Toward a Method of Visual Artifact Analysis: Understanding Learners’ Design Activity in a Makerspace

Abstract

In our research, we study end-user development and computer-supported collaborative learning in educational settings. The main research method we use is interaction analysis (IA)—the analysis of group interaction (verbal dialog) as it unfolds in real time among students—scaffolded by teachers and mediated by artifacts. IA does not focus on the dynamics (development and modification) of technological artifacts; instead, the emphasis is on gesture, deixis, and action descriptions. We argue that IA is insufficient for understanding design-intensive collaborative learning, especially in settings involving makerspaces and programming in school. Visual artifacts play an important role in computer science, engineering, and architecture, serving as representations (e.g., computers to be programmed, machines to be repaired, houses to be built, etc.). We argue that design-intensive collaborative learning needs methods for understanding both verbal and visual artifacts and we propose the first version of visual artifact analysis. The paper's main aim is to provide an argument for the usefulness of this method by providing a small example and surveying relevant literature.