Month 3 of ScaWoMo was largely concerned with a first consolidation of the research conducted in the project so far. I took the chance to summarize the findings on scaffolding in a conceptual modeling context in an article I co-authored with my host Stijn Hoppenbrouwers, which we eventually submitted to the PoEM (Practice of Enterprise Modeling) working conference, which will be held in Sweden in November. The article suggests a first version of a design theory in the form of a framework that allows to examine modeling workshop design from a scaffolding perspective. The results of the evaluation we conducted with based on three real-world cases will be picked up in the next research steps to revise the framework and eventually make it applicable for workshop design. The results presented in the paper basically matches what was envisioned to be the outcome of ScaWoMo work package 2 — which is due in September, so we are quite on schedule.

Aside this, I started to examine the potential of scaffolding interactive refinement of conceptual models during virtual execution, which is in the focus of work package 3. Making use of the UeberFlow workflow engine developed by my colleagues back in Linz, I have built some initial functional and UI-prototypes to do some early feasibility testing. From what I found so far, the envisioned way of implementation seems to be worth to be pursued further. The actual implementation of the prototype is what will likely keep me busy throughout fall —by now, I’ve put the development on standby over summer.

In a third stream of activities in July, I’ve started to gain benefit from my extended academic network in Nijmegen and Arnhem. My project proposal suggests that one side effect of my stay at Radboud will be a broadened scope of methodological approaches in academic teaching. Indeed, I had the chance to have some discussion with very experienced colleagues here, who pointed me at the flipped classroom concept for teaching in a design science context. I have deepened this input by doing quite a bit of reading on the topic and decided to adopt it for the re-design of my lecture on Communications Engineering (distributed social-technical systems design) for the next term. I have started to prepare according materials in the form of lecture notes that will be made available as Open Educational Resources. Aside this, I’m planning to support the flipped classroom by providing pre-recorded video presentations of the lecture content and focus on discussions and interactive group work during the classes in fall.

As far as dissemination is concerned, I have been invited to give a presentation at a seminar on collaborative decision making in October organized by Eric Proper of the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology. The presentation will give an overview of my research over the last years with a focus on the recent developments on scaffolding work modeling. Aside this, my article submitted to ICKM has been accepted for publication and presentation at the conference, which will take place just a week after the seminar in Luxembourg. As a side activity, I will also participate in Momentum Congress in Hallstatt, where I will discuss my experiences with self-directed learning in academic courses.

Next month to a large part will be dedicated to recreation and spending time with my family back in Austria, as a lot of my co-researchers here in the Netherlands will by unavailable, too. In the two final weeks of August, people at Radboud and HAN will be back from their vacations and I will pick up my work on the interactive scaffolds again.