Survey of DIT First Year Interior Design & Furniture Students 2014-15

A study on:
Can a Blended Learning approach help to overcome learning challenges in First Year?
__________________________________________________________________________________
There were 9no. questionnaires completed by the 1st year group, out of a possible 12.
Note: The respondent number refers to the same person when answering each question.

Q1 - Course Choice
What were the main aspects about the course content that attracted you to the BA Interior Design
& Furniture course at DIT?
9no. Respondents:
1. Learning about different aspects of design.
2. It fit the criteria for jobs in the future. The modules looked interesting. The only course in
the country with both interior and furniture studies.
3. I was attracted to this course because we got to try both interior and furniture design, which
were the two courses I couldnt decide between.
4. The project work i.e. continuous assessment.
5. The job opportunities when finished. The modules in the course. The subject itself.
6. I was looking forward to the impressive visual presentations and model making.
7. I chose this specific interior design course in DIT because I had an interest in interior design
and DIT offered this course at a level 8.
8. I liked the idea of designing interior spaces. I always loved art and choosing what colour goes
with what. I watched interior design programmes when I was younger and its something
Ive always wanted to do.
9. I always had an interest in interior designing and the creative potential that comes with it.
Its something Ive always been interested in.

Q2 - What were you looking for when choosing this course?

9no. Respondents:
1. To get my degree in Interior Design/Furniture and to learn as many things about design and
what the requirements are to be a successful one (designer).
2. Modules that will help me understand interior design better. A course that was very
practical. A course that channels my creative side.
3. I wanted a course that would teach me the skills I needed to be successful in my chosen
career.
4. Variety of learning concepts and the ability to use both my mind and hands to create and be
creative.
5. I was looking for a course that incorporated creativity and practicality.
6. I chose this course as it allowed me to be creative in a practical way. I hope to get a good
and enjoyable career out of this course.
7. I was looking for a course that incorporated creativity but also had an academic side too. For
example, doing observational drawing, and doing design history or AutoCAD.
8. To get good communication skills, good career.
9. No response.

Q3 - The First Year Learning Experience

Write a brief reflection on the new learning challenges you had to overcome in first year.
9no. Respondents:
1. Self directed study found it very hard to transition from secondary school because youre
told what to do and given set tasks and how to go about them. Deadlines.
2. How to research briefs on my own and figure out what is important and what isnt.
3. Well, I had to become used to doing oral presentations and speaking in front of my class. I
also thought learning cad was quite difficult as I had never done anything like it before.
4. Making friends and trying to see where you fit in was hard. Aswell as adapting to a new way
of learning and producing work.
5. I had to really manage my time. It is very easy to fall behind. Had to learn how to deal with
the workload I was receiving and how to approach each project.
6. The first year learning experience was more difficult than in secondary school. Gathering
your own research takes a lot of time and sometimes you dont know if its the correct
standard. Learning new skills such as CAD has been difficult.
7. Self-directed learning being in charge of how much or little work I do.
8. Ive had to get used to self-directed learning. Coming from secondary school to college was a
big change but Im finding it easier than I thought.
9. Time management was a huge challenge for me. Its something Im slowly getting better at
because of the course and the constant practice.

Q4 - The First Year Learning Experience

Place the following in order of how challenging you found each task when you were learning in first
year, with the most challenging at 1 and the least challenging at 5. (You do not have to choose one of the 5
above, if something else applies)

9no. Respondents:
Respondent 1:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found

CAD

the most challenging in first year because: it is new to me.

I found _Sample/Moodboards _ the least challenging in first year because: I enjoy doing the
moodboards

Respondent 2:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
academic writing
essays in general.

the most challenging in first year because: I find it hard to write

I found ____technical drawing _ the least challenging in first year because: I love it and I find it
easy to do.

Respondent 3:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
moodboards the most challenging in first year because: I have never had to do
anything like them before and they are quite difficult.
I found ____essays _
the least challenging in first year because: We have done so many in
school that I know how to write them very well.

Respondent 4:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
CAD
with it before.

the most challenging in first year because: Ive never come in contact

I found ____academic writing_ the least challenging in first year because: Im used to writing essays
regarding research and analysis.

Respondent 5:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following: I found

Academic writing
the most challenging in first
year because: I lack the writing vocabulary and terms used in interior design.
I found ____freehand drawing _
the least challenging in first year because: I have been drawing
throughout secondary school and its something I enjoy.

