Experiential Learning Approaches and Assessment for Teaching Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Purpose The United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainability formulates seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Advancing these goals requires that decision-makers are educated in the concepts and frameworks on which sustainability is based. Higher Education, therefore, has the major responsibility of developing future leaders to support the necessary change towards sustainability (OECD, 2019). Success in this may also depend on facilitating a needed mind-shift, away from the paradigms that have informed business and business education thus far, towards a more sustainable mindset (Rimanoczy & Llamazares, 2021). Salinas-Navarro et al. (2022) argue, based on a case study of education for sustainable supply chains, that a combination of experiential learning methods can enable the needed learning processes. Similarly, the research presented here showcases the teaching approaches used for a sustainable supply chain management course. Taking the approach of the Experiential Learning Model (ELM) and Action Reflection learning (ARL), the course integrates various experiential components using simulation gaming, reflective experiences, teamwork, and other exercises that target the development of the so-called Sustainability Mindset (SM). This framework aims at moving individuals toward the aforementioned paradigm shift (Rimanoczy, 2020). The effects of this pedagogical approach are assessed using the Sustainability Mindset Indicator (SMI, Rimanoczy & Klingenberg, 2021), a tool that maps an individual’s progress towards such a mindset. Research design This research represents an explorative case study for developing a sustainable supply chain management course. In particular, we use the “Sustainable and Global Supply Management” course, taught in the second (and last) year of the Master of Science program in Management Engineering at the University of Bergamo in Italy. This course uses various experiential learning methods, such as the Blue Connection on Circular Economy Simulation, and exercises that stimulate the development of thought processes along the principles of the Sustainability Mindset (SMPs). Each exercise had specific objectives that aligned with the SMPs. Using the SMI, a pre- post assessment of students’ position towards the SM is performed, together with an evaluation of students’ experiences, to determine the effects of the combined teaching methods. The findings are mapped against the objectives of the various experiential learning methods. Findings As of the writing of this abstract, the course is ongoing, with the final students’ assessment scheduled for the third week of December. Early reactions to the teaching method show a high level of student engagement. The results of the pre-post analysis and the mapping of the various experiential learning approaches to these results will be presented. Practical implications Educators can find inspiration in the presented teaching approaches and learning methods employed throughout the course. In addition, the SMI, a new assessment tool to measure the effectiveness of teaching interventions, is introduced. Contribution This research adds to the literature on teaching approaches for sustainability in general, and sustainable supply chains specifically. A new assessment tool, the Sustainability Mindset Indicator, is used to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of various pedagogical tools employed throughout the course. The applicability of this new tool is therefore also tested.