Design and Technology Education (LJMU)
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Spatial cognitive processes involved in electronic circuit interpretation and translation: their use as powerful pedagogical tools within an education scenario
Full text linkWhile there is much research concerning the interpretation of diagrams such as geographical maps and networks for information systems, there is very little on the diagrams involved in electrical and electronic engineering. Such research is important not only because it supports arguments made for other types of diagrams but also because it informs on the cognitive processes going on while learning electrical and electronic engineering domains, which are generally considered difficult to teach and learn. Such insight is useful to have as a pedagogical tool for teachers. It might also benefit would be self-learners, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists in the field because it can guide self-learning practices. When cognitive practices specific to this knowledge domain are more understood, they might give rise to automated intelligent tutor systems which could be used to augment teaching and learning practices in the education of electrical and electronic engineering. This research analyses the spatial cognitive processes involved in the translation of an electronic circuit schematic diagram into an iconic representation of the same circuit. The work shows that the cognitive affordances of proximity and paths perceived from a circuit schematic diagram have great influence on the design of an iconic diagram, or assembly diagram, representing a topologically equivalent electronic circuit. Such cognitive affordances reflect and affect thought and can be used as powerful pedagogical tools within an educational scenario
Long-Term Use of ePortfolios in Craft Education among Elementary School Students: Reflecting the Level and Type of Craft Learning Activities
Full text linkThis paper analyses the longitudinal use of electronic portfolios (hereafter ePortfolios) in craft studies across six years (2013-18). Eight comprehensive school students participated in the study, tracing their craft process activities via photos, narratives, and tapings from the third to the ninth grade. The data involved self-assessment by the learners; peers and teachers were included in the textual content. The data also contained interviews, which were carried out in late spring 2019. The interview focused on students’ conceptions of the ePortfolio method and the central elements in constructing it and, finally, improvements of the ePortfolio method. The ePortfolio data was analysed by applying Anderson and Krathwohl’s taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing. The results revealed that students’ knowledge types transformed throughout those years, from versatile to more limited area and students’ cognitive process levels, from concrete to more abstract. The interview data supported these interpretations. The interviewees described the changes in their focus when tracing their learning processes; they considered visual and textual content, communication, and metacognitive knowledge as essential elements of ePortfolios. Suggested improvements of the ePortfolio addressed technical issues, platform demands, and practical functionalities
The connectivist design studio
Full text linkThe design studio is the core element in the design curriculum where students gain key knowledge and skills. Typically implementing a project-based approach, it is characterised by learning by doing, collaborative learning and a prominent studio culture. The traditional notion is that the social domain of the studio has a counterpart in the physical environment. However, with the pervasion of information and communication technologies, the design studio was inevitably transferred to the digital realm. When the traditional face-to-face studio had to be transferred to an online modality enforced by covid-19 pandemics, re-conceptualization of the structure was required in order to ensure the quality of the teaching and students’ satisfaction. Based on the premise that the contents should not be simply adapted to an online version but an entirely new learning experience should be created, the redesign of the class was inspired by the principles of connectivism (Siemens, 2005). Connectivism as an alternative learning theory recognizes the societal shifts and the impact of technology on the learning processes. This new framework for understanding learning, states that knowledge is derived externally of the individual through a process of connecting nodes and patterns recognition.The paper explores the potential of connectivism applied in two online design studios at the University of Monterrey, Mexico. It describes the structure of the course and the results obtained in the online learning environment. The outcomes are verified in a survey on the perceptions of the students about their satisfaction and the effectiveness of their knowledge acquisition
The Impact Plan: anticipating the impact of university students’ final projects
