Researchers Without Borders is an on line environment created to support collaborations to address the complex challenges we face in improving education and other social settings. RWB was created with a commitment to open research – the idea that those of us working to solve similar problems must share our work in progress in order to maximize the benefit to the field and increase the likelihood of making progress toward the challenges we face.
RWB also was developed in recognition of one of the greatest challenges we face in education and other fields – our lack of shared language and shared conceptual understanding. RWB projects often address problems for which our ability to communicate with one another is compromised (e.g. sustainability, fidelity, STEM) and strives to facilitate a community with common language and shared conceptual structures so that we can share information and data with one another and together develop knowledge in our fields.
RWB recognizes the importance of providing proper attribution to findings and emerging ideas in the field and is committed to doing so. The commitment to attribution resonates with the underlying theme of "attribution, not ownership." RWB seeks to develop a community of respected and respectful colleagues and professionals are generous with their work so that together we can make progress toward our common goals.
How RWB Came to Be: RWB was created when staff at CEMSE was conducting research on the factors that contribute to and inhibit sustainability of innovations in education. Among the findings of that work was the recognition that the dissemination mechanisms we typically use in research – paper publication and presentations – while serving a purpose, were not the most effective way to develop knowledge in a community. Our review of literature suggested that developing knowledge in a community that would be accepted and last required co-construction as well as shared language and conceptual understanding. Thus, we felt that in addition to using conventional dissemination methods to share our findings, we needed to examine a new approach for communicating findings with our colleagues in the field and RWB was born. It is still a fledgling site, but continues to grow and develop. We are working to develop it into a place that can realize the potential of all of the RWB community members in sharing information and solving collective challenges.
Click on a researcher's name to learn more about their background and current projects. Please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions or comments.
The Networks and Education project and Understanding STEM school Project were created in collaboration with colleagues at Ohio State University: