The Co.F.E. Method
The main objective of the TransEET project is to develop and adopt an innovative method for productive twinning. This method addresses the many challenges of transforming digital educational practices within and across country borders, including the limited capacity of academic people with multidisciplinary expertise and the need for more resources to develop prototypes with educational technology. By forming Communities of Interest (COI) consisting of members with diverse backgrounds who develop and exchange rapid prototypes of educational materials, the Co.F.E. method shall help to create innovative educational materials while, more importantly, forming sustainable collaboration and leading the members to become actors with hybrid expertise (AHE).
Communities of Interest (COI)
We use the concept of Communities of Interest to refer to a group of people from different backgrounds and with diverse expertise who complement each other to work on a common goal. Up to now, four CoIs have been formed within the TransEET project, each consisting of members from various disciplines, such as educational researchers, university students, teachers, artists, and programmers.
CoI 1 – AI to Support Exploratory Learning
CoI 1 focuses on supporting exploratory learning with Artificial Intelligence. Considering educators’ and students’ challenges during exploratory learning activities with technology, the CoI examines how AI could help overcome these challenges, enhance student interaction, and support exploration.
CoI 2 – Designs for Authorable Learning Analytics
CoI 2 investigates the educators’ perspective by looking into the design of authorable learning analytics for different use cases. Its goal is to uncover the potential of learning analytics to understand learning and teaching better, improve teaching practices, develop resources and applications for teachers, or support school goals and evaluation.
CoI 3 – Augmented Reality in STEAM Education
CoI 3 seeks to transform educational practices by exploring and using the affordances of emerging technologies and the arts. The diversity of participant backgrounds promises a fruitful exchange of ideas and material and will lead the participants to become actors with hybrid expertise.
CoI 4 – Augmented Reality Gaming for STEM
CoI 4 revolves around the role of Augmented Reality in Games for STEM Education. It aims to explore the benefits and impacts of combining AR and Game-based STEM education, targeting the design of such games to transform educational practices and enhance students’ learning and skills.
Flow of Rapid Prototypes (FRP)
The Flow of Rapid Prototypes is inspired by the practice of rapid prototyping, in which objects with low technical readiness requirements are created to iterate through ideas quickly. In addition to creating a resulting object that has undergone a development and review process by members with diverse expertise, the Co.F.E. method focuses on the flow of these objects and how it leads to ongoing beneficial collaboration between multiple institutions.
Actors with Hybrid Expertise (AHE)
By engaging in the FRP, members of the CoIs are necessarily confronted with situations where they need to gain the expertise with which the prototype was initially constructed. By engaging in developing, exchanging, and reviewing these prototypes, the members form a complementary understanding to contribute to the common goal effectively. An example would be a mathematician who develops enough understanding of programming and design so that they can create a simple digital game to transform the way math is taught in school. We expect such actors with hybrid expertise to significantly speed up the multidisciplinary and holistic research process and contribute to a sustainable transformation of education.