OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Collier-Reed, Brandon I"

Browsing by Author "Collier-Reed, Brandon I"

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Open Access
Admitting engineering students with the best chance of success: technological literacy and the Technological Profile Inventory (TPI)
(South African Society for Engineering Education, 2014-09-23) Luckay, Melanie B; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
In this article we describe the development and validation of an instrument – the Technological Profile Inventory (TPI). The instrument can be used to determine whether an applicant’s level of technological literacy is suitable for admission to an engineering programme. It might be argued that students entering an engineering programme should demonstrate a level of technological literacy, not sought during the admission process at most universities in South Africa, which rely primarily on the National Benchmark Testing instrument and the National Senior Certificate examination results. The items used in the TPI were drawn from a previous study (Collier-Reed, 2006) and were based on a rigorous qualitative analysis of interview data which was in turn informed by categories that emerged from a phenomenographic analysis. Data were collected from 198 Engineering and 237 Commerce students and the items subjected to exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach alpha testing. The result of the analysis was a modified version of the TPI where the data were found to be reliable and valid. The significant factors that defined the ‘nature of technology’ were found to be the view of technology as either an artefact or related to a process, while those constituting ‘interaction with technological artefacts’ were direction and tinkering. A cohort analysis suggests that the anecdotal view of the possible difference in technological literacy between Commerce and Engineering students is supported by the data – Commerce students are statistically more likely to view technology as an artefact and interact with technological artefacts only when directed to do so, a less technologically literate position. Further work involves determining how to meaningfully combine the scores achieved by an individual completing the TPI to ultimately determine a score indicative of their applicable level of technological literacy.
Open Access
Considering two audiences when recording lectures as lecturecasts
(DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University, 2013-07) Collier-Reed, Brandon I
This article presents the outcome of an investigation into the provision of lecturecasts to students. The objective was to ensure that both those who attended live lectures of a second-year engineering course and/or watched recorded versions of the lectures had an experience that supported their learning. A range of data was drawn on including the personal reflection of the lecturer of the course, questionnaires, and student interviews. The qualitative data were analysed through an inductive process that drew on the principles of grounded theory and the findings that emerged included the role of the ‘talking head’ in recordings, balancing the needs of the live and recorded audience, the importance of digital annotation using e-ink, content navigation using index markers, the availability of the lecturecasts, and the importance of considering intellectual property. These findings demonstrate how the design and implementation of lecturecasting can be improved to ensure that students have the best possible experience of the material being presented.
Open Access
A curriculum framework for flexible engineering degrees in South Africa
(Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (Scotland), 2014-09-23) Grayson, Diane; Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Pearce, Howard; Shay, Suellen
South Africa produces too few engineers to meet its development needs. The number of graduating engineers is slowly increasing, but is still only about 2000 per year, serving a population of over 50 million. Data from the Council on Higher Education (CHE 2013) show that for the 2005 cohort of BEng students nationally only 25% obtained an engineering degree in the regulation time of four years, with another 19% taking five years. In a study for the Engineering Council of South Africa on improving throughput (Fisher 2011), one suggestion was to increase curriculum flexibility to better cater for the needs of a diverse student population. As part of a CHE project, we developed exemplar curricula for engineering degrees designed to take either four or five years to complete. In this paper we describe the underpinning principles that guided the design and illustrate how they are applied in curriculum exemplars for a mechanical engineering degree.
Open Access
The development and validation of an instrument — the Technological Profile Inventory — to determine students’ levels of technological literacy in South Africa
(International Association of Technology, Education and Development, 2014-09-23) Luckay, Melanie B; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
In this article we describe the development and validation of an instrument – the technological profile inventory (TPI). The instrument can be used to determine students’ level of technological literacy. The items used in the TPI were drawn from a previous study (Collier-Reed, 2006) and were based on a rigorous qualitative analysis of interview data which was in turn informed by categories that emerged from a phenomenographic analysis. Data were collected from four groups of students, three groups of first year students at university Engineering (167), Commerce (65), Arts (218), and one group of high school students (179). The students’ responses to the TPI were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach alpha testing, as well as a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The result of the analysis was a modified version of the TPI where the data were found to be reliable and valid. The significant factors that defined the ‘nature of technology’ were found to be the view of technology as either an Artefact or related to a Process, while those constituting ‘interaction with technological artefacts’ were Direction/Instruction and Tinkering. A cohort analysis suggests Engineering students are statistically more likely to view technology as a process and interact with technological artefacts with less fear and more likely through self-initiation (Tinkering) – a more advanced technologically literate position. On the other hand the Arts students are more likely to expect direction or instruction from an authority figure (Direction/Instruction) when interacting with a technological artefact - a less technologically literate position. Further work involves determining how to meaningfully combine the scores achieved by an individual completing the TPI to ultimately determine a score indicative of their applicable level of technological literacy.
