Investigating Student Teachers' Approach to Solving Applied Analytical Graphical Problems

Abstract

Educating for a broad global context and developing problem-solving capacities are fundamental for living in an ever-changing global society. The ability to construct meaning and apply knowledge in a broad context is crucial within education 1 and it is the teacher's responsibility to facilitate this within the subject. This focus is difficult to embrace within the traditional formal schooling structures. Students can often achieve quite well by traditional assessment measures but often have difficulty when required to use this learned knowledge in new styles of problems 2. Often students pass through the entire schooling system, and perform quite well, but are unable to utilise this learned knowledge in broader contexts 3. It is future graphics educators that must establish the cultural norm. To do this an ability to apply and transfer knowledge from one context to another is crucial. With the objective of analysing the complexities of applying previous graphical knowledge to a new context, groups of student teachers were given an applied analytical task based on the geometry of the regular polyhedra to solve. Prior to the prescribed task, students were given the opportunity to develop their graphical analytical knowledge and spatial skills through the completion of a coursework portfolio based on the content of the puzzle. A visual-verbal protocol analysis, similar to Montagueet al. 4 was employed to evaluate students' approaches to solving the puzzle and their ability to transfer previously learned knowledge and skills to a new situation as well as their ability to work collectively and communicate their ideas. The findings indicate a significant inability to transfer knowledge and skills developed in the coursework portfolio to the new applied analytical task. Despite students' high level of performance in both the portfolio, which assessed graphical knowledge, and the Purdue Spatial Visualisation Test (PSVT), which examines ability to mentally rotate threedimensional objects, many students were unable to employ an efficient approach to solving the applied analytical task. The paper discusses some key variables relating to performance in the applied analytical task and forms the basis for further research in the area.

A teacher's account of their experiences teaching graphics in Technology classrooms

“…A sketch is said to improve spatial abilities (Chester 2007;Delahunty, et al, 2012;Merzdorf 2022). Subsequently, EGD provides learners with an opportunity to learn how to identify and solve design problems using critical and creative thinking when applied to civil, electrical, and mechanical drawings.…”

Considering Cognitive Load as a Key Element in Instructional Design for Developing Graphical Capability

“…This perspective provides a practical approach which can be used to examine the suitability of instructional interventions. As already discussed, there is evidence 3,8 which may suggest the unsuitability of current task designs for developing graphical capability. Taking some of the perspectives from CLT and the efficiency literature it is now possible to evaluate task design practices so that a deeper understanding of instructional interventions may be gained.…”

“…Of particular interest in the context of technology education is problem based learning approaches due to the applied nature of the subject area. Focusing specifically on graphical education, previous research by Delahunty et al 8 and Delahunty et al 3 has taken distinct approaches to studying apparent deficiencies within current educational practices. These included a focus on the predominant styles of knowledge implemented in the problem solving process and issues of transfer from graphical theoretical to applied tasks respectively.…”

“…When considering task design, it is apparent that understanding cognitive load in conjunction with the conceptualizations of tasks will lead to a deeper understanding of instructional design. A core issue cited in Delahunty et al 3 was the use of inefficient approaches to an applied task. The underlying variables influencing these approaches still remain tentative but it is possible that a high cognitive load inhibited students' conception of the task which forced the adoption of sub-optimal strategies to deal with the situational demands.…”

“…Previous research by Delahunty et al 8 has highlighted the existence of inefficient approaches to current styles of task utilized within current teaching and learning practices. A further study by Delahunty et al 3 investigated this general issue further within a tertiary context and specifically highlighted deficiencies in student teachers' ability to apply theoretical knowledge to applied problems. Both these studies concluded with the acknowledgement of issues pertaining to surface approaches to problem solving among students but the exact nature of the issues are still unspecified.…”