[Commlist] postdoctoral researcher - teaching argumentation to enrich exchanges in educational platform forums

UCLouvain is looking for a post-doctoral researcher in linguistics, 
communication or education
• Full-time (100%) post-doctoral fellowship for one year, renewable once 
(max. 2 years) • Start date: October 2022 at the latest
This proposal for a postdoctoral position is part of the 
multidisciplinary project MOOCresearch2.0. "A mixed and 
multi-disciplinary approach to socio-cognitive conflicts in online 
learning environments", co-directed by Mariane Frenay (GIRSEF), François 
Lambotte (Social Media Lab), Magali Paquot (CECL) and Valérie Swaen 
(LOURIM). The MOOCresearch2.0 project is based on the idea that 
discussion forums in MOOCs offer a unique opportunity to support the 
social aspects of learning. Educational research has indeed shown that 
controversies and conflicts over ideas are the source of conceptual 
change and learning (Limon, 2001; Vosniadou, 2017). More specifically, 
learning concepts in the humanities and social sciences requires 
exchanges, questioning and argumentation to overcome common sense 
representations and to understand scientific concepts, which sometimes 
have fluctuating contours (e.g., essentially contested concepts such as 
democracy, human rights, corporate social responsibility) and are 
embedded in controversies (e.g., climate change) (Gallie, 1956; Buchs, 
Darnon, Quiamzade, Mugny & Butera, 2008). However, in a MOOC, discussion 
forums are the only space where it is possible to provoke questioning 
and learn from social exchanges.
The overall aim of the MOOCresearch2.0 project is therefore to deepen 
our understanding of the dynamic process of social learning on online 
education platforms by studying the emergence, development and 
resolution of socio-cognitive conflicts in MOOC discussion forums. With 
this new understanding, the project also intends to develop pedagogical 
devices and instructions that elicit socio-cognitive conflicts and their 
cognitive resolution, via argumentation and constructive controversy in 
a cooperative environment.
See https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/ilc/moocresearch2-0.html 
for a short presentation of the different projects currently underway 
and the teams involved.
The postdoctoral researcher will focus more particularly on aspects 
related to argumentation and constructive controversy in an online 
educational device. The ability to debate and argue in a discussion 
forum is most often taken for granted in MOOC courses (teachers ask 
their students to discuss, debate, argue, etc. but students are not 
taught these complex skills). The exchanges in discussion forums are 
generally poor, and there is often little interaction and even less 
engagement with the ideas put forward by peers. When there is 
interaction, it is often in the form of a validation or not of a peer's 
contribution (I agree with you, I disagree with you) but these exchanges 
are rarely argumentative (students do not necessarily appeal to factual 
arguments, external sources, etc.).
The project aims to develop students' argumentative skills and written 
debating skills to foster rich, constructive and learning-oriented 
exchanges in MOOC discussion forums. The first stage of the project will 
be the development of a teaching module that will aim to make explicit 
the expected types of interactions in discussion forums. The module will 
focus on the quality of argumentation, both in its content-related 
aspects (e.g. the importance of qualified and guaranteed assertions, the 
reliability and quality of sources, the consideration of previous 
arguments) and in its social aspects (respect for the other and for 
divergent positions, politeness). The device will then be implemented in 
a set of UCLouvain MOOCs that use forums to discuss topics that should 
lead to debate. Several approaches will be used to measure the effect of 
the device on the interactions in the forums. The evaluation will focus 
on the quantity and quality of the content of exchanges between 
participants in these forums. It will be largely qualitative, but one 
avenue of development is the automation of the evaluation of the outputs.

Qualifications and skills required The candidate will meet the following 
qualifications: • Have a doctoral thesis in Linguistics, Communication, 
Educational Sciences or equivalent. • In view of the tasks to be 
performed, the following skills are required o Excellent linguistic and 
communication skills o Methodological skills in setting up experiments 
and analysing results o Pedagogical skills  • Excellent oral and written 
English (minimum level: C1) • Knowledge of French is an asset but not a 
requirement
• Excellent research profile (publications, conferences, etc.) • 
Research and/or professional experience in one of the following areas is 
a plus: university pedagogy, online teaching, social media, 
argumentation • Autonomy, sense of teamwork, ability to listen and 
analyse needs, responsiveness.
 Conditions of engagement This postdoctoral fellowship is subject to 
the following conditions: • The candidate will be in a situation of 
international mobility, i.e. he/she will not have resided or worked in 
Belgium for more than 24 months during the 36 months immediately 
preceding the first fellowship period • One year grant, renewable once 
(total of two years on the project). • The candidate will receive a 
postdoctoral fellowship (starting at approximately 2600 euros net per 
month). • This position requires residence in Belgium for the duration 
of the mandate.
 Application form Application deadline: 6 July
The application file should include : • a detailed curriculum vitae in 
English including the various qualifications and skills required as well 
as publications and other academic and scientific experience; • a letter 
of motivation in English (maximum 2 pages), describing your interest in 
the position, how your profile meets the job description and the project 
objectives, etc.; • a letter of reference in French or English. • A 
writing sample (preferably a published article or a chapter of the PhD 
thesis). Successful applicants will be invited to participate in an 
(online) interview in July. If you are interested in this position, 
please send your application to Magali Paquot by email 
(mailto:(magali.paquot /at/ uclouvain.be)).




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