Systematic Support of Learning from Errors and Negative Knowledge Development in MCAD Education: Empirical Analysis of Student Feedback

To address some of the shortcomings of the traditional approach to CAD education in relation to the increasingly complex and highly competitive global labor markets, while also taking advantage of recent developments in educational research and cognitive science related to how students learn, a novel approach to improving CAD education has been developed and implemented. The approach integrates negative knowledge and learning from errors as crucial elements in combination with traditional teaching methods (positive knowledge) and formative assessment/feedback. To examine different facets of teaching/learning-related phenomena aimed at providing grounds for improving learning outcomes achieved within a recently restructured MCAD course, empirical research was conducted. In this paper, the results of that empirical research are presented and discussed in regard to learning experience and self-evaluated competency development. The results and insight gained herein are based on student feedback from a set of over 700 questionnaires collected and analyzed using a multi-method approach.