Brandon I. Collier-Reed

Reflections on trustworthiness in phenomenographic research: Recognising purpose, context and change in the process of research

In interpretive research, trustworthiness has developed to become an important alternative for measuring the value of research and its effects, as well as leading the way of providing for rigour in the research process. The article develops the argument that trustworthiness plays an important role in not only effecting change in a research project’s original setting, but also that trustworthy research contributes toward building a body of knowledge that can play an important role in societal change. An essential aspect in the development of this trustworthiness is its relationship to context. To deal with the multiplicity of meanings of context, we distinguish between contexts at different levels of the research project: the domains of the researcher, the collective, and the individual participant. Furthermore, we argue that depending on the primary purpose associated with the collective learning potential, critical potential, or performative potential of phenomenographic research, developing trustworthiness may take different forms and is related to aspects of pedagogical legitimacy, social legitimacy, and epistemological legitimacy. Trustworthiness in phenomenographic research is further analysed by distinguishing between the internal horizon – the constitution of trustworthiness as it takes place within the research project – and the external horizon, which points to the impact of the phenomenographic project in the world mediated by trustworthiness.

Learning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: improving student learning in engineering education

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.

Phenomenography: from critical aspects to knowledge claim

Abstract 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.

The experience of interacting with technological artefacts

This article reports on an investigation into the different ways that pupils interact with technological artefacts. The results are discussed in the context of the need for first-year ‘introduction to engineering’ courses to develop ways to provide students with an environment that facilitates their meaningful interaction with technological artefacts. Fifteen South African pupils, selected to ensure variation with respect to their socio-economic backgrounds, were interviewed after having interacted with a structured technological activity. The interviews were analysed using a phenomenographic approach to obtain an understanding of their interactions with technological artefacts from their perspective. The outcome of the analysis was a set of categories that characterise the key aspects of the different ways in which the interaction was experienced. The findings show that the interaction with a technological artefact can be through direction, through instruction, through tinkering, or through engaging.

The influence of podcasting on student learning: a case study across two courses

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 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.

Why students leave engineering and built environment programmes when they are academically eligible to continue

The retention of students to graduation is a concern for most higher education institutions. This article seeks to understand why engineering and built environment students fail to continue their degree programmes despite being academically eligible to do so. The sample comprised 275 students registered between 2006 and 2011 in a faculty of engineering and the built environment, who were academically eligible to continue, but failed to register for their studies the following academic year. The sociological notions of structure and agency were used to make sense of the data. The findings suggest that some students had control over their decision to leave and some students’ decisions were dominated by various structural factors. The outcome of the study is helpful in terms of suggesting what actions can be taken in order reduce the number of students leaving in good academic standing.

Problem-solving discourse models: informing an introductory engineering course

Abstract This article draws on Gees notions of Discourse and specifically Discourse Models to explore Engineering Problem Solving1 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 peoples 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.

Critical Contemporary Questions for Engineering Education in an Unequal Society: Deliberations for the South African Society for Engineering Education (SASEE)

The South African Society for Engineering Education (SASEE) was established in 2010 as a forum for those committed to improving the practice of engineering education in the country. These ideals need to be seen in the context of the South African history—a continuing unequal school system and consequent racialised patterns of access and success in university studies. The major activities of the Society are formative in nature and are focused on ensuring that all engineering educators are able to critically engage with the needs of students; particularly those most at risk. The objective is for all students, irrespective of the differences in their schooling backgrounds, to have the opportunity to be successful in their studies. In this article we categorise the papers presented at the first three conferences of the Society in order to determine the research foci that have been followed to date. It is shown that the majority of articles fall into the category of “teaching and learning”, with some additional work focusing on students in transition from school to first year. Less represented were themes on curriculum or on policy development. In the context of this book we suggest that social justice and equity have also been less represented. To this end, we draw on a recent piece by one of us to scope out something of an agenda in this domain.