Learning Intelligence: Innovative and Digital Transformative Learning Strategies: Cultural and Social Engineering Perspectives

471 Pages·2023·9.209 MB·English

by  Kumaran Rajaram

Kumaran Rajaram
Learning Intelligence:
Innovative and Digital
Transformative
Learning Strategies
Cultural and Social Engineering
Perspectives
Learning Intelligence: Innovative and Digital
Transformative Learning Strategies
Kumaran Rajaram
Learning Intelligence:
Innovative and Digital
Transformative Learning
Strategies
Cultural and Social Engineering
Perspectives
Kumaran Rajaram
Division of Leadership, Management
and Organization, Nanyang Business
School
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore, Singapore
ISBN 978-981-19-9200-1 ISBN 978-981-19-9201-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9201-8
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Preface
“The one true goal of education is to leave a person
asking questions”
—Author unknown
It has been sixteen years since I started the insightful journey that commenced back
then in 2006 during my stint as the Director of Academic Affairs and Head, Strategy
and Business Development managing local and international students. To develop a
strong rooted learning culture and culture of learning in the institution, I needed to
create and execute strategies that leverage from the notion ‘learning intelligence’ that
focuses on the institution’s concrete goals, comprehending the learning needs and
practices, and quantify the learning outcomes. I was intrigued to solve the complex
challenges for learners in pursuit of their studies at the university setting from a socio-
culturally dislocated environment, having to understand their unique learning styles,
behaviours, cognitive process, rooted values and beliefs and culture of learning.
Beyond my role as a senior leader in the institution that enables me to make key
decisions for transformation and change, I took on a concurrent role as a researcher
in area of learning intelligence, science, culture and internationalization of higher
education. The inspiration to dive deeper on the strategic, tactical and operational
issues was motivated from the varying complex questions that emerged through the
real-life challenges that I had to deal with and have experienced.
Deputy Academic Director (Liaison), Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre
My aspiration is to put my contemporary cutting-edge learning and teaching
scholarship research insights and reflections together to benefit the larger academic
community in a book titled: “Learning Intelligence: Innovative and Transfor-
mative Learning Strategies: Cultural and Social Engineering Perspectives” . This
compelling journey began back then in 2012 when I am invited to join as a faculty
with Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. As
appointed as the course chair-director, I am responsible to oversee 8–10 senior
instructors and over 450 students, including exchange students from various countries
globally. I am also appointed as the deputy academic director (liaison) with Nanyang
v
vi Preface
Technoprenuership Centre, where I lead and manage students in the entrepreneur-
ship specialization. I was intrigued by the rapid changes to explore and experiment
ways to transform the learning culture and re-design the curriculum to enhance the
contents knowledge and competencies to be acquired through addressing the complex
learning challenges that emerge and were embedded in the pursuit of students’ univer-
sity education. The reflection on my personal values and beliefs on teaching and
learning drives the mission that unfolds in three key dimensions: (a) inculcate posi-
tive and nurturing learning environment; (b) stimulate learner’s interest for learning;
and (c) ingrain a mindset of life-long learning. I continually made attempts through
diverse and creative ways to understand students’ learning preferences, empathizing
with their learning challenges, learning culture and culture of learning as well as
the programme’s primary focus and intended learning outcomes. This allows me to
customize the instructional techniques to meet students’ expectations so that effec-
tive acquisition of knowledge will be achieved. I believe effective teaching happens
when there is a good balance of interactivity, dialogue and exchange of perspectives
between the teacher and students. Hence, by endeavouring to appreciate the varying
students’ aspirations, I can facilitate a conducive learning environment that inspires
and encircles everyone’s aspirations in the class. We should be creative to utilize
varying instructional approaches, via both the traditional approaches and techno-
logical interventions that stimulate optimal learning in the students. Collaborative
and cooperative learning enables one to grow intellectually, develop internally and
enhance their individual personality. It is imperative to develop a culture of inno-
vation and creativity, developing an entrepreneurial and problem-solving mindset.
This encourages students to not only optimize their inner talent and potential but
also nurture them to be enterprising, enabling them to be critical thinkers embracing
diverse perspectives. In a concurrent appointment, I serve as a cradle research fellow
in the area of organizational and learning science, learning culture and culture of
learning, learning analytics, competencies development and internationalization of
higher education. The inspiration to dive deeper on these learning, human capital and
training development, competency and skills augmentations and teaching areas was
derived from the varying questions that emerge through the real-life encounters and
challenges that I had to deal with and have experienced from the strategic, tactical
levels (during my prior stints as chief executive officer (CEO), Global Leadership,
Management and Learning Intelligence Consultancy, Asia Pacific; Head, Technical
specialization, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Training Institute; Director
of Academic Affairs and Head, Strategy and Business Development; Founder, Exec-
utive Director & Principal Consultant, Research Lab for Learning Culture and Inno-
vations) and operational level (as a professor presently who deals directly with the
students). Back then, the immediate goal was to examine and resolve the challenges
creatively by addressing the influencing and contributing factors. Now, I have since
embarked tackling these vital and pressing research questions and having them exper-
imented, validated and analysed by putting together in this book. Hence, this serves
as the fundamental motivation to perform cutting-edge research.
