Abstract:

The “Real Classroom Lab” (RCL) is an innovative initiative for building teachers’ digital competence by inviting companies to try out new educational technologies together with real teachers and students in authentic classroom settings. The project was carried out in Sweden over the past two years and enrolled three schools in the same municipality, from primary to upper secondary school, with a focus on STEM learning. As the project is coming to an end, the purpose of this paper is to provide a researcher’s perspective from participating in an on-going evaluation of the full project (Sep. 2017 – Sep. 2019). The overarching challenge has been to develop a systematic approach, or method, for effective collaboration between schools, the edtech industry and the academy (which provided scientific support). The common objective was to create a meeting ground that facilitates knowledge exchange of innovative ICT solutions and how they work with the target users (teachers and students) that ultimately lead to increased digital competence among teachers, and better results in STEM subjects for students on all levels. The schools enrolled in the RCL project opened up as test beds for a variety of companies and products, ranging from AI-based software in math to activity bracelets and microbit computing.

The present paper focuses on issues, lessons learned and experiences that can be brought together by some encompassing research questions, such as: How is “digital competence” captured and developed by the project? What knowledge needs are made visible as teachers try out new technologies in practice? How can we measure learning from the project activities, such as by pilot studies and test protocols? What is the value of a scientifically based approach and how does research contribute to answering these questions for all parties concerned? Focusing on the last question, this is the first time the results of the RCL project are communicated to a wider community in education.

Keywords:

Digital competence, STEM, reality lab, educational technology, practice-based learning, test bed.