Work

A promising methodology. Assessing the pedagogical value of hackathons

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Hackathons have become increasingly popular in higher education, although prior research about their use in the higher education sector is limited in scope and does not link the new pedagogy to learning theories. In contrast to the main literature in this field, our research adopts a conceptual rather than an empirical focus and is built on two comparative analyses. The first of these is a placement of hackathons within learning theories, in particular inquiry-based learning, experiential learning, challenge-based learning, problem-based and project-based learning. The second is a comparative analysis of hackathons with other community-based methodologies, that is, service-learning, challenge-based learning and community-based research, with which many educators already identify. Hence, our study lays the ground for assessing the pedagogical value of hackathons in higher education and provides a methodological comparison for educators, who aim to use this type of pedagogy in their applied coursework.

Source: Active Learning in Higher Education

DOI: 10.1177/14697874251330793

Authors: Katharina Resch, Sabine Freudhofmayer, María-Jesús Martínez-Usarralde

Institutions: University of Vienna, University of Education Upper Austria, Pädagogische Hochschule Wien, Universitat de València

Language: English

Topic: Biomedical and Engineering Education

Subfield: Biomedical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,900