Using research informed approaches to Strategic Human Resource Management teaching

• Research on teaching Strategic HRM is extremely limited.
• Focus groups generated a teaching strategy for Strategic HRM.
• We illustrate process worksheets as a pedagogical technique in Strategic HRM.
• The paper reports students' evaluation of the teaching strategy.
• We critically reflect on our experiences of applying the strategy in practice.

There is extremely limited research that specifically examines the pedagogy of teaching Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). To address this area of neglect we conducted a two-phase research project. The first phase was guided by the question: What teaching and learning (T&L) strategies should be employed in SHRM? This question was investigated using data gathered in three focus groups involving T&L specialists, strategic management and HRM academics, and HRM practitioners. Through a process of successive focussing, potential T&L strategies were initially identified and then tested and refined in the focus groups. Drawing on input from the participants and the literature, we make the case that SHRM can be effectively taught through a combination of primarily case-based and problem-based approaches. We also illustrate how process worksheets can be employed to provide problem solving support to students when they carry out complex learning tasks based on authentic SHRM problems. The second phase focussed on the question: How effective are the T&L strategies? To address this question we analysed data collected from students about the effectiveness of the T&L strategies. We also report our critical reflections on the experience of applying the T&L strategies in practice.