HOW CATER WORKS
A practical overview of how CATER studies, supports, and strengthens technology education research through meta-research, infrastructure development, collaborative activity, and capacity building.
From concept to activity
CATER is organised around four connected activity areas: meta-research, infrastructure, accelerator, and capacity building. Together, these areas describe how the centre studies technology education research, develops shared resources, supports collaborative activity, and contributes to the wider development of the field.
Meta-Research
CATER conducts research on technology education research itself, examining how the field produces knowledge, uses methods, builds evidence, and communicates its contributions.
Activities
- Reviews of research methods and publication patterns
- Studies of transparency, replicability, and research credibility
- Analyses of theory, evidence, and methodological development
- Field-level mapping of research topics and traditions
- Methodological and conceptual agenda papers
Researcher engagement
- Contribute to reviews, evidence maps, and field analyses
- Identify methodological challenges within the field
- Collaborate on studies of research quality and credibility
- Share datasets, coding frameworks, or analytic approaches
- Use findings to inform research design, supervision, and publication
Potential outputs
- Meta-research publications
- Field reviews and evidence maps
- Methodological agenda papers
- Reports on research quality and transparency
- Stronger understanding of how technology education research develops
Infrastructure
CATER develops and shares research infrastructure that can support stronger, more reusable, and more cumulative technology education research.
Activities
- Open tools and digital resources
- Shiny apps and research platforms
- Validated scales and measurement instruments
- Research protocols and templates
- Shared datasets, exemplars, and methods resources
Researcher engagement
- Contribute tools, measures, or protocols
- Pilot resources in local contexts
- Collaborate on validation and refinement
- Adapt resources for new populations or settings
- Share methodological decisions and implementation lessons
Potential outputs
- Open research tools
- Translated methods
- Shared protocols
- Methods publications
- Stronger foundations for cumulative research
Accelerator
CATER creates conditions for larger, more connected, and more ambitious forms of technology education research.
Activities
- Working groups
- Multi-site studies
- Big-team science
- Collaborative grant development
- Partner matching across institutions
- Shared study planning and coordination
Researcher engagement
- Join thematic working groups
- Co-develop grant ideas
- Contribute to shared studies
- Build collaborations across countries and institutions
- Use CATER as a platform for scaling research ideas
Potential outputs
- Collaborative studies
- Grant applications
- International partnerships
- Shared research agendas
- Larger field-level research projects
Capacity Building
CATER supports the development of methodological confidence, research capability, and publishing capacity across career stages.
Activities
- Training schools
- Online seminars
- Methods workshops
- Research clinics
- Doctoral and early-career support
- Publishing guides and textbook development
- CATER unconference
Researcher engagement
- Attend and contribute to seminars
- Join research clinics or workshops
- Share expertise through training sessions
- Participate in unconference discussions
- Use resources in teaching, supervision, and project development
Potential outputs
- Greater methodological confidence
- Research support resources
- Publishing and methods guides
- Cross-institutional mentoring
- Broader participation in research development
Contribute to Stronger Technology Education Research
CATER welcomes contact from researchers, educators, doctoral researchers, and partners whose work aligns with the centre’s remit of advancing technology education research. Enquiries are welcome around research collaboration, infrastructure development, capacity-building activity, and shared resources for the field.