Full text linkUniversity students often struggle with choosing a topic for their final projects due to the lack of a supporting and defining framework for said selection. Should the student be oriented toward reflecting on how each of the possible topics to choose from can become an impactful project in the short, mid and long run, maybe that selection becomes a less anxious moment and the engagement with the project activities more relevant and meaningful to the student, being particularly pertinent when students can anticipate different levels of impact that range from their own life to a wider community.In this paper a visual tool is proposed, aiming at simplifying the moment of choosing a project by matching its anticipated impact with the users’ motivations, capacities, ambitions, and perceptions of value. A prototype was designed and tested with a group of students enrolled at a creative postgraduate course, in a professionalisation-led module, under the UK’s first 2020 lockdown restrictions. The tool proved helpful in supporting the students’ decision making when having to select a topic to be developed in the context of a communication design project, and to which they were able to align their personal interests, their career ambitions, and the way they perceived themselves as contributing to a better world. Since this is a cyclical experience, both during a design learning environment, but also in design practice, the Impact Plan, which was conceived with design students in mind, configures as fully replicable in other academic (and professional) contexts too
Inquiry-based learning approach for a systematically structured conceptual design process: Design project for disabled people
Full text linkWith the projects implemented in the \u27Design for the Disabled\u27 course in Gazi University 2019-2020 academic year, fourteen students are asked to develop solutions for the problems of disabled individuals, which is one of the real-world issues, while gaining professional knowledge such as critical thinking, idea generation and learning the conceptual design process. In addition, it is aimed to increase their learning motivation and interest in social design projects. It was learned that the students did not carry out a design project for disabled individuals in their previous projects. Throughout the semester, students developed their projects with a conceptual design matrix consisting of Data Collection, Primary Analysis, Secondary Analysis, Synthesis, Hypothesis, Preliminary Design and Final Design stages. Students were asked to present their projects at the Final Design stage. The course was conducted through online classes during the Covid-19 Pandemic for twelve weeks. Students are enabled to experience an interdisciplinary critical process. Thus, successful solutions and new models have been developed in projects in terms of product and space
“Scaling Up” and Adapting to Crisis: Shifting a Residential UX Studio Program Online
Full text linkOur undergraduate UX program at Purdue University launched in 2016 as one of the first UX-focused undergraduate degree programs in the United States, intentionally designed to support the unique characteristics of a residential, research-intensive, land-grant institution. We designed multiple overlapping studio experiences that formed multiple connections among cohorts, supporting mentorship, cognitive apprenticeship, the construction of social bonds, and reflection on one’s own development as a designer. Our program was experiencing quick growth, with our cohort size growing from 20 students in 2016 to 50 students in 2021. With the onset of pandemic restrictions, the challenges of “scaling up” and the challenges of building a virtual studio pedagogy thus met. Our “hidden curriculum” of peer feedback and tacit learning, critique as a means of socialization and feedback, emancipation of the self, and allowance for identity formation pointed towards studio properties that were central to our pedagogy and needed to be reformulated or rethought. I describe the resulting “dimensions of crisis” that impacted our pedagogy and practice, the new supports for studio learning practices that we designed, and how these changes may lead to lasting changes to our residential program once the restrictions of the pandemic subside
Refining a pedagogical approach for employing design thinking as a catalyst
Full text linkThere is an increasing interest in design and creative thinking processes in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health education disciplines. Many new degree programs are integrating design thinking into their syllabi, with the intention of bringing creative problem-solving methods to these disciplines. In reality, the exposure these students get is minimal, and it does not provide enough foundation for them to use the knowledge and apply the process(es) in real-life situations. There is an increased awareness of the importance of design thinking in the innovative process. More and more STEM, business, and health establishments are embedding trained designers into their research teams – yet many designers are not equipped to work on interdisciplinary teams. Design students tend to approach problems more intuitively, opportunistically, and build on creative leaps of imagination whereas, STEM and health disciplines are often more algorithmic, systematic, and rationale. This can often generate tension in interdisciplinary teams, especially when traditional disciplines (e.g., Engineering, Sciences) are integrating relatively newer thinking (e.g., design thinking).In this paper, we share the outcome of a phenomenological study on a high-functioning interdisciplinary team working on a health innovation project focused on aging with a disability. This case study illustrates the skill set needed for designers, health and technology professionals to make a significant contribution to its overall outcome. We identified key attributes that contribute towards being an effective member of interdisciplinary teams. Based on this study, we propose a pedagogical approach to better equip design, STEM, and Health students to be more competitive in changing economic expectations and ensure more impactful design outcomes
