Collaborative action research through technologically mediated agoras

Abstract

The study presented in this article forms part of a wider project promoting collaboration between junior researchers from different universities with the objective of rethinking and improving teaching practice in relation to the use of technology. The article describes research carried out during the 2012/13 academic year aimed at developing collaborative action research through technologically mediated agoras involving students from three Spanish universities. The main results of this study show that junior researchers improved their teaching practice through technologically mediated inside and outside agoras. In addition, the transformation of university classrooms into agoras enabled the negotiated reconstruction of knowledge for the analysis of good practice in the use of technology. Likewise, these agoras helped reduce limitations by breaking down the barriers of time, distance and resources for sharing findings and limitations between junior researchers. Furthermore, they pave the way for improvements and their implementation in learning processes during initial teacher training.

Keywords:

• Collaborative action research
• information and communication technology
• initial teacher training
• innovation
• junior researchers
• agoras

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Educational Technology University Network (RUTE in Spanish) for the funding received for the development of this project. The project was coordinated by the University of Cantabria and researchers from the University of Extremadura and the University of the Basque Country under the title ‘Research Project for reflecting on the improvement of university teaching through the use of ICT’.