Making use of educational research in higher education – academic teachers engaged in translational research

Authors

  • Torgny Roxå Lund University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.6.2.6

Keywords:

Translational research, academic teachers, educational research, early career academics

Abstract

Why do not academic teachers more frequently use results from education, psychology, cognitive sciences, and related fields while planning, carrying out, and evaluating teaching? It has been argued that if only they did, education would improve. It has further been argued that results from these fields are not communicated in ways suitable for teachers from other disciplines, and therefore there is a need for translation. If the results from these fields were translated, it has been proposed, their use would increase with positive effects on education. A question remains: who should do the translation? This study investigates whether early career academics in engineering and technology can find, translate, and make relevant use of research into education, psychology, and related fields within written reports. Results show they can. Therefore, it is argued, translation itself will not increase the use of this type of research. Other explanations for the problem are discussed.

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Author Biography

Torgny Roxå, Lund University

Torgny Roxå is an associate professor at Lund University Faculty of Engineering, Sweden. He has worked for 30 years as an academic developer.

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Published

2018-09-25

How to Cite

Roxå, Torgny. 2018. “Making Use of Educational Research in Higher Education – Academic Teachers Engaged in Translational Research”. Teaching and Learning Inquiry 6 (2):67-80. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.6.2.6.