Open Access
The influence of podcasting on student learning: a case study across two courses
(Taylor & Francis, 2013-04-09) Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Case, Jennifer M; Stott, Angela
There is a growing literature on the educational benefits of using podcasting of lectures in higher education, but to date little research that interrogates closely its impact on student learning. The present study investigated how students used lecture podcasts when produced in two engineering courses at a South African university. The findings confirm much of the growing consensus in the literature. Firstly, a majority of students in the courses elected to use the podcasts. Secondly, the study notes that lecture attendance, in contexts where lectures are seen as beneficial, is not adversely affected. Thirdly, few students use podcasts in the mobile mode but most rather use them as an additional resource in their private study spaces. There is intense use in the build up to tests and examinations, and there is a particular benefit for students who are not first language speakers of the medium of instruction. This study also points to the existence of both deep and surface approaches to engaging with podcasts, with substantial evidence of many students using podcasts as a means towards better understanding.
Open Access
An instrument to determine the technological literacy levels of upper secondary school students
(Springer Science & Business Media B.V., 2014-08) Luckay, Melanie B; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
In this article, an instrument for assessing upper secondary school students' levels of technological literacy is presented. The items making up the instrument emerged from a previous study that employed a phenomenographic research approach to explore students' conceptions of technology in terms of their understanding of the nature of technology and their interaction with technological artefacts. The instrument was validated through administration to 1,245 students on completion of their 12 years of formal schooling. A factor analysis was conducted on the data and Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficients determined. The results show that a five-dimension factor structure (namely, artefact, process, direction/instruction, tinkering, and engagement) strongly supported the dimensions as developed during the original phenomenographic study. The Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficient of each dimension was satisfactory. Based on these findings, the instrument has been shown to be valid and reliable and can be used with confidence.
Open Access
Kolb Interrupted : An investigation into students' experience of an experiential learning approach to entrepreneurship education
(2012) Marks, Jonathan Tresman; Hall, Martin; Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Case, Jenni
Entrepreneurial activity is widely regarded as a primary driver of socio-economic development. Alongside structural and systemic support, entrepreneurship education is a critical factor in improving entrepreneurial activity. While entrepreneurship education initiatives abound, little is understood about the effectiveness and pedagogical basis of these programmes, especially from the perspective of the student. This thesis focuses on a case study of a South African programme of entrepreneurship education designed around Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle. The research employs a phenomenographic framework to identify the qualitatively different ways in which students experience this experiential learning approach to entrepreneurship education. This research shows that students' ways of experiencing learning can be characterised in one of two ways; a superficial way of experiencing learning in which students takes on a less sophisticated and surface view of learning, and an immersed way of experiencing learning in which students' engage in a deep and sophisticated manner. These ways of experiencing learning suggest two ways in which Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle is interrupted; firstly, at the point of concrete experience, and secondly, at the point of reflective observation. This study makes a contribution to knowledge by examining experiential learning from the perspective of the student, and shows how programmes of entrepreneurship education can be better designed, in order to have an impact on entrepreneurial activity and socio-economic development.
Open Access
Learning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: improving student learning in engineering education
(Taylor & Francis, 2009) Allie, Saalih; Armien, Mogamat Noor; Burgoyne, Nicolette; Case, Jennifer M; Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Craig, Tracy S; Deacon, Andrew; Fraser, Duncan M; Geyer, Zulpha; Jacobs, Cecilia; Jawitz, Jeff; Kloot, Bruce; Kotta, Linda; Langdon, Genev
In this paper, we propose that learning in engineering involves taking on the discourse of an engineering community, which is intimately bound up with the identity of being a member of that community. This leads to the notion of discursive identity, which emphasises that students' identities are constituted through engaging in discourse. This view of learning implies that success in engineering studies needs to be defined with particular reference to the sorts of identities that students develop and how these relate to identities in the world of work. In order to achieve successful learning in engineering, we need to recognise the multiple identities held by our students, provide an authentic range of engineering-related activities through which students can develop engineering identities and make more explicit key aspects of the discourse of engineering of which lecturers are tacitly aware. We include three vignettes to illustrate how some of the authors of this paper (from across three different institutions) have applied this perspective of learning in their teaching practice.
Open Access
Phenomenography: from critical aspects to knowledge claim
(Emerald, 2014-09-25) Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Ingerman, Åke; Tight, M; Huisman, J
In this description of phenomenography, we take a functional view of the theoretical underpinnings that have traditionally been used to support its trustworthiness as a qualitative research approach. The chapter has two objectives, first to serve as an introduction for those considering embarking on research with a phenomenographic framing, and second to enable the recognition of the quality and scope of the knowledge claim inherent in phenomenographic outcomes.
