Using linkography to explore novice designers’ design choices during a STEM task

Abstract

One of the characteristics of the 21st century is the increase in the information sources available to designers to make their design decisions. However, there is much debate about designers' choice of information that enables them to design effectively. Several studies have reported on the cognitive role played by information sources such as STEM knowledge, sketches, images, three-dimensional models, and the physical environment during the design process. However, current theoretical frameworks do not explain how internal and external information sources contribute to novice designers' moment-to-moment information processing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of linkography to investigate how novice designers used information sources during the early phases of the design process. In this paper, we report on a case study in which a group of Grade 8 participants completed a design task requiring them to design a heat retaining food container for street food vendors at a taxi depot. We used a mixed methods case study research design, in which Think-Aloud Protocols were used to access the cognitive processes of the participants. An extended cognition framework formed the theoretical foundations of this study. The preliminary findings indicate that the participants extensively used external information to structure and solve their design problems, with minimal use of STEM knowledge.