Skill Learning Through Design Factories : How is psychomotor skill learning provided through digital opportunities?

Abstract

This thesis investigates how Design Factories utilize design thinking, psychomotor skill learning with other multidisciplinary competencies, and digitalization to foster their innovative learning opportunities amongst their community. Design Factories move towards the use of more of new digital tools and other potential future technologies while providing innovation and co-creation within their community. A crucial question can be interpreted that how can digital technologies effectively support psychomotor skill learning which are traditionally honed through hands-on practices?

This study analyses how digitalization could provide psychomotor skill learning while acknowledging the existing research gap of Design Factory educational methods for skill learning. This thesis argues that integrating psychomotor skill learning with digitalization, design thinking, and different disciplinary collaboration, could improve their innovative learning services. For data gathering, qualitative interviews with Design Factory staff were conducted to explore their, aims, goals, methods, challenges, and opportunities related to design thinking, and learning opportunities within the age of digitalization and future technologies. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to identify themes from Design Factories' collective empowerment of their learners to tackle complex challenges collaboratively while maintaining skill acquisition and innovation. Produced research findings imply that Design Factories have a strong foundation for different disciplinary learning, co-creational, and innovative learning opportunities. Even though their development of psychomotor skills through digital tools seems to be in its early stages.