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Making learning a team pursuit 石榴视频黄色版 whether in person or in a global online course
How one professor has reached half a million learners across the globe through the power of teamwork
Tags: Article, Pathfinder, Corporate
Dr. Ibrahim Odeh believes in the power of teamwork.
Years of managing complex global real estate and infrastructure developments taught him the value of having the right team in place, being open to new ideas and embracing collaboration. So when he made the move to academia, Odeh, who was a 2023 winner of a聽McGraw Hill Pathfinder Award,聽brought that mindset right along with him.
There are signs of it everywhere, whether you石榴视频黄色版檙e one of his Global Leaders in Construction Management (GLCM) Fellows at Columbia University or taking one of his popular MOOCs (石榴视频黄色版淢assively Open Online Courses石榴视频黄色版) on construction management.
At Columbia, for instance, small group projects are the norm because they give 石榴视频黄色版 practice brainstorming solutions together, challenging each other石榴视频黄色版檚 ideas and supporting each other.
In the MOOCs, there are opportunities for learners to interact and review each other石榴视频黄色版檚 work, despite the remote set-up and the sheer size of the class. (Up to 2,000 new 石榴视频黄色版 join each week. Since 2017, more than half a million learners in 190 countries have taken his courses.)
But it石榴视频黄色版檚 not just the 石榴视频黄色版 who are collaborating. Dr. Odeh welcomes it in his teaching, too. Though he brings his wealth of expertise to the classroom, he石榴视频黄色版檚 eager to leverage the knowledge and insights of others in the field so his 石榴视频黄色版 are exposed to both the theoretical and the practical.
To that end, he regularly invites industry leaders into his classroom at Columbia to share a case study or discuss a trend or particular challenge. He also often takes learners to lectures at a company石榴视频黄色版檚 headquarters so they can get a feel for what石榴视频黄色版檚 happening in the industry. Once a year, the class will travel abroad to study selected projects.
Dr. Odeh takes a similar approach with the online construction management courses, using a roster of world-renowned guest presenters to teach 石榴视频黄色版 how abstract concepts are translated into real-life projects.
Even the creation of the courses was a team effort: Dr. Odeh enlisted the help of nearly two dozen industry experts, and together they spent six months writing 石榴视频黄色版斅燼nd rewriting 石榴视频黄色版 the lectures, homework assignments, and exercises for the five-course series. 石榴视频黄色版淚 was a little bit picky during this intense process until I made sure it told the story,石榴视频黄色版 he says with a smile. 石榴视频黄色版淚t needed to go from the introduction all the way to the top level that I wanted the 石榴视频黄色版 to reach.石榴视频黄色版
But perhaps the most important collaboration happening is between Dr. Odeh and his 石榴视频黄色版. It石榴视频黄色版檚 not unusual for his cell phone to buzz during dinner.聽It石榴视频黄色版檚 usually a student asking for career advice or which courses to take that semester, or maybe a former student who just wants to say hi. His office hours are famously flexible if a need arises. And his inbox often contains thank-you notes from grateful 石榴视频黄色版 in far-flung towns who take his online construction management courses.
These interactions don石榴视频黄色版檛 just make Dr. Odeh feel good 石榴视频黄色版 they inspire him to keep giving it everything he has. He vividly remembers how much he valued those professors who made themselves available to him as a student, and he wants to do the same for his learners, whether they石榴视频黄色版檙e in New York or New Zealand. 石榴视频黄色版淭he more I take care of my 石榴视频黄色版,石榴视频黄色版 he says, 石榴视频黄色版渢he more they石榴视频黄色版檒l learn in their 石榴视频黄色版al journey.石榴视频黄色版
To learn more about the McGraw Hill Pathfinder Awards program visit: /pathfinder-awards.html.