New Perspectives for Internationalization in Higher Education: Collaborative Formats in Project-Based and Blended Learning Contexts

Abstract

This paper discusses a multi-method comparative intervention study on students’ attitudes and preferences toward project-based collaboration in blended-learning courses in an international setting. It focuses on the comparison of international collaboration in digital and in-person contexts. The discussed courses were developed and taught in the context of an international blended-learning collaboration in teacher education between Dr. Ambedkar University (AUD) in Delhi, India, and Ludwigsburg University of Education (LUE), Germany. The paper focuses on the analysis and discussion of students' experiences in project-based, collaborative, and blended learning settings. A special interest lies in data showing similarities and differences between digital and in-person collaboration between students. The study uses a multi-method design with qualitative interviews and different written feedback forms, concerning different aspects of the collaborative processes. By doing so, the study assesses current practice and analyzes the above-mentioned collaborative processes closely and in detail, thus seeking to investigate how students experience project-based, collaborative, and blended-learning environments, especially in an intercultural, international setting. The paper also discusses how the results can be constructively implemented to improve future blended-learning scenarios in the higher education sector.