Collaborative research

Initial situation

The course “Research News”, taught to students in the Master of Science in Learning and Teaching Technologies (MALTT) has been modified in 2021. The course is now called “Conducting Research on Digital Technologies in Education - Collaborative Design-Oriented Research”.

Prior to its transformation, the course was intended to introduce different methodological approaches to research in the field of learning and teaching technologies. The course was mainly based on classical presentations, seminars and workshops. In its new edition, the course introduces methodology in a more active way through the lens of collaborative research and development models and approaches. The objective of the course is to involve students in research by meeting with scientific actors. They will thus experience the conception of research protocols that articulate the design and analysis of techno-pedagogical devices.

Project implementation

The course consists of six 4-week periods, each dealing with a specific theme. Each theme is addressed and leads to a written work written by the students. Each period is characterized by an alternation between synchronous (in-person) and asynchronous (distance) work.

In-person seminars provide students with conceptual input. Methods for conducting research on educational technologies are discussed through presentations, readings and group activities. At a distance, students must apply their new knowledge by developing a research project and a collaborative lexicon.

This research project consists of designing the research plan for a project submitted for funding. The proposed terms of reference are submitted by leaders of an ongoing research project.

The research plan includes the formulation of a problematic, the research questions as well as the research protocol, specifying the indicators, the data to be produced and the way they will be analyzed and interpreted. The work also includes the writing of a scientific paper to justify the research plan. All these activities lead to regular individual and collective deliverables as the themes are addressed.

As a team, students write a collaborative lexicon on the EduTech Wiki, using key references from the literature in the field. The texts written are reread and commented upon.

For the course to be validated, each student must:

•Actively participate in the entire course (seminars, workshops, project, collaborative lexicon)

•Obtain a minimum average of 4 for all assignments.

On the basis of a grading grid, the evaluation is based, in equal parts, on the 3 types of work completed:

•contributions to the collaborative lexicon (collective mark)

•the project report (collective mark)

•the oral exam (individual mark): 25-minute oral exam per student based on the (collective) project report [Brief description of the project - 5min; Argumentation of the methodological choices based on the scientific literature, mobilization of concepts seen in the course and in the readings - 10min; Further questions by the experts - 10min]

Thoughts and advice

The interest of the approach lies in the fact that students are engaged in a learning situation that consists of an authentic international research project. They meet professionals involved in the project, participate in the scientific activity in progress and their work is a contribution to the researchers’ project. The flip side of this authenticity is the complexity of the work to be done.