Summary
Within the general context of the DUAL-T project, this research project is dedicated to answer the following specific questions: What kind of help do apprentices need in the different learning contexts ? What kind of help do apprentices ask for as they become more competent ? Can technology offer appropriate ways for apprentices to receive remote help when they cannot have it directly from their co-workers ? Does the feeling of being able to find “just-in-time” and appropriate help foster the development of autonomy and self-regulated learning among the apprentices ?
Data used to answer these questions are gathered using several complementary methods. Beside ethnographic observations of apprentices at work, we also will record and analyze the content of on-line calls which apprentices will be invited to pass to an expert while working in their companies, making their homework or revising after a lesson, whenever they encounter a problem. Finally, interviews of the apprentices, their teachers at school and their supervisors in the companies will be made to appreciate the development of apprentices’ autonomy and self-regulated learning. Comparisons will be made with apprentices of the same branch not using these technologies.