Objective
The primary objective of the short (one-week) modules initiative is to infuse entrepreneurial mindset and skills across the Bentley community. Faculty members across a number of disciplines can incorporate these one-week modules into their courses to make ideas about entrepreneurship accessible to all students – within the context of their own classes, regardless of their course discipline.
Purpose
This initiative supports the creation, curation and use of short curated modules about different aspects of entrepreneurship. Each short module is equivalent to approximately one week of content. Any faculty member may incorporate such a short module into their regular, 15-week course. It will allow faculty members to leverage the specific expertise of other faculty members to enhance their courses.
Infrastructure
In collaboration with several entities (the Provost’s office and the Deans, the Badavas Center, the Department of Management, the Curriculum Policy Committee, the Curriculum Implementation Committee, the Instructional Design Team, the Instructional Support Group and many other stakeholders), the E-hub has developed an infrastructure including procedures, templates, guidelines, compensation structures and other mechanisms for this initiative. You will find these below.
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Propose a Module
Faculty may propose to design and implement a one-week module that reflects their expertise. The E-hub will coordinate the process. Several faculty across campus are developing the following short (one-week) modules during Summer 2024: (a) entrepreneurship as a career path, (b) Design Thinking, (c) legal issues for Entrepreneurship, (d) ethics for Entrepreneurship, (e) entrepreneurship with fintech, (f) the history of entrepreneurship and more. You are encouraged to identify potential adopters and engage in discussions as a part of the proposal.
Request a Module
Faculty may request a one-week module about entrepreneurship that reflects something they would like to incorporate in their class. This may be something that wish to add into their class (to enhance the learning experience for our students), and for which they would like to draw on the expertise of their colleagues across campus. The E-hub will attempt to locate the requested expertise and facilitate the process.
Module Structure
The module will consist of a small set of learning objectives, recorded lectures, interactive materials, readings and a self-assessment component to ensure a robust learning experience.
- The Instructional Design Team will work with the faculty member to help them convert their expertise to these elements. They will share a set of best practices with the faculty member and provide a contract outlining the responsibilities of both parties.
- The module should, ideally, follow a problem-based learning approach to allow potential adopters an easier path towards adoption. The Badavas Center will work with the faculty member to help them incorporate these elements in their design.
- The E-hub has created a template that faculty can access to structure their design choices and guide their implementation efforts. The faculty members who create these modules are expected to ensure a coherent structure and high educational standards.
Governance
The short modules are not intended to be credit-bearing units. Nevertheless, the E-hub collaborates with the Curriculum Policy Committee (CPC) and the Curriculum Implementation Committee (CIC) to ensure Bentley standards. Input from another faculty member and the Department Chair will provide oversight for the design of each module. A sub-committee of the E-hub Faculty Council will ensure that overlaps are minimized.
Ownership and Compensation
Faculty member(s) who take on the responsibility to design and implement each module (working with the Instructional Design Team, the Badavas Center, and the Instructional Technology Team) will work within a contract structure that allows co-ownership of the content and the design for both, the faculty member and Bentley university. For their expertise and efforts, faculty who take on this role will be compensated, following Bentley norms, for the initial design and implementation as well as periodic updates (see below).
Deployment
The module, once designed, implanted, and vetted, will live on Bentley’s learning management system (LMS) platform, Brightspace, as a part of a marketplace of modules that all faculty members can access. The Academic Technology Center (ATC) will help the faculty to facilitate this. They will also track the use of modules.
Promotion
We encourage the faculty members who design the modules to reach out to their friends and colleagues across departments to encourage adoption. The E-hub will help in this effort by creating promotional materials that the faculty member may use to share with others.
Updates
The faculty member(s) who design the module will be responsible for updating the module every two years to ensure that the content remains current and accurate. The E-hub, with the help of the Faculty Council, will review each module as a candidate for sunset and replacement at the end of six years, or earlier, at the discretion of the E-hub.
Preparing for Use
The set of short modules, once designed and implemented, will be available to all faculty from Bentley’s learning management system, Brightspace. If you find a module that is interesting / potentially useful for your class and students, we encourage you to engage in a conversation with the module designer, and if you like, the Badavas Center to develop your own strategy for incorporating the module into your course.
Incorporating a module
To incorporate a module, a faculty member can directly import the module into their course. When a faculty member incorporates a module into their course, they still retain the ownership and responsibility of the course. For example, they can assign the module to the students for a certain week or even spread it out over multiple weeks if they choose. They can then run their class session as a discussion, perhaps similar to a flipped classroom pedagogy, making connections from the module to their overall course.
Use and Compensation
Faculty member(s) who incorporate a module do not assume ownership of the module. However, in recognition of their effort to bring this module (and expertise from another faculty) to their class, faculty who use these modules will get specific help from the Academic Technology Center (ATC) to incorporate the module, and will receive a small compensation, following Bentley norms.
Providing Feedback
Although it is not mandatory, we hope that the faculty members who adopt and use a module will provide feedback to the E-hub and module designer, which can lead to continued refinement and updates to the course modules