Blending authentic work projects and instructional assignments: An adaptation process

Abstract

This study examined the implementation of a situated-learning approach used in a nontraditional setting for an instructional technology course. Students were a cohort of corporate employees taking the course at their workplace and using authentic work projects for learning. Grounded-theory methodology was used to generate explanations about how participants crafted their projects with dual purposes: business performance improvements for the company and acquisition of knowledge and skills for the students. Research questions focused on what it was like to blend business and academic goals and requirements, what kinds of problems occurred, how they were solved, and what outcomes situated learning generated in this context. As projects began, business and academic goals and requirements seemed to align. As projects progressed, conflicts in goals and requirements were often identified and solved pragmatically. A process of adaptation was discovered as the key means to accomplish this blend.