Report on outcomes of empirical studies
16 März 2009
Finland
This deliverable has been produced in the context of the Knowledge-
Practice Laboratory (KP-Lab) project. KP-Lab focuses on innovative
practices of working with knowledge in higher education, teacher
training, and workplaces. Participants of WP10 are University of Helsinki,
University of Oslo and Pöyry Forest Industry representing both
researchers and practitioners. WP10 explores knowledge practices in
workplaces to understand more of the ways professionals create, use,
communicate, and embed knowledge in their work. Such understandings
will be made available for subsequent problem-solving in individual and
collaborative knowledge advancement. In a longer term perspective this
allows to explore professionals’ knowledge creation and production
processes during boundary crossing between workplaces, from
workplaces to education, and from higher education to workplaces.
In this deliverable we report empirical findings from the case studies that
are currently active in the portfolio of cases. We draw attention to aspects
of artefact production, knowledge creation and practice transformation.
In our studies knowledge-creation and transformation of practice rests in
the interplay of tools, activities and actors. In the cases reported here, the
tools provide either a) arena for productive interactions and knowledge
creation, b) resources for knowledge creation and practice transformation
or c) means for data collection and analytic work. The activities points to
many examples where new structures of participation in knowledge work
are exemplified as boundary crossing or horizontal movements as
professional contribute their expertise to solve open-ended problems.
The findings in the cases studies reported here will also be a resource in
the continuation of work as more integrated studies; leading and satellite
studies with extended pilots. In addition, the outcomes of the studies can
feed into refinement of process-sensitive methodologies, exploitation and
refinement of the KP-Lab Reference Model and elaboration of
pedagogical models for open-ended, object-oriented inquiry as explained
in pedagogical R&D in the revised research plan.
Practice Laboratory (KP-Lab) project. KP-Lab focuses on innovative
practices of working with knowledge in higher education, teacher
training, and workplaces. Participants of WP10 are University of Helsinki,
University of Oslo and Pöyry Forest Industry representing both
researchers and practitioners. WP10 explores knowledge practices in
workplaces to understand more of the ways professionals create, use,
communicate, and embed knowledge in their work. Such understandings
will be made available for subsequent problem-solving in individual and
collaborative knowledge advancement. In a longer term perspective this
allows to explore professionals’ knowledge creation and production
processes during boundary crossing between workplaces, from
workplaces to education, and from higher education to workplaces.
In this deliverable we report empirical findings from the case studies that
are currently active in the portfolio of cases. We draw attention to aspects
of artefact production, knowledge creation and practice transformation.
In our studies knowledge-creation and transformation of practice rests in
the interplay of tools, activities and actors. In the cases reported here, the
tools provide either a) arena for productive interactions and knowledge
creation, b) resources for knowledge creation and practice transformation
or c) means for data collection and analytic work. The activities points to
many examples where new structures of participation in knowledge work
are exemplified as boundary crossing or horizontal movements as
professional contribute their expertise to solve open-ended problems.
The findings in the cases studies reported here will also be a resource in
the continuation of work as more integrated studies; leading and satellite
studies with extended pilots. In addition, the outcomes of the studies can
feed into refinement of process-sensitive methodologies, exploitation and
refinement of the KP-Lab Reference Model and elaboration of
pedagogical models for open-ended, object-oriented inquiry as explained
in pedagogical R&D in the revised research plan.