Research questions explored
LabNbook is a platform resulting from research in didactics of experimental sciences. It is also a support for the exploration of significant questions in the field:
- Does a digital tool, specifically designed for student-centered pedagogies, act as a vehicle for pedagogical transformation? If so, what types of change occur?
- How to support the activity of students engaged in the cognitively complex tasks of the experimental cycle: design of experiments, modelling of experimental data? What learning is targeted and induced during such activities?
- What analyses of activity traces (learning analytics) can be used to build useful indicators for teachers and students? How to present these indicators in a dashboard?
Conduct of research
The extensive use of LabNbook at high school and higher education allows us to conduct our research in an ecological environment. This systemic approach ensures results that are representative of real-world use and allows us to continuously improve the platform. We follow the principles of Design-Based Research. The research actions are conducted according to a longitudinal evaluation process, in order to identify changes in practices:
- before using LabNbook: the objective is to know the expectations and preconceptions of the users on the platform,
- during use: we study the actual students and teachers use of the platform,
- after use: we look at the evolutions in the pedagogical uses.