Embedding higher education into a Real-World Lab: A process-oriented analysis of Six Transdisciplinary Project Courses

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Richard Beecroft

Since the early days of the emerging research format of Real-world Labs (RwLs), higher education plays a vital role in them. Examples have been presented on teaching activities in RwLs, but the reasons for and evidence of their inclusion stays limited. To start a systematic discussion on the embedding of higher education in RwLs, this paper presents the case of six Transdisciplinary Project Courses carried out in the RwL "District Future-Urban Lab" in Karlsruhe/Germany. The paper presents the discourses on the role of learning in RwLs and compares it to those on Transition Labs and Urban Living Labs. To offer a new approach to address this aspect, the paper introduces a social practice perspective to map out the interrelations between an RwL and higher education therein. The detailed analysis of the processes is used to identify the potential of the RwL to support learning. It shows that all dimensions of social practice can be identified in the interplay between Real-world Lab and Transdisciplinary Project Courses, even though to a very different degree and in different phases. The text closes with lessons learned for teaching project courses in RwLs and similar labs.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer3798
ZeitschriftSustainability
Jahrgang10
Ausgabenummer10
ISSN2071-1050
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 20.10.2018

Bibliographische Notiz

Acknowledgments: I thank Marius Albiez, Kaidi Tamm and Miriam Friedrichs and all representatives of CSO initiatives involved in the courses—it was a great experience working together with you. I thank André Reichel for introducing me the to the social practice perspective, and the reviewers for insightful suggestions to improve this text substantially. I thank the Centre for Applied Cultural Research and General Studies for handling the administrative side of the courses, including subsequent tests and certificates for students. I acknowledge support by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts for funding of the underlying teaching activities and the support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Open Access Publishing Fund of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for the funding of publication fees.

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