CLEAR: Connecting Research and Practice (to participate in this session, bring your own laptop!)

ABSTRACT Rapidly evolving societal needs are pushing teachers at all levels of education to adapt their teaching methods. However, while the literature on effective teaching and learning methods constantly grows and evolves, the gap between research and practice remains significant. One step towards bridging that gap is the development of a clearinghouse of engineering education research (CLEER). CLEER aims to simplify how engineering educators interact with research findings and best practice examples by providing a curated database of high-quality engineering education resources supported by large-language-model-supported summaries. In this workshop, the participants will have the opportunity to explore the first version of the CLEER platform, and we will work together to define the guidelines for curating CBL resources and the structure of general summaries. 1BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE The gap between research and practice is a longstanding educational issue (Anwer & Reiss, 2023; Vanderlinde & Van Braak, 2010). The disconnect stems largely from the disparity between knowledge about education and knowledge for educational practice (Hordern, 2018). While thoughtful engagement with educational practice can improve teachers' practices (Cain, 2016), teachers often do not perceive it as applicable to their educational contexts (Broekkamp & Van Hout-Wolters, 2007; Gore & Gitlin, 2004). Moreover, teachers face multiple barriers that hinder their engagement with educational research, including time constraints, motivation, complex language, and an overwhelming amount of resources (Cain, 2016; Gore & Gitlin, 2004; Hemsley-Brown & Sharp, 2003; Koski et al., 2023; Vanderlinde & Van Braak, 2010). Additionally, the mixed quality of available resources adds to teachers' frustrations in finding practical guidelines (La Velle & Flores, 2018). Challenge-based learning (CBL) is no exception regarding the gap between research and practice. A search on platforms like Web of Science and Scopus for "challenge-based learning engineering education" (accessed: 01 Nov 2024) yields over 17,000 and 7,000 hits, respectively. Furthermore, not all sources included in these results are reputable, for example predatory journals and proceedings from unknown conferences. Most of these papers are also several pages long, making it even more difficult for practitioners to find reliable guidelines for integrating CBL into their practice. There is an pressing need for platforms that distil complex research into concise practical, technical, and instructional advice that clearly highlights key evidence, implications, and conceptual questions (Cain, 2016; Gore & Gitlin, 2004). 2GOALS CLEAR (CLearinghouse of Engineering Education Research) aims to connect research and practice by offering a curated database of high-quality engineering education resources to engineering education research newcomers, engineering education practitioners, and pedagogical advisors. The CLEER platform contains three major parts: (1) a curated database of research and practice papers, (2) a semantic search tool for natural language queries, and (3) large-language-model-based summaries of selected resources to provide clear evidence-based answers. Each part of the platform is developed in collaboration with experts in the field of engineering education research. The intial version of the CLEER focuses on CBL. Thus, various CBL researchers and practitioners are included to improve the design of the platform. Participants in this workshop will work on refining the curation guidelines for CBL resources and designing the structure of the CLEER output to best fit the main messages of CBL. 3PLAN CLEER is a platform that aims to help newcomers and practitioners in engineering education bridge the gap between research and practice. The initial version CLEER focuses on CBL. Participants will work in small groups and utilise whiteboards and personal computers to facilitate interaction and collaboration. Workshop structure: -Introduction to CLEER (5 minutes, plenary): Overview of CLEER's objectives and functionalities, outlining how it seeks to support bridging the research-practice gap. -Testing the CLEER Database (10 minutes, individual): Individual exploration of the CLEER layout and functionalities. -Group Discussion: What Makes a CBL Resource Good/Valuable? (10 minutes, group + 5 min, plenary): Discuss characteristics that make CBL resources valuable for practitioners. -Group Exploration (10 minutes, group): Evaluate CBL resources and assess summaries and the ranking of returned resources. -Defining the Summary Guidelines (10 minutes, plenary): Combine feedback to create initial summary structuring guidelines. -Overall Feedback and Suggestions (10 minutes, plenary): Gather final thoughts for platform improvement and possible additional functionalities. 4MAIN TAKEAWAYS Participants in this workshop will significantly contribute to the refinement of the CLEER platform with their CBL-focused input. Their feedback on curation criteria and summary guidelines will improve users' interactions with the platform. At the same time, this workshop will allow the participants to reflect on their own views of CBL research literature and the challenges practitioners might face when trying to use these resources in their teaching practice. 5REFERENCES Anwer, M., & Reiss, M. (2023). Linking research and practice in education: The views of expert researchers in the field. Journal of Education for Teaching, 49(2), 326–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2022.2055447 Broekkamp, H., & Van Hout-Wolters, B. (2007). The gap between educational research and practice: A literature review, symposium, and questionnaire. Educational Research and Evaluation, 13(3), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803610701626127 Cain, T. (2016). Research utilisation and the struggle for the teacher's soul: A narrative review. European Journal of Teacher Education, 39(5), 616–629. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2016.1252912 Gore, J. M., & Gitlin, A. D. (2004). [RE]Visioning the academic–teacher divide: Power and knowledge in the educational community. Teachers and Teaching, 10(1), 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600320000170918 Hemsley-Brown, J., & Sharp, C. (2003). The Use of Research to Improve Professional Practice: A systematic review of the literature. Oxford Review of Education, 29(4), 449–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498032000153025 Hordern, J. (2018). Is powerful educational knowledge possible? Cambridge Journal of Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2018.1427218 Koski, A., Puustinen, M., Säntti, J., & Salminen, J. (2023). Exploring the research-based approach of academic classroom teachers in Finland. Teachers and Teaching, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2023.2208034 La Velle, L., & Flores, M. A. (2018). Perspectives on evidence-based knowledge for teachers: Acquisition, mobilisation and utilisation. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(5), 524–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2018.1516345 Vanderlinde, R., & Van Braak, J. (2010). The gap between educational research and practice: Views of teachers, school leaders, intermediaries and researchers. British Educational Research Journal, 36(2), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920902919257