In today’s rapidly evolving and changing learning environment, educators in
higher education need to be mindful, agile and thoughtful in designing the course
Preface vii
curriculum to achieve quality, depth and rigor of training and its deliverables in
any context of specialization. Today’s higher education at university requires to
nurture students to become competent and globally employable business leaders
and managers, having them realize and internalize their role as change catalysts in
building a productive and sustainable world, where enterprises of all sorts can be
leveraged on humanistic as well as economic interventions. University education
expects to train, equip and develop students’ competencies to nurture them to be
globally sought-after business leaders. Hence, some of the vital questions that we
need to reflect upon are: What is the crucial role of learning in the 21st century?
Why education systems need to be re-designed to meet the challenges of a highly
uncertain future?
As Rajaram, K. (2021) advocates: “Learning happens when the learners question
the norms; search for information to address the varying perspectives; explore the
unknown without being spoon-fed with model answers; self-think critically on how
to resolve issues at hand; experience discomfort in the progress and are put in an
ambiguous situation, while working towards resolving an assigned task. This allows
one to think, reflect and strive towards the process of finding the answers to the
unanswered queries and unresolved issues. During the learning phase, the process
of learning is the focus if learning in terms of depth and quality is to occur”.
The broad study on learning intelligence investigated from varying dimensional
contexts is an imperative and topical contemporary issue in responding to today’s
rapid changing higher education climate. Educating students equipped with quality,
job-ready ‘know-hows’ and skills and competencies require higher education insti-
tutions and universities to be agile, function with a growth mindset and be on top
of the game. The primary emphasis in ensuring high quality and effective delivery
of the course programmes should be re-iterated to maintain a consistently high stan-
dard and rigor. This requires evidence-based inputs to understand the influence of
learning design based on the learning culture, learning characteristics derived from
the culture of learning, social and geographical issues that are deeply rooted and
complex. The context from socio-cultural dimensional aspects in the higher educa-
tional learning eco-system, its learning design, pedagogical and assessment aspects
have been relatively under-researched. Much of the academic success for students is
dependent on the educational and socio-cultural congruence between themselves and
the institution they study in. This study makes a vital contribution in comprehending
the learning strategies, its related socio-cultural aspects as well as the notion that
surrounds learning intelligence and how it should be applied.
This book serves as an important and timely intervention where the innova-
tive, evidence-based and contemporary learning strategies are presented with deep
discussions, academic literature and supported with research findings. The learning
and teaching strategies presented are adopted in “real-time” learning environments
targeted towards outcome-based and competency-based learning goals. The book
will address the complex challenges and limitations in contemporary learning and
teaching in higher education supported with evidence, hence providing possible
approaches to address them. The book addresses an interesting scope of topics
largely clustered into four categories, namely (a) cultural and social engineering
viii Preface
of learning; (b) innovation and transformation in learning; (c) digital transformation
and data analytics in learning; and (d) assessment and feedback for learning that are
all contemporary, relevant and essential. The topics under each of these themes are
categorized based on the scope of its primary contents; however inline to the title
of the book, in each of the topic, there will an inclusion of varying concepts related
to socio-cultural aspects such as collaboration, cooperation, interdependency, group
processing, dynamics and conformity based on the context and contents of that
topic. For the first theme of social-cultural engineering, there are two topics that
are addressed, specifically focusing on cultural intelligence and cognitive empathy.
Next, three topics are covered under the theme, innovation and transformation in
learning, namely exploiting disruptive innovation, blended learning and authentic
learning—digital transformation and innovations. Each of these topics within its
cluster includes a section discussing on how learning needs to be socially adapted
and culturally aligned with sensitivity. Under the final theme of assessment and
feedback, the topic assessment, assessment rubrics and feedback, intertwined with
socio-cultural issues, are addressed.
This will be of interest for the academic community to examine how these learning
strategies could be adopted by leveraging on the latest digitalization, together with
cultural and social aspects to engage learners through collaboration and indepen-
dent learning. This will be of large interest for the academic community to explore
and examine how these learning transformative strategies, ‘know-hows’ interven-
tions and innovations could be adopted or to be served as exemplary practices to
be potentially customized and used in context especially in varying socio-cultural
complexities. There is a high focus and inclination on outcome-based and authentic
learning, assessment and feedback, fixated on how to better facilitate the classes
leveraging on technology-enabled learning that engages and facilitates much higher
level of collaborative, team-based and cooperative learning in the process of educa-
tion. The book addresses an interesting scope of topics that are both contemporary
and essential to almost all academics and senior leaders, policy makers of higher
education institutions, affiliated stakeholders as well as practitioners who has a high
responsibility to develop an eco-system to nurture, develop, train and equip learners
at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels at the university with the relevant
contents’ knowledge, skills and competencies.
