Abstract
In today’s rapidly changing economy, graduates are expected to be more knowledgeable and well-prepared than ever before. Pedagogical discussion cases, problem-based learning tools, are designed to improve students’ learning using their prior knowledge and accumulating additional soft skills. The aim of the thesis was to investigate the role of discussion cases on improving the knowledge sharing among students working in groups and to provide empirical evidences to support it. The framework used was developed from current literary research.The thesis introduced a survey adopted from literary existing instruments and used similar constructs to collect data on the environmental factors, motivational factors, individual’s characteristics, lecturer’s role, industry representative’s role and knowledge sharing to report on their effects on the students’ learning experiences and learning outcomes. The scales were measured using the seven-point Likert scale based on the respondents’ level of agreement. The framework was analyzed using Structure Equation Modelling through SPSS AMOS.
The results, based on statistical significance (the p-value ˂ 5%), showed that some of the environmental factors positively influenced the students’ knowledge sharing motivations. In addition, the industry representative’s (case protagonist) active involvement in the classroom had significant impact on the students’ knowledge sharing behaviors and that his/her role is a motivator for knowledge transfer among the students.
The results also demonstrated that the students’ motivation to share knowledge was not necessarily linked to their intention to share knowledge. Also, despite the lecturer’s positive characteristics and the students’ strong positive opinion of the lecturer, the students lack the motivation to share or even change their behaviors towards sharing.
Another fundamental observation of the thesis is that knowledge sharing in the classroom is different from that in the workplace and that a change of the classroom culture towards a cooperative environment is integral for a motivational, behavioral and intentional change to sharing.
| Date of Award | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Jamal El-Den (Supervisor), Sami Azam (Supervisor) & Kannoorpatti Krishnan (Supervisor) |