Open Access
Problem Solving Discourse Models: Informing an Introductory Engineering Course
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2010) Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Wolmarans, Nicky
This article draws on Gee’s notions of Discourse and specifically Discourse Models to explore Engineering Problem Solving and the different ways in which it can be understood in an engineering context. After Gee we attempt to identify aspects of doing, being and valuing that underpin people’s Problem Solving Discourse Models. Interviews with three engineering lecturers reveal that they draw extensively on two different Discourse Models of Engineering Problem Solving. The more highly valued Model (Integrated Design Model) reflects engineering practice, is located in engineering design and dependant on judgement. The other is located in the classroom and involves the algorithmic resolution of mathematical models, (Knowledge Construction Model). These Discourse Models form a backdrop to interviews with three students entering an engineering degree programme for the first time. The three students each draw different Discourse Models of Problem Solving, and display characteristics (such as the level of confidence) that align more or less with Engineering Problem Solving, sometimes obscuring their understanding. The implications of these findings in terms of an introductory engineering course are discussed. These include recognising the potential diversity of Problem Solving Discourse Models our students bring to tertiary education, as well as the difficulty of introducing a legitimate design project requiring the level of judgement needed to interpret open-ended, ill-defined problems and then integrate multiple quantitative models with multidisciplinary qualitative judgements in a rigorous manner.
Open Access
Pupils' experiences of technology : exploring dimensions of technological literacy
(2006) Collier-Reed, Brandon I; Sass, Andrew
Technology is the driving force behind much of the change taking place in the world today. Consequently, across society, calls are being made to ensure technological literacy is a meaningful and central part of schooling to adequately prepare pupils to become part of an increasingly technologically driven world. However, studies have shown that large parts of society perceive technology primarily in terms of computers.
Open Access
Technological literacy and reflection in the classroom
(European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (Earli), 2014-09-23) Ingerman, Ake; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
In this article we take a theoretical model that describes technological literacy as being enacted by individuals in the course of shaping their lives and the world around them and explore how it is possible to develop meaningful and effective educational classroom activities that intertwine capabilities with technological processes in authentic situations. Technological literacy involves the enactment and shaping of the technological process in such a way that enactment successively recognises the original need as well as a shared purpose and potential consequences – an action that we argue to be reflective, or mindful, in nature. We suggest that two elements of knowledge can be identified as goals for technology education. Firstly, a basic understanding of technological processes, a capability to orient in the landscape of relevant knowledge, and the knowledge contexts of what the process is about. Secondly, reflection on process development, (shared) purpose, underlying needs, necessary competence, consequences, and personal engagement intertwined with enactment. Here the notion of reflection-in-action as the manifestation of a mindful relationship between experience and enactment can be seen as driving the technological process. We argue that the ultimate and proximate purposes of teaching are useful constructs for discussing the constitution of continuity between objectives in classroom activities. An analysis of data from a Swedish technology education classroom is used to illustrate the argument developed. The article concludes by suggesting that focus must be centred on what activities are meaningful – and as far as possible authentic – for pupils as aims for learning.
Open Access
Technological literacy reconsidered: a model for enactment
(Springer Science & Business Media B.V., 2010-01) Ingerman, Åke; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
This paper presents a model to describe technological literacy as enacted by individuals in the course of shaping their lives and the world around them. The model has two interrelated facets – the potential for and enactment of technological literacy – where enactment and potential mutually constitute each other. This potential is made up of knowledge of a particular situation, personal engagement with a situation, and social engagement in the world. Enactment requires a particular set of competencies in action, which together helps shape the situation: recognizing needs; articulating problems; contributing towards the technological process; and analysing consequences. The implications of this model for technological literacy in the context of the individual and society, and the role of technology education in developing technological literacy, are discussed.
Open Access
Validating an instrument for use in assessing the technological literacy of upper secondary school students
(South African Association of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2014-09-23) Luckay, Melanie B; Collier-Reed, Brandon I
In this paper an instrument for assessing upper secondary school students‘ levels of technological literacy is presented. The items making up the instrument emerged from a previous study that used a phenomenographic research approach to explore students‘ conceptions of technological literacy in terms of their understanding of the nature of technology and their interaction with technological artefacts. The instrument was validated through administration to 969 students on completion of their 12 years of formal schooling. A factor analysis and Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficient was conducted on the data and the results show that a four-dimension factor structure (namely, Artefact, Process, Direction/Instruction, and Tinkering) strongly supported the dimensions as developed during the original phenomenographic study. The Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficient of each dimension was satisfactory. Based on these findings, the instrument has been shown to be valid and reliable and can be used with confidence.

Browsing by Author "Collier-Reed, Brandon I"

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