I aim to value-add through the scholarly work in this book as an avenue of contri-
bution to higher education institutions and university leaders, researchers, educators,
learning science practitioners and other stakeholders globally in this field to help
them attain their institutional and individualized goals.
Singapore, Singapore Kumaran Rajaram, Ph.D. (Distinction)
Praise for Learning Intelligence: Innovative
and Digital Transformative Learning Strategies
“Dr. Rajaram’s book makes a vital contribution to the field of learning science and
teaching scholarship in higher education to be adopted by working professionals in
the future workplace context. The book delivers a total of 10 chapters that are rich in
evidence and provide practice-oriented frameworks for those involved in advancing
transformative and innovative learning strategies in socio-cultural contexts. The
amazing set of insights and practical – and policy-related recommendations serve
as positive transformational changes in higher education, focusing on specifics of
the much under-researched notion of learning intelligence. As institutions must deal
with evolving and complex challenges brought about by, for example, digitalization,
strategic re-positioning and health crisis, socio-cultural complexities, the forward-
looking and visionary strategic, tactical and operations proposals integrated into the
book provide safeguard for sustainable development in transformative and innovative
teaching and learning context of higher education.”
—Dr. Churchill, Daniel, Associate Professor, Academic Unit of Teacher Education
and Learning Leadership, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong
“I recommend the book to anyone interested to know where the education land-
scape is heading next. Modern education requests that we become not only experts
in our specific academic domains but also masters of technologies that help improve
the effectiveness, efficiency and engagement of teaching. As the world is becoming
increasingly flat and with a growing sentiment on ESG, we must embed more cultural
intelligence and cognitive empathy in our school environment and curriculum. In the
end, innovation is the key to succeeding in every field, including delivering quality
teaching at universities. If we want to educate future leaders who will transform indus-
tries and societies, we, as teachers, must equip ourselves with a continuously learning
mentality and technology know-how. If you share the same vision, I recommend
reading this illuminating book.”
—Professor Xin Simba Chang, Associate Dean (Research), Nanyang Business
School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
ix
x LearningIntePllriagiesnecfeo:rInnovativeandDigitalTransformative…
“This timely work overviews important educational discourses about the complex
and changing learning environment. It also presents innovative and tested strate-
gies about nurturing students to be business leaders. What is particularly striking
is the focus on balance between teaching practical competencies while at the same
time developing mindfulness and empathy. The result is an innovative book offering
holistic guidance beyond a priori knowledge.”
—Mark Brooke (Ed.D.), Senior Lecturer, Centre for English Language
Communication, National University of Singapore
“Today’s world has challenged us at many levels. We live in highly volatile and
unpredictable times. We have seen and will continue to witness disruptions arising
from new innovations and technological advancements, as well as unprecedented
events both within and outside of human control. The higher education sector will
not be immune to these disruptions and must be resilient and versatile to cater to
a world in which change is the only constant. Dr. Kumaran Rajaram’s “Learning
Intelligence: Innovative and Transformative Learning Strategies, Cultural and Social
Engineering Perspectives” aptly captures the challenges and opportunities in the
higher-education sector. While the book touches on a wide range of topics, its detailed
and in-depth reflections on how the higher-education sector can harness immersive
technologies and AI are exceptionally relevant to the modern educator. There is much
for educators to learn from the pedagogically sound, coherent and evidenced-based
approach adopted by the book written is simple and accessible language suitable to
readers of any background and experience.”
—Dr. Althaf Marsoof, Assistant Professor, Division of Business Law, Nanyang
Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
“Higher education, learning and pedagogy is expected to not only reflect but, also,
predict and even shape societal, cultural and technological changes. University educa-
tion, and business education in particular, needs to continuously and creatively adapt
to new needs, tools, priorities. “Learning Intelligence: Innovative and Transforma-
tive Learning Strategies” by Dr. Kumaran Rajaram exactly discusses these topics and
prepares everyone involved in higher education to rethink, assess and re-design the
whole spectrum of the educational process. The added value that this book brings
lies on that, on top of explaining what needs to be done, Dr. Rajaram convincingly
details why it is needed and, critically, how this can be done. Combining scientific
evidence with practical approaches (based on Dr. Rajaram’s extensive experience of
teaching a demanding multicultural audience) but, as well, a futuristic approach, the
book offers invaluable theoretical and applied knowledge. Yet, Dr. Rajaram brings in
something more, namely a vision on how the learning environment in the next ten to
twenty years should be. Dr. Rajaram envisions higher education as a learning process
through which students, over and above acquiring skills and knowledge, realise their
role as carriers of change. In a world that faces increasingly more complex and
universal challenges requiring global and local solutions, I think most of us would
agree that ensuring that students have the knowledge, confidence and courage to act