimedia presentation of information, to develop PowerPoint, movies, case studies, realistic tenders, problem-oriented tasks, field reports by industry representatives, a practitioner as a role model, and a chat. Nele Sophie Albers 352753 I Executive Summary The aim of this project is to support bremenports in the development of a learning inventory for logistic students in Germany by identifying competency gaps between the logistics higher education institutions and the industry. It is part of the #IWTS 2.0 project, co-founded by the EU Commission Project Interreg North Sea Region, to strengthen the inland waterway transportation industry in the long term and to offer an environmentally friendly transport alternative that contributes to relieving the infrastructure until 2020. bremenports is the public infrastructure manager for the ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven. To identify a possible competence gap, identify the expectations of the industry and to define suitable learning material, university curricula were investigated and semi structured interviews conducted with nine people from industry and education. Further, different online data banks from the Hanze media library as well as google scholar and textbooks were used. The results of the interviews and the literature show that currently, inland navigation is only taught to a very small extent, if not at all, in logistics study courses and business administration programs. This is due to a bad image, unawareness of the lecturers, or the assumption that the students already possess this knowledge. Based on the expectations of the industry, eight competencies could be identified that future logistics decision-makers should possess. Logistics students should be able to select a mode of transport, develop multimodal transport solutions, plan holistic transport concepts, select transshipment methods, show environmental awareness, deal with innovation and digitalisation, and show endurance to break new ground and to take current factors into account. Competences must first be divided into learning outcomes, as competences cannot be measured. The learning outcomes should then be taught using different materials on an asynchronous platform in small chapters and with the connection of graphics and words, with a strong reference to reality. Concluding, there is a large competence gap in relation to inland waterway transport which is to be addressed by the use of learning outcomes based on the competences through a mix of different materials on the online platform. Resulting from the findings, it is recommended that bremenports develops an asynchronous learning portal with a multimedia presentation of information and develops PowerPoint presentations, movies, and case studies, based on internal material and material from project partners of #IWTS 2.0 in the short term. In the long term, realistic invitations to tender, problem-oriented tasks, field reports by industry representatives, a practitioner as a role model and a chat are advised to develop. Nele Sophie Albers 352753 II Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... I Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. II List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... IV List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... V 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 E-Learning ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Competencies ................................................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 11 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 14 3.1 Research Question ...................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Research Philosophy.................................................................................................................... 15 3.3 Research Approach ...................................................................................................................... 15 3.4 Methodological Choice ................................................................................................................ 15 3.5 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................................ 16 3.6 Time Horizon ............................................................................................................................... 16 3.7 Techniques and procedures ........................................................................................................ 16 3.7.1 Sample Size and Technique .................................................................................................. 16 3.7.2 Secondary Data Collection ................................................................................................... 17 3.7.4 Analysing Qualitative Data ................................................................................................... 18 3.8 Reliability and Validity ................................................................................................................. 19 3.7.3 Primary Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 20 3.9 Ethical Consideration ................................................................................................................... 23 3.10 Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 24 4. Findings and Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 25 4.1 Current teaching content in relation to inland navigation .......................................................... 25 4.2 Expectations of the industry........................................................................................................ 29 4.3 Competencies .............................................................................................................................. 35 4.4 Learning Goals ............................................................................................................................. 37 4.5 Learning Material ........................................................................................................................ 41 5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 44 6. Recommendation .............................................................................................................................