The VaKE- Research Group

Purpose and intent

• To conduct research-based teaching in diverse educational settings
• To discuss in an open and supportive atmosphere about how to promote good teaching practice in own and colleague practice in higher education
• To write publications at national and international level
• To conduct research collaboration with other institutions and to promote the internationalization of NLA University College

VaKE, Values and Knowledge Education, is an open teaching method developed at the University of Salzburg, Austria and is grounded on a constructivist view of cognitive and ethical development. It aims developing the participants’ reflective autonomy in decision-making and individual responsibility. By using diverse dilemma stories, the participants are invited to acquire more knowledge and develop moral thinking about democratic values. A dilemma story always features a controversial decision-making process in a real-world environment where the different options at hand require compliance with opposing values. The learner placed at the heart of the learning process perform successive moral and content viability checks about beliefs and arguments produced throughout the discussions with peers. The method involves negotiation, mediation, promoting self-regulation, self-mediated learning, and self-awareness.

Members

• Associate professor Frédérique Brossard Børhaug, NLA University College (leader)
• Associate professor Ingvil Brügger Budal, NLA University College
• PhD student Helga Bjørke Harnes, NLA University College 
• Professor Solveig Magnus Reindal, NLA University College 
• Professor Line Alice Ytrehus, NLA University College 
• PhD student Cathrine Borgen, NLA University College
• Associate professor Kristin Rygg, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) 
• Associate professor Annelise Ly, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)

Paper presentations and Publications

Presentations at national and international conferences: SIG 13-seminar (2014), ECER (2014), NERA (2015), EARLI (2015), HDCA (2015), Mangfoldkonferanse (2016), VaKE and Beyond- (2016), Keynote, NIC conference (2016), IAIE (2017)
Publications: Brossard Børhaug & Brighenti (2018); Brossard Børhaug & Harnes (2018); Brossard Børhaug & Weyringer (in press).  

Network

• The international AvaKE-association(http://blog.vake.sbg.ac.at/avake-association-for-values-and-knowledge-education/)  - CASNAV, Evry, France, Marco Brighenti
• Scholars at university level and in adult training, France
• Dublin City University, Irland,  Senior lecturer Veronica Crosbie
• HDCA -research group, NLA University College, Norway