Uncovering themes in qualitative data can be daunting and difficult. Summarizing a quantitative study is relatively clear: you scored 25% better than the competition, let’s say. But how do you summarize a collection of qualitative observations?
In the discovery phase, exploratory research is often carried out. This research often produces a lot of qualitative data, which can include:
Qualitative attitudinal data, such as people’s thoughts, beliefs and self-reported needs obtained from user interviews, focus groups and even diary studies
Qualitative behavioral data, such as observations about people’s behavior collected through contextual inquiry and other ethnographic approaches Thematic analysis, which anyone can do, renders important aspects of qualitative data visible and makes uncovering themes easier.
Themes are key to understanding object learning it’s a gateway of illustrating large ideas. It is an efficient way of teaching and delivering focused learning it’s a good tool. A theme could be on the the weather as an example which is part of this document.
MY thoughts
One issue that does become apparent with online learning is that though it’s good at delivering teaching to a large body of people we’re not necessarily in the same room. There is the drawback of digital exhaustion, including screen exhaustion and disorientation online with poor Internet connection or disengagement from the subject based lesson. The digital learning spaces can only be used for a short period of time, and it is not an ideal method of teaching-especially, practical subjects and the manipulation of objects/materials that the online body host can share. One advantage is that different creative bodies and practises can share ideas all at once online; and the object or theme can be discussed. New design ideas, creative thinking can be explored. Introduction of objects to the learning experience might support students develop an understanding around the intersectional nature of the climate crisis.
My thoughts
Another word that keeps on cropping up is intersectionality its meaning-‘the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race class and gender as they apply to give an individual or group regarded as creating overlapping and into the interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage’ an ‘awareness of intersectionality- we can better acknowledge the differences amongst us’. What is intersectionality in simple words ‘intersectionality is the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and
Reference
Willcocks, J & Mahon, K (2023) ‘in commerce the potential of online object-based learning activities to support the teaching of intersectional environmentalism in art and design in high education ’.’Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education’, (Volume 22) p. 187-207