Developing employability skills in information system graduates: Traditional vs. Innovative teaching methods

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that traditional teaching methods such as lectures, textbooks and case study techniques on their own are not adequate to improving the most in-demand employability skills for graduates. The aim of this article is to explore the potential impact that novel learning and teaching methods can have on improving the employability skills of Management Information System (MIS) graduates. To do so, the article reports the results of an experiment that was conducted with MIS students at the Faculty of Business and Economics in Qatar University, that combined lectures, case study-based workshops, flipped classrooms, presentations, problem-based learning and collaborative learning. The findings of this experiment suggest that known methods of classroom-based learning and teaching used for MIS graduates are failing to develop important graduate skills such as, critical thinking, time management and how to conduct research when faced with challenging problems.