This project involves both curriculum innovation and research. It comprises the development, use and evaluation of a suite of computer software as learning support in the teaching of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong.

The software has been developed for use in the Faculty of Architecture Multimedia Lab. The first project to be developed in this series was Temple Tutor.

The Action Learning Project traces the development of 20 students working on four projects in the Building Systems course throughout 1995.

• Design of a Buddhist temple complex
• Representation of a curtain wall construction
• Maintenance model for curtain wall buildings
• Morphing sequences to show the development of different roof styles

The following is an extract from a description of the project.

Evaluation is an integral part of the cycle of an Action Learning project: both evaluation of the support materials and evaluation of the quality of learning which is taking place. In Jonassen's (1991) view, evaluation of constructivist learning most appropriately emphasises higher-order thinking -- it focuses on the process within an authentic task rather than on the product of the task. "The evaluation should be context driven and dependent, accepting the likelihood of multiple perspectives, the possibility of a range of tasks, and the need to be evaluated by a panel of goal-free examiners from a range of backgrounds". (Jonassen, 1991, 31)

The evaluation strategy of this Action Learning Project aims to provide two outcomes:

• Formative evaluation of the software and the learning environment: e.g. its logistical requirements, reliability and effectiveness in achieving its goals. This data is essentially feedback for the program development team and forms part of the action research cycle.
• Insights into the interaction between student attributes and program features -- such as 3D modelling -- which can be used to enlighten the process by which the software promotes higher-order thinking: metacognition, schema formation, cognitive complexity, cognitive construction.

Hardware

Most information is collected on 8mm videotape for analysis using the C-video system developed by Envisionology (Jeremy Roschelle)

60K

The research team is collecting the following data:

1. Approaches to learning: The Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1992) is a convenient, easily-administered and widely-accepted instrument which provides standardised norms for Hong Kong university students by institutional type, discipline area and course level. While there are no specific figures for Architecture, there is standardised data for professional courses such as Medicine and Engineering and related disciplines such as Design.

2. Conceptual frameworks: Interviews with participating students to establish their entry-level conception of three dimensional drawing. Using either AutoCAD or 3D Studio, students will be invited to explain to the interviewer the underlying concepts and the process of creating a 3D model. The explanation, and computer output is videotaped and coded. This is to provide a phenomenographic "base line" against which to compare later concept formation. (Students can choose to be interviewed in either English or Cantonese.)
   
   
3. Demonstration/interviewswith students at developing points of the project. Interviews at the computer are videotaped to produce a split-screen image of computer screen and students plus audio record of the session. The video data is coded to provide objective, descriptive information on the processes as well as students' interactions with the software.
   
   

4. Video recordings of crit sessions to provide data on progress and direction of the projects.
   
   
5. SPQ Retest at the end of the term to gauge whether there has been any significant change in students' approaches to learning over the period, as measured on this questionnaire.

NUD*IST

Qualitative research typically produces records which are rich and complex, but difficult to analyse rigorously. Focus for the organisation of this project is provided by the NUD*IST computer package -- software originally designed to aid researchers in the Social Sciences to manage large amounts of Non-numeric Unstructured Data. It does his by supporting processes of Indexing, Searching and Theorising. NUD*IST is marketed by Qualitative Solutions & Research at LaTrobe University in Melbourne.

Insights on Student Cognition

The following are questions concerning the interaction between student attributes and software features:

1. Does the use of particular learning support software improve metacognitive skills and/or domain-specific skills? At what point does Learning Support Software become a Cognitive Tool?
2. What metacognitive factors can be identified from the data (SPQ, observation, interviews)?
3. Were there observable differences in methods of work and level of achievement between students with different SPQ scores? Were there observable/measurable changes in attitude or motivation in the course of the study (e.g. from the SPQ retest, from interviews)?
4. What new schemas or conceptual frameworks were developed by students in the course of the study? What evidence could be observed for development of cognitive complexity and/or cognitive construction?
5. Was cognitive transfer observed in the course of using the software?