Research-based teaching and learning
Proposals to engage university students with science and their transfer to the Nordic context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.6494Nøgleord:
Active Learning, Research-Based Learning, Inquiry-Based Teaching, Extra-curricular activitiesResumé
Research-Based Teaching and Learning strategies have come to the fore in recent years to better engage students from all levels with research. As in any novel area in teaching, practices and experiences are needed for the teaching community to eventually implement this approach. Hence, this article presents and appraises several activities with the potential of engaging university students with research. Three extracurricular proposals are analyzed within the framework of Research-Based Teaching and Learning. These are: the scheme ‘Young Researcher Seedbeds’ in Colombia, the student activities at the CONPEHT Tourism Conference in Latin America and the thoughts and experiences of one of the authors about publishing with students in Sweden and in Colombia. The authors use case study techniques to report the first and second initiatives, whereas the third initiative is presented under an auto-ethnographical point of view. In the final section, some thoughts about transferring these ideas to the Nordic context are put forth. The studied extracurricular activities and schemes are found to have potential in promoting ‘hands-on’, active learning, as they bring students in contact with research early in their education. These activities bring about not only an interest in science but also a range of related soft skills, such as collaboration, communication, and presentation competencies. Students get to experience the ‘social’ side of science by producing or disseminating it. A thorough evaluation of these activities and their transfer, however, remains a pending issue. Practitioners interested in expanding their portfolio towards research-based activities may find in this paper inspiration from international, innovative sources to eventually transfer to their contexts.
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