For 12 invigorating days in January 2007, over 70 experienced educators from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, and a team of nine Havard Business School (HBS) faculty members (including the world-renowned Michael Porter) participated in the intellectually stimulating and highly rewarding fourth PCMPCL programme in Boston, USA. HBS is undoubtedly the premier institution of its kind globally on matters of case method learning, and the programme allowed me to experience and share perspectives on “best practice” in areas including course design, case-writing, the implications of participant-centred learning, teaching methods, and the scope of learning objectives.

The programme was very intensive, with six or more scheduled meeting times each day and an equivalent amount of preparation and/ or out-of-class exercises. Several outstanding books, eight cases, plus orientation material of several magnitudes were required preparation even before catching the flight to Boston. Nine discussion groups were formed immediately upon arrival at Baker Hall (our home for the programme duration), and group members were assigned accommodation and study areas accordingly.

Myriad ideas, approaches, and methods that signify participant-centred learning were presented and discussed in a U-shaped classroom environment, akin to what we have at SMU. Some of the areas touched upon, to name a few, include:

1) A focus on the learning and development needs of students to prepare them for leadership roles in society;
2) An understanding of the mental models, beliefs and attitudes that students bring to the class;
3) Creation of courses and learning experiences that facilitate “deep learning”;
4) How to direct the active engagement of students in the learning process; and
5) A focus on learning (not teaching) and on discovering (not covering).

Among the many highlights, the evaluative and feedback process of colleagues during live class time, which forms a fundamental platform in pursuing excellence in participant-centred learning at HBS, was demonstrated vividly. One morning, a live MBA class was conducted while all of us simultaneously watched the process on screen in an adjoining classroom. Immediately after the completion of the class, the Professor joined our group and we were invited to comment on positives and negatives, with a rejoinder by the Professor on each comment. The entire experience could not be captured in ten textbooks.

My favourite take-away from the programme involved ideas surrounding the pre-preparation for class, the design of the class plan, and pointers on class conduct, including the important skills required for creating good questions, how to be a good listener of student questions, and the techniques of how to respond to students so as to capture their interest and enthusiasm and not dampen the learning experience. These take time to develop but I have given considerable thought to their deployment in my own Accounting Theory course and I look forward to positive results.

Clearly, this experience has been, and will continue to be, a highlight of my academic career and I am grateful and honoured that Dean Pang Yang Hoong nominated me to participate in the PCMPCL programme. Such support is testimony to the high level of commitment to teaching excellence and student learning that overarches SoA. It is my intention to share more of this memorable Harvard experience with my colleagues in the coming days.