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Project duration 01.03.2020 - 31.12.2023

Collaborative teaching and learning with digital media in teacher education: mobile – professional – inclusive

In the project K4D, concepts and formats of digital collaboration are developed in different departments of the TU Dortmund University to increase the didactic and methodological quality of teaching and learning processes through a substantial and collaborative use of digital media in university courses. The project team at the Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS) is responsible for the scientific monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Project description

Schwarz-grüner, ineinandergreifende Schriftzug K4D mit schwarzen Schriftzug des Projektnamens Kollaboratives Lehren und Lernen mit Digitalen Medien in der Lehrer*innenbildung mobil - fachlich - inklusiv

The project K4D pursues to improve the quality of teaching and learning processes in university courses regarding didactic and methodological design aspects by focusing on digital collaboration. Digitality in teaching/learning settings not only enables the processing of a broader spectrum of materials, but also time-shifted and spatially separated work.

In order to familiarize student teachers from different subject areas with digital collaborative work and to make it useful for their future careers as teachers, concepts for digital collaborative work are being developed and tested in various sub-projects in the subjects of chemistry, English, mathematics, music, social sciences and sports.

The evaluation of K4D is located at the Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS). The study focuses on how students’ attitudes, motivational orientations and self-evaluated competences with regard to digital collaborative work and examining how they develop during their studies.

Using an online-based survey, multiple cohorts of teacher students participate in the evaluation study and answer questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of each semester. In addition, some students voluntarily take part in a follow-up survey beyond the course as they continue their studies. The longitudinal design not only provides important insights into the current state of attitudes, motivation, and self-assessed competences toward digital collaboration among future teachers, but also illustrates initial developmental trends. Thus, first implications on digital collaboration in teaching and learning settings are highlighted with respect to future research and educational practice in an increasingly digital world.

Lead researcher of the evaluation study

Lead researcher of K4D

Project management

External project partners

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Location & approach

The most convenient highway exits are on the B 1/A 40 (Dortmund-Barop) (closer to the North Campus) and on the A45 (Dortmund-Eichlinghofen). The university is signposted at both exits. In the local road network you will find signs to Campus Nord, where the Campus Treff is also located. From Emil-Figge-Strasse, entrance no. 18 and from Vogelspothsweg entrance no. 23 lead to parking spaces near the venue.

From Dortmund main station, take the S-Bahn "S1" in the direction of Solingen on track 7 to the stop "Dortmund-Universität" (price level A). The S-Bahn runs every 15 minutes during peak hours on weekdays and takes about 6 minutes. From Düsseldorf, the S-Bahn runs every 30 minutes. Directly at the S-Bahn station you will find the CDI building, which houses the Center for Research on Education and School Development.

One of the university's landmarks is the H-Bahn, which has two terminuses on the North Campus. One is located directly above the S-Bahn station and is easily accessible from it by elevators. The other is located in the center of Campus North at the bridge between the University Library and the Mensa, right next to the Audimax. The H-Bahn runs from here to the South Campus and the Eichlinghofen district.

Dortmund has an airport connected with some destinations in Central Europe. There are regular flights, for example, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden, Katowice, Krakow, Leipzig-Halle, London, Munich, Nuremberg, Paris, Poznan, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich. For the approximately 20 kilometers from the Dortmund airport to the campus, you can take the bus to the main train station and from there the S-Bahn. Faster is usually the use of a cab. Far more international flight connections are offered by the Rhine-Ruhr Airport in Düsseldorf, about 60 kilometers away, which can be reached directly by S-Bahn from the university station.