Increasing flexibilisation and personalisation of education creates challenges in terms ofstudents’ social connectedness with each other, with the programme and with lecturers.For this reason, a team of researchers and professors from four universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands carried out research into how a sense of community can be created in learning communities. On the basis of a literature review and design-oriented research, we conducted experiments aimed at fostering social connectedness in eight learning communities. These learning communities were in the domains of Nursing, Healthcare and Welfare Teacher Training, Management in Care, Teacher Training, and Nutrition and Dietetics (part-time, full-time and dual programme variants).
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Due to the challenges produced by the individualisation of society and the flexibilisation of employment relationships, universities are increasingly investing in career guidance. Managers, however, have little or no vision regarding guidance and counselling. In this article we make a plea for an approach in which students are enabled to develop a career identity (i.e. a story about the meaning of their lives) as a basis for self-directedness. Such stories emerge during a dialogue about felt experiences. Evidence is given that such dialogues are to a large degree absent in educational contexts. Universities are to a large extent ‘disembodied’ places where almost no room exists for emotions and felt experiences. Therefore, a work/learning environment is needed within universities that enables ‘passionate self-directedness’. A short outline for creating such an environment is given. https://doi.org/10.20853/30-3-636
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The research group Teaching, Learning & Technology investigates the didactic use of technology in learning processes. In doing so, it looks at themes such as flexibilisation, personalised learning, activating didactics and the effects of the use of technology in educational practice, particularly in higher vocational education. What had not been investigated so far was whether previously conducted research had a demonstrable impact on educational practice. This study is the first phase in providing insight into the impact of research carried out by the Teaching, Learning & Technology (TLT) research group of Inholland University of Applied Sciences. It looks at research carried out between 2010 and 2021. The objective is to describe how impact factors that can be influenced in previous research have been shaped. On the basis of this description, it may be possible to make recommendations to the research group with which the impact of the research it conducts in relation to these factors can be increased. The research question is: How do stakeholders describe the impact of research carried out by the research group Teaching, Learning & Technology in relation to the impact factors that can be influenced with regard to the research, the dissemination and the user value (experienced)? In order to answer this research question, we used a convergent mixed methods design, in which a new conceptual model served as the basis for the analysis of data from the field research. Three types of data were collected, namely a qualitative document analysis (N=31), a survey (N=6) and semi-structured interviews with survey participants (N=4). The study revealed that stakeholders mainly point to the researcher as the primary source of impact. Impact begins and ends with the researcher, especially in the extent to which he or she makes an effort to make the research relevant and in line with questions from the educational practice. We have listed a number of recommendations with regard to the way in which impact can be achieved in future research. These recommendations are mainly aimed at the way in which researchers of the research group can pay attention in a structured way to the design of the collaboration and to the concrete visualisation of expectations and intended impact at an early stage.
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