“Schools of Education as Agents of Change: Coping with Diversity in India and Germany Through a Collaborative, Interactive and Blended-Learning Environment – a Pre-test Study”

Abstract

This paper discusses a multi-method Pre-test focusing on students’ attitudes and preferences towards collaborative, interactive and blended-learning courses in an intercultural setting. These courses were developed and taught in the context of a project funded by the Baden-Württemberg-STIPENDIUM for University Students – BWS plus programme, a programme of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung. The project promotes collaboration between Dr. Ambedkar University (AUD) in Delhi, India, and Ludwigsburg University of Education (LUE), Germany. In this paper, we present a critical reflection on the initial stages of the collaborative, interactive and blended courses taught as part of the project, using a triangulation pre-test that combines the methods of quantitative evaluation research and qualitative interviews. By doing so, our study assesses current practice and analyzes the above-mentioned courses closely and in detail, thus seeking to investigate how students deal with a collaborative and blended-learning environment, especially in an intercultural, international and digital setting.