Loughborough University Library: Open Journals
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Understanding the Processes Behind Student Designing: Cases from Singapore
Get PDFA common perception of designing is that it represents a highly complex activity that is manageable by only a few. However it has also been argued that all individuals are innately capable of designing. Taking up this latter view, we explored the processes behind student designing in the context of Design and Technology (D&T), a subject taught at the Secondary school level in Singapore. We examined the design journey undertaken by two students to understand what designing is like at their level. Case study methodology was adopted to develop a rich data set emerging from the students’ design journals, maps of the students’ design process, and interviews with the students and supervising teachers. The findings revealed that these students had innate capacities to design. Although the approach taken by each student differed, as reflected in visual representations reflecting the design process as well as their commentary, each displayed similar forms of design thinking. That is, both students proposed a novel and innovative solution to their design problem and were able to articulate sound reasoning of their design decisions throughout the entire design process. The supervising teachers enacted a more facilitative pedagogy that supported each student’s design process; this approach differs from traditional pedagogical practices in Singaporean D&T that can be characterised as model-focused and ‘top down’ in nature
Reinventing classroom space to re-energise information literacy instruction
Get PDFLibrarians in academic settings spend a significant amount of time teaching students information literacy skills. Teachers adapt their teaching activities to the constraints of the physical setting of the classroom. Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library modified a classroom from a traditional lecture room to a room where the seating was mobile. The teachers and students were observed and surveyed to see if the change in physical environment impacted the teaching style or learning activities used. The findings indicate that teachers use familiar routines and lessons in both a traditional lecture-style classroom and a newly-designed flexible learning space as they present information literacy instruction. Teachers who recognised that students benefited from learning activities where they were active participants were more likely to incorporate small changes to their lesson plans. The classroom design can re-energise instruction if the teacher adapts their teaching style to the more flexible learning environment. This article is based on a paper presented at LILAC 2012
Being an embedded research librarian: supporting research by being a researcher
Get PDFThis article outlines an action research investigation into the role of an academic librarian in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector. It is the view of the author that a key way of supporting research as a librarian is to engage in the practice oneself, to partake in knowledge creation rather than simply providing information. It investigates the notion of the embedded librarian in relation to research support via a literature review. It then uses data recordings from meetings of the Higher Education Action Research in Teaching (HEART) group at York St John University, of which the librarian is a member, to provide evidence to support the idea that sharing expertise in such an arena also provides information literacy (IL) support to researchers. The theoretical basis employed is that of communities of practice (Wenger 1998), as it is the assertion of the author that all members of the said group are part of a community of practice, based upon shared aims of improving pedagogic practice.
Chat Literacy: Reflection on approaches and methodology towards setting up a community of practice on information capability in an international context
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Factors That Shape Design Thinking
Get PDFA wide range of design literature discusses the role of the
studio and its related pedagogy in the development of
design thinking. Scholars in a variety of design disciplines
pose a number of factors that potentially affect this
development process, but a full understanding of these
factors as experienced from a critical pedagogy or student
perspective is lacking. In this study, the experiences of six
first-year design students were examined as they evolved
in their conceptions of design. Data was collected during a
series of three interviews. Analysis of data confirmed and
recontextualized factors identified in the literature.
Additional factors relating to group work, culture shock,
critique, individual versus group identity, and the design
influence of professors, mentors, and curricula are
identified and reported. Opportunities for future research
are identified