Respondent 6:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following: I found

CAD the most challenging in first year because: Ive never
done anything like it before and theres a lot in it.
I found __freehand drawing _ the least challenging in first year because: I enjoy it.

Respondent 7:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
Technical Drawing
before. It was new to me.

the most challenging in first year because: I had never done it

I found _freehand drawing _ the least challenging in first year because: Ive been doing it for years,
its something Im used to.

Respondent 8:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
CAD the most challenging in first year because: Youve gt to get all the dimensions
correct, otherwise its off.
I found ____freehand drawing _ the least challenging in first year because: I love freehand
drawing.

Respondent 9:
Technical Drawing

Free-hand Drawing

Sample & Mood-boards

Academic Writing (eg. essays)

AutoCAD

Please complete the following:

I found
Technical Drawing the most challenging in first year because: I had never really done it
before. Its not difficult but Im not the fastest at it.
I found _freehand drawing _ the least challenging in first year because: Ive been doing it for years,
and it just feels natural to me.

Q5 - Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Convergent thinking is the type of thinking that focuses on coming up with a single, well established
answer to a problem. e.g. 10 +10 = ?; or What colour is milk?
Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring
many possible solutions. e.g. How many things can you make out of a paper clip?

In the diagram above please circle the eight words which most describe the learning processes you would use
when you are doing any assignment on the course.

9no. Respondents:
Respondent 1:
Divergent green triangle: imagine, generate, visualize
Convergent blue triangle: categorize, decisions, hone in/focus, guidelines, make sense of
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? I like to come up with many solutions to a problem so I can
choose my strongest one.

Respondent 2:
Divergent green triangle: explore, visualize, play with, generate, fantacize, combine/integrate
Convergent blue triangle: decisions, make sense of
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? I am a creative person and I love visualizing different layouts of
the room in my head.

Respondent 3:
Divergent green triangle: explore, visualize, imagine, play with, fantacize
Convergent blue triangle: decisions, make sense of, connect
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? Its probably because thats how I had to think when making my
portfolio so I trained myself to think this way.

Respondent 4:
Divergent green triangle: explore, combine/integrate, engage possibilities, fantacize
Convergent blue triangle: make sense of, connect, guidelines
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Convergent
Why do you think this is the case? I think I am a little bit of both. I am a practical person who does
like to come up with well established solutions, but I do at times find myselfventuring off to more
creative solutions.

Respondent 5:
Divergent green triangle: explore, imagine, engage possibilities, visualize, play with,
combine/integrate
Convergent blue triangle: reduce, connect
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? I think Im a divergent thinker because I came up with lots of
different possibilities and outcomes. I then reduce them or improve my ideas through thought
process.

Respondent 6:
Divergent green triangle: combine/integrate, explore, visualize, fantacize, generate
Convergent blue triangle: guidelines, make sense of, rate by criteria
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? I think it is more creative to be a divergent thinker and I am a very
open minded person.

Respondent 7:
Divergent green triangle: generate, explore, imagine, engage possibilities, combine/integrate
Convergent blue triangle: hone in/focus, guidelines, decisions
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Both
Why do you think this is the case? Im capable of coming up with direct solutions and many possible
solutions to problems. I feel this is part of my character or personality.

Respondent 8:
Divergent green triangle: visualize, imagine, combine/integrate, play with, generate, explore
Convergent blue triangle: decisions, hone in/focus
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? I try to think of new ideas using different materials and different
ways of putting them together.

Respondent 9:
Divergent green triangle: visualize, imagine, generate, explore
Convergent blue triangle: make sense of, refine, clarify, guidelines
Would you describe yourself as a convergent or divergent thinker? Divergent
Why do you think this is the case? Im indecisive to start off. I find when Im given a project I cant
settle on one idea and usually produce multiple ideas if I can or have the time to.

Q6 The traits of a good designer: Place the following in order from 1 to 10 indicating which you think is
the most important trait of a good designer, with 1 being the most important and 10 being the least.

