To troubleshoot TCK problems independently, participants need to understand
how the ICT system works and to be confident and committed in searching and
trying out solutions. Taking the computer performance test can be a first step to learn
such troubleshooting skills.
At the beginning of the present research, we defined the unique objectives of the
course to be developed and a clear view about design criteria. Based on these
objectives and criteria, we chose the design research approach to develop, evaluate
and optimise the course as an educational product through research, and this
approach worked well. We started this research and design project with the pedagogical principles and concluded it with these principles as the core of the basic
design of the ICT in IBSE course. These principles can be considered as independent, validated educational products, which teacher educators can “buy into” and use
for broader aims than only ICT in IBSE integration. Pedagogical principles establish
the theoretical model underlying the course design, provide guidelines and structure
to the (re)design, implementation, evaluation and optimisation process, and help to
communicate the design research to others. The role of pedagogical principles in
design research is indeed essential. Moreover, in our design research, we incorporated (a) a “robustness test” step to try out the course under routine conditions and
(b) a “generalizability and transferability testing” step to tryout the course in
different programmes or even countries. We achieved successful outcomes with
these steps. Consequently, we strongly recommend robustness and generalisability/
transferability tests as part of design research.
Main limitations of the present research were that it only measured the quality of
one theory-practice cycle, that it did not have an opportunity to measure the further
development of participants in later ICT in IBSE activities in their classrooms, and
that it did not measure pupil results. Learning to teach the IBSE way takes a longer
trajectory than this course, and so our measurements only show the start of the
participants’ development. For the same reason, there was no point in measuring
pupil achievement, as improvement of their inquiry skills would only become visible
after a series of lessons rather than one lesson.
It is common practice that each teacher-education programme invents its own
wheels. Our research outcomes through the development/adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of the ICT in IBSE course in the Netherlands, Slovakia, and
Vietnam indicate that with careful design and well-chosen pedagogical principles,
courses and other educational products could be fine-tuned and shared. The fourth
and fifth Dutch course and the second Vietnamese course were implemented by the
local course instructors without any involvement of the researcher. The third Slovak
course is planned within a new large-scale national project, which is aimed at
implementation of ICT tools across science subjects in Slovakia. The Dutch ICT
in IBSE course (implemented with five batches already) is unique, since it is the only
teacher-education course offered by several Dutch universities together, as far as we
know. The Vietnamese ICT in IBSE course is unique as it is the only Master course
of which design and materials were entirely developed outside the university. These
institutionalisations do not happen often for general educational projects. These
show not only the practical relevance of the basic design of the ICT in IBSE course
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T. Ellermeijer and T.-B. Tran
how the ICT system works and to be confident and committed in searching and
trying out solutions. Taking the computer performance test can be a first step to learn
such troubleshooting skills.
At the beginning of the present research, we defined the unique objectives of the
course to be developed and a clear view about design criteria. Based on these
objectives and criteria, we chose the design research approach to develop, evaluate
and optimise the course as an educational product through research, and this
approach worked well. We started this research and design project with the pedagogical principles and concluded it with these principles as the core of the basic
design of the ICT in IBSE course. These principles can be considered as independent, validated educational products, which teacher educators can “buy into” and use
for broader aims than only ICT in IBSE integration. Pedagogical principles establish
the theoretical model underlying the course design, provide guidelines and structure
to the (re)design, implementation, evaluation and optimisation process, and help to
communicate the design research to others. The role of pedagogical principles in
design research is indeed essential. Moreover, in our design research, we incorporated (a) a “robustness test” step to try out the course under routine conditions and
(b) a “generalizability and transferability testing” step to tryout the course in
different programmes or even countries. We achieved successful outcomes with
these steps. Consequently, we strongly recommend robustness and generalisability/
transferability tests as part of design research.
Main limitations of the present research were that it only measured the quality of
one theory-practice cycle, that it did not have an opportunity to measure the further
development of participants in later ICT in IBSE activities in their classrooms, and
that it did not measure pupil results. Learning to teach the IBSE way takes a longer
trajectory than this course, and so our measurements only show the start of the
participants’ development. For the same reason, there was no point in measuring
pupil achievement, as improvement of their inquiry skills would only become visible
after a series of lessons rather than one lesson.
It is common practice that each teacher-education programme invents its own
wheels. Our research outcomes through the development/adaptation, implementation, and evaluation of the ICT in IBSE course in the Netherlands, Slovakia, and
Vietnam indicate that with careful design and well-chosen pedagogical principles,
courses and other educational products could be fine-tuned and shared. The fourth
and fifth Dutch course and the second Vietnamese course were implemented by the
local course instructors without any involvement of the researcher. The third Slovak
course is planned within a new large-scale national project, which is aimed at
implementation of ICT tools across science subjects in Slovakia. The Dutch ICT
in IBSE course (implemented with five batches already) is unique, since it is the only
teacher-education course offered by several Dutch universities together, as far as we
know. The Vietnamese ICT in IBSE course is unique as it is the only Master course
of which design and materials were entirely developed outside the university. These
institutionalisations do not happen often for general educational projects. These
show not only the practical relevance of the basic design of the ICT in IBSE course
158
T. Ellermeijer and T.-B. Tran