Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education - Volume 9, Issue 2, 2010

This article discusses two learning strategies that were incrementally developed during three cycles of an action research project to facilitate student learning of the process of interpreting written text into an illustration. The two strategies relate to the cognitive processes of analysis and synthesis – from comprehension of textual meaning to visual concept generation. The first learning strategy, which relates to analysis, involved assisting students to develop macropropositions – personal understandings of the gist or essence of a text (Louwerse and Graesser 2006; Armbruster et al. 1987; Van Dijk and Kintsch 1983). The second learning strategy, which was concerned with idea generation, used a form of induction categorized as analogical reasoning (Holyoak 2005; Sloman and Lagnado 2005). Both strategies were combined to illustrate an expository text extract titled 'Through The Magic Door'. The data suggest that design students benefit from a structured approach to learning, where thinking processes and approaches can be identified and made accessible for other learning situations. The action research methodology is based on semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, developmental design (including student notes) and final design output.

This research draws on a small focus group discussion using third-year undergraduates from the Film and Media Subject Area at Roehampton University. Students shared perceptions of learning support and were encouraged to identify and rank their preferences for learning support. A number of important themes emerged, including students' lack of awareness of some existing avenues of support, a request for parity of access to Academic Learning Support Assistants and the need for academic tutors to be supportive. Support from academic tutors that manages the process from dependence to independent learning, whilst providing advice that moves from the general to the specific, was requested.

This research explores a model for the design of learning resources on MP3 players for Higher Education (HE) design students in museums. Four downloadable audio files were developed, containing commentaries on permanent galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) by curators, design tutors, art and design practitioners, design students, and others. The audios were trialled with 21 students, who reported a wide range of ways in which the audios had affected their visit to the museum, mainly positive. This indicates that the use of multiple perspectives in the interpretation of museum objects and architecture, accessed on MP3 players, can form pedagogically effective learning materials for design students, which are technologically functional and easy to use. This model is adaptable to other contexts in art and design education.

This article reflects upon a qualitative research project that sought to understand the factors that encourage and deter working-class students in progressing to the Fine Art Ph.D. With the project framed by the 'Widening Participation' (WP) agenda, the article addresses problems surrounding class-specific definitions of the term, before reporting on the paucity of WP-related research at doctoral level and at the level of the Fine Art Ph.D. specifically. It notes the impact this had on the project's method, as a grounded theory element to generate essential data was required. The form that the grounded theory takes – focus group research involving 28 participants – is rationalized, and the data that is generated is analyzed and referred to the undergraduate-centred literature on WP. The article concludes that access to the Fine Art Ph.D. may foremost be restricted by failures to publicize the opportunity. It also suggests that, for several reasons, WP may require definitions tailored to different levels of Higher Education.

Action learning based on action research is an approach that is most appropriate for higher levels of personal and professional development of students, where emergent learning takes place in the context of an external environment. The approach offers a valuable framework that can be applied to international research experiences and case study development, particularly in the context of graduate design education. Grounded in action learning theory, this article describes a case study development process that suggests a model for engagement of graduate design students in international rural development. The article also discusses the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the creation of multimedia case studies that bring rich infield international experiences dealing with craft producers in rural India back to the classroom, where it has the potential to vicariously inform undergraduate and graduate design education. Action learning experientially prepared the graduate design student for creative and management career by serving as a tool for emancipatory personal and professional development and instilling self-confidence in the learner.