Respondent 1:
Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

10

Problem Solving

4
1

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

10

Respondent 2:
Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

10

Problem Solving

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

Problem Solving

Team Player

10

Technical Skills

Vision

Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

5
2

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

Problem Solving

Team Player

3
8

Technical Skills

3
1

Vision

Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

10

Humility

Problem Solving

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

Respondent 3:

Respondent 4:

Respondent 5:

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Respondent 6:
Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

10

Problem Solving

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

Artistic Ability

10

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

Humility

Problem Solving

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

Creativity

Eye for Materials

2
8

Humility

10

Problem Solving

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

Artistic Ability

Awareness of Audience

Communication

10

Creativity

Eye for Materials

9
8

Humility

Problem Solving

10

Team Player

Technical Skills

Vision

10

Respondent 7:

Respondent 8:

Respondent 9:

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Q7 Multimedia Learning
In your CAD module in first year you were given post-lecture videos (screencasts) via e-mail to look
at after class. (As a reminder, you completed surveys on this in first year.)
9 Respondents
i. Please write a brief reflection on how you used them so far in first year.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

If I was having trouble with a task I would view them.

It has helped me revise and learn more about CAD and how I can use it in my work.
I used them to remember what I learned in class that week.
I havent actually gotten a chance to look at them yet.
I have them to practise the commands we learned in class and to complete the activities
we were given.
It is very useful to have the videos to refer back to if you forget how to do something.
I used them if I had a problem or if I forgot how to perform a specific task on CAD.
I have watched these videos after class to make sure I understand all the techniques
used.
Ive used them whenever I struggled with a section of CAD or if I forget anything, which
is very helpful.

ii. Do you still refer to the videos often (ie. once a week), sometimes, or never?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Sometimes
Sometimes
Usually every second week
Never
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
3/4
Sometimes

iii. Has your opinion changed towards learning CAD in first year, since the beginning of the
semester, and if so or if not, please say why?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Yes, Im not as scared of it as I was at the beginning of the semester.

Yes, I find it easier to use and it helps with making my models for other modules.
At the beginning of the semester it was a lot scarier but now its not so bad I think.
I see how technology has become an asset to the art & design world.
Yes, it is more difficult than I thought it would be.
It is not as challenging now as I found it at first but it can still be tricky to get the hang of.
Yes, it has. At the beginning I felt frustrated doing simple tasks but now they all tie in
together.
8. I have found my skills getting better each week. It takes me while to get used to them at
first.
9. Yes, I dont find it as daunting because Im doing it often in classes and in my spare time.
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iv. Place the following in order of how challenging you found each assignment in the first year CAD
module, with the most challenging at 1 and the least challenging at 4.
Respondent 1:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 2:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 3:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 4:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 5:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

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Respondent 6:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 7:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16

1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 8:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16
1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

1
1
1
3

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

Respondent 9:
1st Semester: Activities 1 to 16
1st Semester: Survey/sketches/tech. drawing by hand

3
1
1
2

1st Semester: End of semester cad drawing test

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v. Are there other modules in which such multimedia tutorials would have helped to overcome
new learning challenges, and if so, please say why?
1. Model-making is a big part of the course and would be very useful if they were multimedia tutorials.
2. In structure module, if we could watch videos on how other people make structural objects
so we have a better understanding.
3. I cant think of any.
4. I can sit at home and carefully go through the tutorial at my own pace and dissect the
information.
5. I think tutorials like those would help in modules that require models to be made. It would
give us a better idea on how to make clean, presentable models.
6. Drawing tips for observational drawing may be useful.
7. Within this course I dont think so. Our lectures are very practical based and any information
i.e. PowerPoints are e-mailed to us.
8. Probably not. Other classes are more design self-direct based.
9. Not that I can think of because other classes arent as straight forward and the lecturers
cant give away as much so as to allow us to learn and develop independently.
vi. Do you think video screencasts could be a useful presentation format for your own project work in
second year and beyond? If so, please say when and why?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

No response
They would because they explain projects better that a verbal presentation.
Yes, maybe, because they would allow you to show how your design worked. Maybe you could then
send the video over e-mail to a client.
I dont know what screencasts are...
PowerPoint presentations can be overwhelming. Therefore, tutorials like these can be a lot more
helpful and easier to understand.
They would be useful as it would then be clear that you did understand the work but I personally
wouldnt like them.
Yes, I dont see why not. Some people find presentations very overwhelming and terrifying so
providing a screencast might be a better option.
No, it doesnt allow me to practise public speaking. I have gotten used to talking in front of an
audience.
No, not really. It doesnt allow the same practise with public speaking or presenting because the video
would be filmed anywhere at any time and can be edited to disguise the true performance.

If you have any further comments about the screencasts or the learning processes in the first year of the
course, please add them here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

No response
No response
No response
What is it about? Whats the purpose?
No response
No response
Overall, they are very useful and seem to be a natural progression, as regards schooling, because this
modern day we live in is surrounded by technology, so it makes sense.
No response
No response

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