The Value of Transfer Activities when Developing Technological Knowledge and Skills

Patrick Rowsome; Niall Seery; Seamus Gordon; Diarmaid Lane

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Design Cognition I
Tagged Division: Design in Engineering Education
Page Count: 13
Page Numbers: 25.1355.1 - 25.1355.13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22112
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/22112
Download Count: 506

Paper Authors

biography

Patrick Rowsome University of Limerick

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Patrick Rowsome's research areas/interests include the transfer of learning in technology education, pedagogical strategies within technology education, creativity and innovation within technology education, and social constructivism. At present, he is investigating the value of transfer activities in a workshop based context in developing skill and knowledge. This research area involves developing a strategy to facilitate transfer activities and how this can enhance the transfer from context to context. The research aims to identify the key elements needed to design and implement an efficient pedagogical strategy to promote design and innovation.

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Abstract

The Value of Transfer Activities when Developing Technological Knowledge and SkillsThe heritage of many second level international engineering curricula is grounded inthe development of craft and vocational education. In recent years the consensus ofpolicy makers and educators centres on developing a broader skill-set that includesdesign, innovation, and creativity. The need to understand the physical properties ofmaterials, the ability to select and execute appropriate processes, and implementeffective manufacturing systems still forms the core of engineering education.However, the contemporary nature and purpose of engineering education demandsthat students acquire specific technical content knowledge and develop practical skillsin the context of a collaborative environment applying knowledge and skills in aninnovative and creative way.In an attempt to elicit the critical variables that scaffold design and creativity withinengineering, this study using the divergent nature of decorative metal craft to exploreinitially the relationship between the ‘transfer’ of newly acquired knowledge andskills with student’s performance in a design based activity.The pedagogical approach taken was supported by Kolb’s theoretical Learning cycle,where students (n= 141) observed a demonstration of a skill (Concrete experience),reviewed technical details (reflective observation), transferred information into a newdesign idea (abstract conceptualisation) and then produce an artefact (ActiveExperimentation). The degree of transfer from the demonstration to the student’s newdesign was assessed using the augmented version (Haupt and Blignaut, 2007) ofKirkpatrick’s learning evaluation model. The validity of the performance and level oftransfer measured was insured by the aggregation of five subject specialist using anagreed rubric.The findings showed that there was a diverse response to the activities. At first it wasdifficult to distinguish between the obscure responses so the learning evaluationmodel was employed for this purpose. However some students merely mimickedwhat they were shown while others push the level of their understanding andexperimented to explore the capabilities of the skills. This aligns with theconstructivist belief that knowledge is not transmitted but constructed through hands-on activities or personal experience which generates knowledge. It was alsodiscovered that certain task allowed for a greater depth of experimentation thanothers. This has an impact on the pedagogical approach taken by educators andhighlights the importance when allowing students experiment when constructing newmeaning.

Citation
Format

Rowsome, P., & Seery, N., & Gordon, S., & Lane, D. (2012, June), The Value of Transfer Activities when Developing Technological Knowledge and Skills Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--22112

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -             The Value of Transfer Activities when Developing                 Technological Knowledge and SkillsThe heritage of many second level international engineering curricula is grounded inthe development of craft and vocational education. In recent years the consensus ofpolicy makers and educators centres on developing a broader skill-set that includesdesign, innovation, and creativity. The need to understand the physical properties ofmaterials, the ability to select and execute appropriate processes, and implementeffective manufacturing systems still forms the core of engineering education.However, the contemporary nature and purpose of engineering education demandsthat students acquire specific technical content knowledge and develop practical skillsin the context of a collaborative environment applying knowledge and skills in aninnovative and creative way.In an attempt to elicit the critical variables that scaffold design and creativity withinengineering, this study using the divergent nature of decorative metal craft to exploreinitially the relationship between the ‘transfer’ of newly acquired knowledge andskills with student’s performance in a design based activity.The pedagogical approach taken was supported by Kolb’s theoretical Learning cycle,where students (n= 141) observed a demonstration of a skill (Concrete experience),reviewed technical details (reflective observation), transferred information into a newdesign idea (abstract conceptualisation) and then produce an artefact (ActiveExperimentation). The degree of transfer from the demonstration to the student’s newdesign was assessed using the augmented version (Haupt and Blignaut, 2007) ofKirkpatrick’s learning evaluation model. The validity of the performance and level oftransfer measured was insured by the aggregation of five subject specialist using anagreed rubric.The findings showed that there was a diverse response to the activities. At first it wasdifficult to distinguish between the obscure responses so the learning evaluationmodel was employed for this purpose. However some students merely mimickedwhat they were shown while others push the level of their understanding andexperimented to explore the capabilities of the skills. This aligns with theconstructivist belief that knowledge is not transmitted but constructed through hands-on activities or personal experience which generates knowledge. It was alsodiscovered that certain task allowed for a greater depth of experimentation thanothers. This has an impact on the pedagogical approach taken by educators andhighlights the importance when allowing students experiment when constructing newmeaning.
AU  - Patrick Rowsome
AU  - Niall Seery
AU  - Seamus Gordon
AU  - Diarmaid Lane
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - The Value of Transfer Activities when Developing Technological Knowledge and Skills
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/22112
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--22112
ER  -