INDEPENDENT LEARNING AND OPERATIONAL-RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM

While Operational Research and Education are common keywords in OR jou rnals, most work focuses on course content. Relatively little has been written about processes of education and learning in OR. This paper a dds to this important area by considering the use of more Independent Learning (IL) in Operational Research education. Included is an explan ation of IL and justification for using it. Activities which encourage IL are described and supported by three case studies which give examp les of how an academic might introduce II, into a range of OR educatio n settings. Other topics include IL and assessment arguments against t he use of IL, and critical success factors.