Universities have the potential, and the responsibility, to take on more ecological and relational approaches to facilitating learning-based change in times of interconnected socioecological crises. Signs for a transition towards these more regenerative approaches of higher education (RHE) that include more place-based, ecological, and relational, ways of educating can already be found in niches across Europe (see for example the proliferation of education-based living labs, field labs, challenge labs). In this paper, the results of a podcast-based inquiry into the design practises and barriers to enacting such forms of RHE are shown. This study revealed seven educational practises that occurred across the innovation niches. It is important to note that these practises are enacted in different ways, or are locally nested in unique expressions; for example, while the ‘practise’ of cultivating personal transformations was represented across the included cases, the way these transformations were cultivated were unique expressions of each context. These RHE-design practises are derived from twenty-seven narrative-based podcasts as interviews recorded in the April through June 2021 period. The resulting podcast (The Regenerative Education Podcast) was published on all major streaming platforms in October 2021 and included 21 participants active in Dutch universities, 1 in Sweden, 1 in Germany, 1 in France, and 3 primarily online. Each episode engages with a leading practitioner, professor, teacher, and/or activist that is trying to connect their educational practice to making the world a more equitable, sustainable, and regenerative place. The episodes ranged from 30 to 70 min in total length and included both English (14) and Dutch (12) interviews. These episodes were analysed through transition mapping a method based on story analysis and transition design. The results include seven design practises such as cultivating personal transformations, nurturing ecosystems of support, and tackling relevant and urgent transition challenges, as well as a preliminary design tool that educational teams can use together with students and local agents in (re)designing their own RHE to connect their educational praxis with transition challenges. van den Berg B, Poldner K, Sjoer E, Wals A. Practises, Drivers and Barriers of an Emerging Regenerative Higher Education in The Netherlands—A Podcast-Based Inquiry. Sustainability. 2022; 14(15):9138. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159138
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In higher education, design thinking is often taught as a process. Yet design cognition resides in action and design practices. Dewey’s pragmatism offers a solid epistemology for design thinking. This paper describes a design research whereby Dewey’s inquiry served as the foundation for educating students. Three extensive educational case studies are presented whereby a design inquiry was introduced and became part of the curricula. It was found that students and coaches struggled with doubts experienced as a result of the co-evolution of problem and solution, means and ends. Four coping mechanisms were observed: (1) focus on problems, risking analysis paralysis; (2) focus on creative problem-solving, risking unsubstantiated design; (3) focus on means, risking fixation; and (4) focus on future ends, risking hanging on to a dream. By establishing a joint practice and a community of learnersthrough show-andshare sessions, the students establish solid ground.
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Many students in secondary schools consider the sciences difficult and unattractive. This applies to physics in particular, a subject in which students attempt to learn and understand numerous theoretical concepts, often without much success. A case in point is the understanding of the concepts current, voltage and resistance in simple electric circuits. In response to these problems, reform initiatives in education strive for a change of the classroom culture, putting emphasis on more authentic contexts and student activities containing elements of inquiry. The challenge then becomes choosing and combining these elements in such a manner that they foster an understanding of theoretical concepts. In this article we reflect on data collected and analyzed from a series of 12 grade 9 physics lessons on simple electric circuits. Drawing from a theoretical framework based on individual (conceptual change based) and socio-cultural views on learning, instruction was designed addressing known conceptual problems and attempting to create a physics (research) culture in the classroom. As the success of the lessons was limited, the focus of the study became to understand which inherent characteristics of inquiry based instruction complicate the process of constructing conceptual understanding. From the analysis of the data collected during the enactment of the lessons three tensions emerged: the tension between open inquiry and student guidance, the tension between students developing their own ideas and getting to know accepted scientific theories, and the tension between fostering scientific interest as part of a scientific research culture and the task oriented school culture. An outlook will be given on the implications for science lessons.
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De Koninklijke Landmacht staat voor grote uitdagingen bij het opleiden en trainen van militairen. Door beperkte trainingscapaciteit, snelle technologische ontwikkelingen en continue inzet van eenheden is het moeilijk om personeel adequaat op te leiden. XR-technologie (Extended Reality) biedt veelbelovende mogelijkheden om trainingen effectiever te maken en naar de militairen te brengen in plaats van omgekeerd. Dit onderzoeksproject richt zich op de vraag aan welke eisen een mobiel XR-trainingssysteem moet voldoen om optimaal aan te sluiten bij het gebruik te velde. De focus ligt op het inventariseren van gebruikersbehoeften van verschillende doelgroepen (rekruten, ervaren militairen, trainers), de specifieke eisen die de militaire context stelt, en factoren die bijdragen aan effectievere trainingen. Het consortium bestaat uit defensiepartners (CLAS Innovatie, Opleidings- en Trainingscommando, Marechaussee en Luchtmacht) en onderwijsinstellingen (HAN en Graafschap College). Het onderzoek volgt de CeHRES Roadmap met vier fasen: 1. Contextual Inquiry: in kaart brengen van behoeften en uitdagingen 2. Value Specification: ontwikkelen van gebruikersscenario's en ontwerpcriteria 3. Design & Development: testen van een prototype XR-oplossing 4. Implementation & Evaluation: praktijktesten en evaluatie De resultaten zullen leiden tot richtlijnen voor mens-machine interactie van XR-systemen in het veld, aanbevelingen over de effectiviteit van deze technologie, en concrete suggesties voor verdere ontwikkeling. Dit project versterkt niet alleen de trainingscapaciteit van defensie, maar draagt ook bij aan de Nederlandse ambitie om de defensieorganisatie uit te breiden en de creatieve industrie te stimuleren. Bovendien bevordert het de netwerkvorming tussen defensie en kennisinstellingen op het gebied van mens-machine interactie en leren onder stress.
