| Problem | The duration and the timing of a VCL project has to be in harmony with the learning aims, the task, as well as any organisational needs of participating institutions. Especially if several (international) partners are participating, this can be a difficult task. |
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| Framework | complex task; case study; participation of institutions with different academic schedules |
| Solution | When planning the time and duration of a VCL project, following milestones and phases need to be taken into account: -Kick-off session that formally starts the project -Team finding or team building phase -Any milestones connected to the task structure -Case-study-solution phase -Final session which officially ends the project and where project results can be presented The actual timing and duration of these milestones and phases are influenced by several factors: The timing of the kick-off session’’ and the final session’’ depends on the administrative structures of the participating institutions such as -term start and end -examination period dates -final date for receiving the project grades -holidays As some universities work in semesters whereas others may work with trimesters and as the term start and end dates can differ significantly among countries, this can place rigorous restrictions on the maximal duration of a VCL project. A VCL project should run for at least four weeks. Longer projects are generally possible, although if a project is longer than 10 weeks participants may find it hard to stay motivated, especially if they are not used to working regularly for one course over a longer time period (some students are used to a shallow/passive participation combined with a short and intensive exam preparation at the end of the course). Once the available period for the VCL project have been determined, the partners should agree on the actual date and time of the kick-off and final sessions. These typically take place in the form of video conferences and should thus not be too long (60 minutes appear to be appropriate), as students tend to have a shorter attention span. The available project duration can then be divided into a team building and case-solution phase, in accordance to the learning aims and the task in view. Further division of the case-solution phase and the assignment of milestones can also be carried out. It should be noted that the team-building phase has an important influence on the project and should hence be timed with deliberation. Simply eliminating or shortening this phase to provide a longer case-solution time may have negative results, as students will have to go through the necessary team-building (forming, norming, storming) while already struggling with the task. When planning the length of the team-building phase, following points ought to be considered: -Are the participants already acquainted?’’ If the participants already know each other, they tend to form teams quickly and require only a short or perhaps eve no team-building phase. Participants who are strangers will need time to get to know each other and they may need time to overcome strangeness and shyness. -What does the overall participant population look like?’’ If participants will be expected to choose their teams themselves (e.g. based of profiles or applications), they will need more time for this phase if they have to deal with a large, heterogeneous participant population. In order to help the groups come together, they can be assigned special tasks, such as creating a group agreement, or even more playful task such as choosing a team name or a logo. The use of such tasks has to be taken into account when planning the length of the team building phase. The length of the case-solution phase is directly connected to the complexity of the task. Because the length of the overall project is often given by the academic schedules of the partners, the available time for the case-solution can be derived directly once the length of the team-building phase is set. The task then has to agree in complexity with the time available to the participants. Project duration = team building phase + case-solution phase If the case study or task is to be divided into further subtasks and milestones provided, then the necessary workload should be considered. Rather than dividing the case-study time into equal parts, it should be divided proportionally to the expected workflow for the subtasks. Differences in efficiency should also be considered, e.g. team will be more efficient towards the end of the project, when they know each other well. Detailed planning of the tasks can be carried out by the group. |
| References | Organization of the Team Assignment Setting the Task Extent of provided materials/documents |