As part of our mission to share educational practices from colleagues, we interviewed Brooke Gazdag on the innovations she implemented in her course Human Resource Management, such as a panel with guest speakers and negotiation exercises. Read more below!

What course do you teach? Could you explain briefly what it is about?

I focus on the human side of work life. Specifically, I teach Human Resource Management, which focuses on the whole range of HR processes from selection and recruitment to diversity and inclusion as well as Leadership in the digital age, which focuses on our evolving (digital) work life and the challenges and opportunities as a result.

What innovative additions have you added to the course?

In teaching, I questioned the “one size fits all” approach, but rather now adopted a “choose your own adventure” with a menu of educational opportunities to fit students own learning style and goals. To do that, I have made two significant changes my courses: (1) using knowledge clips (in addition to assigned readings) to impart the foundational concepts of the course, which are to be watched before we meet for the lecture and (2) inviting guest speakers during the lecture period to bring the subjects alive for the students. For group projects, we focus on practical problems that the students can solve using the course concepts.

Outside of the usually course structure, I have also used interactive exercises where students are randomly assigned a partner and have to negotiate and even experimented with Instagram, where summarized the concepts into bite-sized posts. This allows students to have different ways to prepare for the exam and also have the opportunity to prepare themselves for their next steps after graduation.

As the panel has already taken place, how did the discussion go and what did students think of it?

Our kickoff with the panelists was fantastic. They brought in many different perspectives from start-ups, to mid-sized companies, to large established companies. Talked about their personal career journeys and the importance of HR as the heart of the organization. I couldn’t have wished for a better start. The conversation amongst them and the questions the students brought made it an exciting session. The students shared that they really appreciated the real world perspective and the chance to network with the speakers.

What do you think the negotiation exercise or guest speakers will improve in terms of students’ engagement and interaction?

The subjects I teach are very practical and will shape the working lives of the students – which they might not yet be aware of. So if I can show them with the negotiation exercise or with guest speakers that these are living, breathing topics, I feel they will be more engaged in the topic and better prepared for their first jobs after graduation.

Any last tips for your colleagues?

Experiment and don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself as a professor or lecturer. Get inspired by what others are doing and stay excited about what is possible in this new age of education.

Want to get in touch to discuss and share? Reach out to Brooke via e-mail or contact TLC at tlc-eb@uva.nl.