Online scaffolding in digital open badge-driven learning

ABSTRACT

Background: Digital open badges support competence-based professional development and criteria-based assessment of competences in digital environments. As the use of digital badges is growing rapidly, there is a need for in-depth pedagogical understanding to enable effective classroom application.

Purpose: This study seeks to examine the stages of online scaffolding and instructional badging in the digital open badge-driven learning process. We researched students’ experiences of scaffolding in badge-driven learning.

Sample: Data were collected from group online interviews (n = 6) with trained Finnish vocational teachers (n = 17) and students of vocational teacher education (n = 12) who earned badges of digital pedagogical competences in the national Professional Development (PD) programme called ‘Learning Online’.

Design and methods: This qualitative study was conducted via data-driven content analysis. Hierarchically inclusive relationships were analysed in an ongoing comparison to examine the stages of scaffolding in the digital open badge-driven learning process. The findings were mapped against Salmon’s five-stage-model to represent individual and group thinking regarding a specific concept at a particular time.

Findings: The findings reflect students’ experiences and provide insights regarding the optimal form of assessments and scaffolding. They further illustrate the challenges and opportunities involved in badge-driven learning from the perspective of professional development.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, we raise questions for further research and suggest a practical approach to help teachers to plan and conduct scaffolding and instructional badging in the digital open badge-driven learning environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Competence-based-approach
• digital open badges
• professional development
• scaffolding
• vocational teachers
• lifelong learning

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful feedback on this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.