Research and Development Strategies
Creative Learning Lab is a research and development lab focused on finding meaningful correlations between the world of young people and teachers’ requirements.
Research
The research programme “Creative Learning” operates within four different research and design areas; 1) Playful Learning; 2) Collaborative Creation; 3) Media Literacy; and 4) Personal Fabrication. By clicking on the tabs below, you will find more information about each of the different themes and the associated research questions.
To answer research questions raised within these areas, Creative Learning Lab initiates small-scale R&D projects with different partners, creating a direct relationship with end users to test and develop prototypes and pilots. On many occasions, one research project leads directly to a new one. An example of this is the location-based history game Frequency 1550, which was followed by Games Atelier
Research process
Each project starts with a quick-scan of relevant literature, related case-studies, and educational theories which categorize the project within a clear, theoretical context and show the usability in the classroom. The educational concept is based on this quick-scan, thus forming the foundation for the upcoming design. During the process of development the projects are frequently tested by students and/or teachers, through organized evaluation sessions, development teams (users as co-designers) and usability tests. The observations and results not only guide the design process, but are also relevant in answering the posed research questions.
Collaboration with scientific institutions
The practice-based research conducted by Creative Learning Lab, is regularly connected to qualitative and quantitative scientific research. Together with
(University of Amsterdam) and
(University of Utrecht), close collaborations are established to research the cognitive (knowledge) and affective (motivation) effects of new methods within the educational field. An example is the research concerning learning effects of the mobile history game Frequency 1550.
The knowledge that is gained from different projects and collaborative efforts, is widely shared with the educational field. On this website you can find several academic papers and research reports of projects.
Research per expertise area
In the coming years, a series of publications will be published with reference to the four themes we addressed previously (Playful Learning, Collaborative Creation, Media Literacy and Personal Fabrication. The primary goal of these publications is to present a “state-of-the-art” overview of theories, literature and international best practice related to each theme.