Making the Studio Smaller
Full text linkThe studio is a space apart in the university, an environment unique to creative and designdisciplines. As we emerge into the pre-dawn light of the post-COVID era, we should use theinsight gained from the pandemic to speculate about the future. This article invites the readerto speculate about the possibility of a smaller design studio in architectural education: one thatis smaller in its spatial, temporal, pedagogical and cultural dimensions. What if, instead ofdemonstrating the plurality of architectural practice through the breadth and diversity ofelective studio ‘units’, we reduce the scope of design courses to create space for others
Investigative activity in pre-primary technology education—The Power Creatures project
Full text linkThe present study explored pre-primary students’ investigative activity during a longitudinal, integrative technology education project: the Power Creatures project. Investigative activity refers to the way young children act in a learning context that combines inquiry-based activities with creative hands-on activities, such as designing and crafting. Nineteen pre-primary students (aged five to six years) and two teachers participated in the case study. The main data set consisted of six video-recorded small-group sessions in which the children experimented with electronics and designed and made felted creatures containing soft circuits. The data were analysed using a theory-based, deductive content analysis. The results indicate that playful, investigative activities support pre-primary students’ learning of everyday technologies and that children can transfer their understanding of the technological process from one situation to another. This process requires careful pedagogical planning and scaffolding that maintains the longitudinal process and adapts to its established and evolving goals
Mechanical engineering design, learning from the past to design a better future?
Full text linkThe economic importance of design, and design engineers to the success of a company has led to the exponential growth in the demand for qualified design engineers. To fill this demand, colleges and universities provide the best training available so that, after graduation these engineers will provide significant input from the first day of work. We live in a time known as industry 4.0 or the 4th Industrial Revolution, where computer power rules and takes on greater tasks, freeing up time for the design engineer to design more and more complex designs.Sometimes, it is good to stop, and take a breath to review our practices and remind ourselves of things we may have forgotten. It is true that we can design complex mechanisms and systems, in times past many of these would not be possible. But can we learn or be reminded of good practice by taking a journey through some of the design methods from the past. This paper will travel back to the 2nd century BC and look at cutting edge water pump design and the importance of a good literature review. It will highlight a serious gap in knowledge when comparing full-time and part-time students in our modern age. Airship design will be reviewed, the R100, R38 and R101 to remind us of the need to cross check design calculations. Looking at the beauty of Concorde design will remind us of the requirement in any design of good planning and regular meetings. This journey will finish by looking at the design process of the Boeing 777 commercial airliner, one of the first designs to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM). The use of Design Build Teams (DBT) with cross-disciplinary experts who can reside anywhere in the world will be considered. The reviewed historical examples may at first glance appear happen-stance but are in fact linked, and demonstrate a continuing growth in the ability, knowledge, complexity, and techniques of engineering design.This step back in time will remind teachers of some basic principles when teaching design to future design engineers. Designs have become more complex in this modern age, but it would be incorrect to say that complex design did not exist in times past. Before the internet, aircraft were built, global communication systems existed, men went to the moon
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Design and Technology Education (LJMU)BLResearchDay (LJMU)Journal of Living Labs (LJMU)Journal of Natural Products Discovery (L...Journal of Social Media for Learning (LJ...Student Law Journal (LJMU)PRISM (LJMU)Public Health Institute Journal (LJMU)SPARK (LJMU)Student Experience Proceedings (LJMU)Transformation in Education (LJMU)Innovations in Practice (LJMU)Links to Health and Social Care (LJMU)Access Repository Dashboard
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