This article examines the organisation of collaborative digital methods and data projects in the context of engaged research-led teaching in the humanities. Drawing on interviews, field notes, projects and practices from across eight research groups associated with the Public Data Lab (publicdatalab.org), it provides considerations for those interested in undertaking such projects, organised around four areas: composing (1) problems and questions; (2) collectives of inquiry; (3) learning devices and infrastructures; and (4) vernacular, boundary and experimental outputs.Informed by constructivist approaches to learning and pragmatist approaches to collective inquiry, these considerations aim to support teaching and learning through digital projects which surface and reflect on the questions, problems, formats, data, methods, materials and means through which they are produced.
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This teaching toolkit for critical materials research is developed for educators in higher design and arts education. It comes out of a 2-year project funded by the NRO Comenius Teaching Fellowship program at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. The project invited a group of design educators and/or researchers to develop ways to help bachelor students explore making practices that center ecosystems rather than human systems. With this toolkit, we share our tried and tested activities, which take bio-based design materials and their unique properties as a point of departure, and offer hands-on activities to critically engage in sustainable material research.
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De implementatie van blended learning – waarbij fysiek leren wordt gecombineerd met online leren – staat bij veel onderwijsinstellingen hoog op de agenda, om activeren, intensiveren, flexibiliseren, differentiëren en/of personaliseren mogelijk te maken (Bos, 2022). Als gevolg hiervan krijgt de online leeromgeving binnen onderwijsinstellingen een steeds nadrukkelijkere rol. Om te komen tot betekenisvol leren in deze online leeromgeving (vaak in de vorm van een leermanagementsysteem, ook wel LMS genoemd), is het belangrijk dat studenten hierin actief aan de slag gaan met de aangeboden onderwijsinhoud en geïnteresseerd en gemotiveerd zijn om dit te (gaan) doen (Michael, 2006; Alhazmi & Rahman, 2012; Derboven et al., 2017; Grant-Smith et al., 2019). Echter, in de praktijk blijkt dat lang niet altijd sprake is van deze gewenste student engagement. Bijlage 1: Dit artikel geeft de resultaten weer van een onderzoek naar mogelijkheden om student engagement in het LMS te vergroten. Deze resultaten zijn tevens samengevat in twee overzichtelijke infographics. Bijlage 2: Infographic 1 omvat het gehele overzicht van de (mogelijk) te implementeren ontwerpprincipes. Bijlage 3: Infographic 2 bevat een stappenplan voor docenten om hun LMS te analyseren en te optimaliseren (laaghangend fruit).
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The Hanzehogeschool Groningen (HUAS hereafter) is a University of Applied Sciences that is strongly inspired by the challenges of the North Netherlands region and firmly embedded in the city of Groningen in particular. HUAS has a strong track record in education, and practice-based research, and is dedicated to enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship. HUAS currently has 31,000 students Bachelor and Master students in 70 teaching programs. The 3.000 member of staff forming 17 schools and 7 centres of applied research collaborate to offer a cutting-edge teaching-based research. HUAS took the challenge to develop a strong research capacity with 67 professors, and an increasing number of researchers at various levels, supported by dedicated technical and administration support staff. PhD research thesis are co-supervised in collaboration with various universities in the Netherlands and abroad. HUAS positions itself as an Engaged and Versatile university, both in education and research. In line with this, the overall strategic ambitions of HUAS are to develop suitable learning pathways with recognised qualifications; to conduct applied research with a visible impact on education and society; and to be an adaptive, versatile and approachable organisation. HUAS links these strategic ambitions to three strategic research themes: Energy, Healthy Ageing and Entrepreneurship and four societal themes: strengthening a liveable and sustainable North Netherlands; transition to a healthy and active society; digital transformation; and energy transition and circularity. These four challenges define the focus of HUAS education and research.One of the societal themes is explicitly linked to the region: strengthening a liveable and sustainable North Netherlands. North Netherlands is a powerful, enterprising region with the city of Groningen as the healthiest city in the Netherlands. The region is a front runner in the energy transition, has a European exemplary role in the field of active and healthy ageing, and as an agricultural region, has many opportunities for the development of the circular economy and consequently the development of biobased construction material to mitigate climate change. Cooperation with different groups and stakeholders in the region is central in HUAS’s strategy. HUAS is part of extensive local and regional networks, including the University of the North and Akkoord van Groningen. As such, HUAS is well- connected to the research ecosystem in North Netherlands.HUAS has the ambition to better align, connect & develop on a local as well as a regional, national and international levels. Many of the challenges the North is faced with are also relevant in the EU context. Therefore, HUAS is a strong advocate and actor on engaging in European projects. HUAS monitors regularly the EU’s priorities and aligns its research between these priorities and its immediate societal needs. The EU provides a range of funding opportunities that fulfil our ambition as a research and teaching university and responds directly to our challenges from social, energy, and digital transformation. Indeed, over the last decade, HUAS has been successful in European programmes. In the Horizon 2020 programme, HUAS was part of five approved projects. In Horizon Europe so far two projects were granted. HUAS has performed particular well in the EU societal challenge for a secure, clean and efficient energy system. Examples of this are Making City (https://makingcity.eu/) focussing on the developing Positive Energy Districts, and IANOS (https://ianos.eu/) about the decarbonisation of islands. In addition to EU research and innovation schemes, HUAS has a considerable track record in projects funded by the Interreg schemes. In particular, these types of projects have strong links with region, and partners in the region. Currently, EU participation and involvement of HUAS is mainly concentrated in one field: sustainability & energy. In order to further disseminate to other parts of the university, only a well-designed strategy will allow the various research centres to better reach European fundings and satisfy the university’s ambitions. However, so far, no structured mechanism is in place internally to guide the research community and regional stakeholders how to reach European collaboration with confidence. Therefore, this pilot project aims to develop a strategic framework to enhance the participation of all parties at HUAS, including a pilot project that will lead to improvement and validation.
