Online Problem-Based Learning or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Microsoft Teams: A Techno-Anthropological case study of online learning activities at Aalborg University during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Translated title
Online Problem-Based Learning or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Microsoft Teams
Authors
Christiansen, Svend Hauekrog ; Møller, Lasse Krejberg ; Kaan-Kristensen, Benjamin Peter Reisner Holm
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-08-03
Pages
93
Abstract
During Denmark’s COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020, all teaching moved online. This study examines how Aalborg University’s Problem-Based Learning (PBL)—the Aalborg Model, where students learn by solving real-world problems in groups—is affected by that shift. We used ideas from Deweyan pragmatism (learning through experience and practical outcomes) and post-phenomenology (how technologies shape human experience) to guide an in-depth case study at AAU. Through online interviews and participant observation, we explored how PBL unfolded on digital platforms. Our findings show that technological mediation—how technology shapes interactions and activities—strongly influences online learning. Without adapting courses and curricula to the online context, AAU’s aims for PBL are unlikely to be met. We recommend further research on what happens to PBL when it moves online and invite others to build on this study. We also reflect on how pragmatism and post-phenomenology complement each other, and on how conducting fully online ethnography within our own institution affected the results.
Under Danmarks nedlukning i foråret 2020 blev al undervisning flyttet online. Dette studie undersøger, hvordan Aalborg Universitets problembaserede læring (PBL) – Aalborg-modellen, hvor studerende lærer ved at løse virkelige problemer i grupper – påvirkes af dette skifte. Vi brugte ideer fra Deweyansk pragmatisme (læring gennem erfaring og praktiske konsekvenser) og post-fænomenologi (hvordan teknologier former menneskers erfaringer) som teoretisk ramme i et dybdegående casestudie på AAU. Gennem online interviews og deltagerobservation undersøgte vi, hvordan PBL udfoldede sig på digitale platforme. Vores resultater viser, at teknologisk mediering – den måde teknologien former samspil og aktiviteter – har en stærk indflydelse på online læring. Uden at tilpasse undervisning og læseplaner til en online kontekst risikerer AAU’s mål for PBL at lide væsentligt. Vi anbefaler mere forskning i, hvad der sker med PBL, når det flyttes online, og inviterer andre til at bygge videre på dette arbejde. Vi drøfter også, hvordan pragmatisme og post-fænomenologi supplerer hinanden i studiet, og hvordan fuldt online etnografiske metoder i egen institution påvirkede resultaterne.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords