Meet our Researchers: A Brief Interview With ...
VANESSA BRÄUER (contact: braeuer@leuphana.de)
Faculty of Education, Doctoral Research Group "Classroom Research"
Doctoral Thesis on “Self-generated drawings when working on geometric modelling tasks”
GS (Graduate School): At a family party, how would you – intergenerationally – explain your research project in two sentences?
For my doctoral thesis, I conducted a large study with students in which they were asked to work on complex geometric tasks and generate drawings to do so. Now I am investigating how the making of drawings is related to the way the students process these tasks.
GS: How did you come up with the topic of your doctoral thesis?
Initially, I was prompted to pursue this research topic by my current doctoral supervisor during my studies. He suggested the topic for my Bachelor’s thesis and I immediately enjoyed working on it. That is why I continued to pursue the topic in my Masters’ thesis and, finally, I followed up on it in my doctorate. Since then, I have always been looking at the issue from different perspectives.
GS: What do you enjoy the most about doing a doctorate and what annoys you the most?
I particularly enjoy the exchange with other researchers because you get to know new perspectives on your research. It is also a great pleasure for me to receive interesting results in my project. I also particularly enjoy having finished a chapter of my doctoral thesis. What annoys me the most is the need to organise and discipline myself.
GS: What is it like to do research amid Covid-19?
Since I’m in the middle of the writing process at the moment, the Corona crisis doesn’t affect me that much. I write at home rather than on campus. I do miss the exchange with colleagues, though, but this way I save (the relatively long) commuting time.
GS: After the doctorate, what will you have time for again: things that come up short right now?
Holidays and weekends – without having anything at the back of my mind. Actually, I have just been on holiday, but the thesis has always been lurking in the background.
GS: Did you turn an idea of your research project/ studies into reality so far?
At the moment, I teach at a school, as well. To be honest, I cannot apply the specific results of my doctoral thesis one-to-one at school. Nevertheless, the subject-scientific skills and findings I have gained during my doctorate help me to prepare lessons well in terms of subject matter as well as didactics. At the same time, I also gain new perspectives on my topic – drawing and visualisation – through practice.
GS: What is the connecting factor between your research topic and (educational) practice in your opinion?
Due to their complexity, modelling tasks often pose great challenges to many learners. My research therefore aims to shed light on the extent to which sketching can help students to tackle geometric modelling tasks.
If you are interested in presenting your research project in a brief interview in GRADSCHOOL NOTES // DOCS, please write an email to: graduate.community@leuphana.de
