Extended abstract
Introduction Within Challenge-based Learning (CBL) students engage in open challenges while working in interdisciplinary teams. In these teams, students frequently face different triggers, such as competing goals, the lack of shared mental models or the lack of ability to narrow down a challenge [1,2,3]. It is important that teams regulate these triggers as leaving them unresolved can lead to social conflicts which might harm the team's capacity to achieve its goals and objectives. However, students often experience difficulties with the socially shared regulation of these triggers, increasing the risk of social conflicts [4]. A theoretical framework about socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) indicates an interplay between (1) individual characteristics and the regulation of team members, (2) the team characteristics and socially shared regulation of the team, and (3) the characteristics of the learning context [5]. While these relationships have been researched in traditional learning contexts, an understanding of how they relate in the context of CBL is limited. Obtaining a better understanding of these relationships is important as the CBL context differs significantly from more traditional learning contexts as students spend more time in teams working on open challenges in a learning context that changes over time [1,6]. A study in the field of SSRL in CBL indicates that individual characteristics related to motivation, preferences towards interdisciplinary teamwork, and the level of experience with active learning approaches influence SSRL [7]. Other studies suggest that the characteristics of the CBL learning context such as the presence of ambiguity, the open-endedness of the challenge, and the different phases of a CBL project can influence SSRL and the triggers [1,6]. Underexplored is which types of triggers occur during the CBL course and how student teams regulate these triggers. Therefore, this research aims to understand the relationship between triggers and SSRL within the CBL context by answering the following research questions: 1. What kind of triggers do student teams experience during Challenge-based Learning? 2. What kind of shared regulatory strategies do students exhibit as a response to the triggers? 3. How do the team members experience triggers and shared regulatory responses as individuals and as a team? Methods This study will be conducted in a CBL course where students work in teams on an open challenge lasting 8-10 weeks. Data will be collected in an authentic context using a mixed-method approach to identify triggers and their relationship with SSRL throughout the different phases of a CBL project. The study will capture both the students' individual and team experiences with the triggers and SSRL. Participants The participants will be 2 teams of 4 to 5 bachelor engineering students. Data collection Data will be collected during the entire challenge, resulting in a rich data set with a high sample specificity, justifying the smaller sample size. Students are asked for informed consent. Weekly team meetings will be video-recorded providing insights into when and which triggers happen and how they relate to the shared regulation response. Interviews will be conducted with individual team members at the end of the course where segments of the video-recordings are used as prompts to let students reflect and elaborate on their individual and team experiences towards the triggers and SSRL. Data analysis Qualitative content analysis and quantitative lag sequential analysis are used to analyze the video recordings of the meetings. Video segments will be coded deductively using a coding scheme based on a trigger regulation framework [8]. This analysis identifies significant patterns and sequences between triggers and SSRL. A thematic analysis will be used to analyze the interview data to find themes and patterns between triggers, SSRL, individual, and team experiences. Expected research outcome This study results in an overview of when different triggers occur during various phases of a CBL project, their relationship to types of SSRL, and themes and patterns about how individual and team experiences relate to triggers and SSRL. The methods used, indirectly measure internal (meta)cognitive and emotional regulation processes, which may affect measurement accuracy. Educational impact The results can contribute to further research by providing insight into where SSRL most likely occurs, namely, after a trigger. This can help future researchers to more accurately measure SSRL as they have a better indication of where to measure it. The outcomes are also important for CBL educators and students as it can make them more aware of which events require which regulation response. This awareness will enable them to develop support mechanisms to respond to triggers. References 1. López-Fernández, D., Salgado Sánchez, P., Fernández, J., Tinao, I., & Lapuerta, V. (2020). Challenge-Based Learning in Aerospace Engineering Education: The ESA Concurrent Engineering Challenge at the Technical University of Madrid. Acta Astronautica, 171, 369–377. 2. Rodríguez-Chueca, J., Molina-García, A., García-Aranda, C., Pérez, J., & Rodríguez, E. (2020). Understanding sustainability and the circular economy through flipped classroom and challenge-based learning: An innovative experience in engineering education in Spain. Environmental Education Research, 26(2), 238–252. 3. Hadwin, A., Järvelä, S., & Miller, M. (2017). Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation, and Shared Regulation in Collaborative Learning Environments. In Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance (2nd ed.). Routledge. 4. Näykki, P., Järvelä, S., Kirschner, P. A., & Järvenoja, H. (2014). Socio-emotional conflict in collaborative learning—A process-oriented case study in a higher education context. International Journal of Educational Research, 68, 1–14. 5. Järvelä, S., Järvenoja, H., Malmberg, J., & Hadwin, A. F. (2013). Exploring Socially Shared Regulation in the Context of Collaboration. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 12(3), 267–286. 6. Jensen, M. B., Utriainen, T. M., & Steinert, M. (2018). Mapping remote and multidisciplinary learning barriers: Lessons from challenge-based innovation at CERN. European Journal of Engineering Education, 43(1), 40–54. 7. Doulougeri, K., Bombaerts, G., Bots, M., & Vermunt, J. D. (2023). Conceptualizing Socially Shared Regulation in Challenge-Based Learning 8. Järvelä, S., & Hadwin, A. (2024). Triggers for self-regulated learning: A conceptual framework for advancing multimodal research about SRL. Learning and Individual Differences, 115, 102526.
