Introducing an external mentor in an international Open Ended Group Project

An International Open Ended Group Project collaboration has been running for several years and the very nature of the setting inspires constant reflection and adjustments. These are based on active involvement in education research, and especially theories of learning. Open Ended Group Projects (OEGPs) are based on students taking an active role in both choosing what to do and how to do it. This might however prove too difficult for some students and a need for scaffolding has been noted. Introduction of an external mentor is described and analyzed in this paper as is the effect of introducing relevant research frameworks, to support the project leaders in the offering of the course during the fall semester 2008. The paper reviews a pioneering use of the Collaborative Technology Fit framework. This research tool aimed to highlight aspects of leadership and technology, and to help the students to run the project in a manner consistent with the ideas behind using OEGPs.