The paper will discuss potentials of digital media to support student engagement and student production in Danish upper secondary education with a specific focus on group work and collaboration.
With the latest school reform, upper secondary education in Denmark has experienced an increased focus on problem-based and self-governed work of students. The paper is based on a large research project involving 800 students and around 100 teachers from 15 schools. The empirical study is based on observations, interviews with teachers and students from the involved schools and on a survey with answers from 500 students and 65 teachers. Within the period from 2010 to 2011, the involved schools have experimented with new teaching methods and integration of different kinds of digital media. Based on these empirical studies, the paper will discuss how students can utilize digital media to support group work and collaboration, including joint production of digital media. First, the paper briefly will present a system theoretical inspired approach to the key concept of communication, teaching and knowledge construction. Second the empirical method and design from the qualitative and quantitative studies, based on the system theoretical approach will be described. Third, the findings from the qualitative, and quantitative studies will be presented.
The paper concludes that the study demonstrates changes in the way group work is organised by the students using digital media, and a tendency to develop student engagement. Further more the study shows evidence of increased transparency between students and teachers, developments within student roles, a focus on new forms of assignments and potentially exams, and increased openness and sharing among students. Hence innovation trends within digital media usage and developments of teaching methods in Danish secondary education.