Conceptual mapping as a form of trialogical learning intervention

Kari Kosonen, Liisa Ilomäki & Minna Lakkala

Esitys

The course described in the presentation is meant for the students currently working on their master or doctoral thesis. It aims at supporting this process from methodological point of view and explicating the solutions and practices of using qualitative research methods in authentic research efforts.

The main task for students was to investigate qualitative methodological problems and questions relating to their own thesis. Each participant chose a topic and these were then clustered so that students worked in pairs, and presented their own methodological solutions during the seminar meetings. Presentations were discussed during the seminar meetings. Presentation documents were sent to the technological learning environment (Knowledge Practices Environment, KPE; see www.kp-lab.org) a few days before the presentation. The other task for the students was to conceptualize their insights about qualitative research methods by creating and iteratively revising concept maps during their own time and during the face-to-face meetings on the basis of new knowledge and examples. This work was conducted also by the pairs. The concept maps were also published in the technological learning environment. The participants compared and reflected on each others'conceptual maps.

The presentation includes a description about how, besides the technological infrastructure, social, epistemological and cognitive components of the pedagogical infrastructure of the course expressed themselves in the course setting to ensure integrated and synergistic pedagogical conditions for the blended learning unit. The epistemological component included an assignment for the participants to create and held presentation on their on research studies or separate forms of qualitative methods as well as the use of various resources provided by the teacher. The social component involved joint comparison and reflections on the participants' conceptual maps and discussions on their presentations. The cognitive component was constituted by the participants' conceptual mapping activities, reflections on methodological solutions of the students' research cases as well as the teacher's expert comments on the students' ways to implement qualitative methods.