Andragogy for the virtual learning environment: challenges and changes in developing graduate competencies for global virtual teamwork.

The increasingly global focus of business has resulted in the growing importance of global virtual teams, which transverse cultures, time and technology. In order to be able to work in these global virtual teams upon graduation, students are expected to have high level intercultural competencies, to communicate and collaborate, across cultures using information communication technologies (Davies, Fidler & Gorbis 2011). This is placing pressure on universities to design learning opportunities for students (especially business students) that are authentic, experiential and build skills to handle technology and intercultural communication and collaboration (Guffey & Loewy 2010).

This research study aims to examine the question: what challenges are presented, and changes required, to adapt authentic, experiential learning opportunities to the virtual environment in order to develop students¿ competencies to communicate interculturally and collaborate effectively in global virtual teams? The research is located within theories associated with experiential learning and authentic learning. It explores how these theories can be extended to student learning in, and for, the global business context, using the virtual learning space. These theories initially developed for physical learning environments and adapted for the virtual learning context, have only recently been explored for adaptation to global learning settings where learners are situated, simultaneously, in many geographical locations. This research is designed to explore what changes need to be made to adapt authentic, experiential learning opportunities to these multi-cultural, multi-temporal, global virtual contexts.

The research is based in an investigation of a case study of students located in three countries (Australia, Ireland and USA) who used technology to communicate and collaborate as members of global virtual teams to solve a global problem for an industry partner. Participants in the research were chosen from this student body, to present, through interviews and personal reflections, their experiences of communicating and collaborating as members of several global, virtual teams.