multimedia design & research
:: research-led practice :: practice-led research ::
DR NICOLA WOOD
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The first seven years of my research (2001-2007) brought a designerly approach to the problem of capturing and passing on the skilled knowledge of master craftsmen using interactive digital media.
This is relevant to situations where traditional craft apprenticeships are not be available and many of the people who wish to acquire these skills fall outside traditional expectations. For example they may be older, more independent and focused on personal creative goals rather than employment.
Practical work
Observation is central to my research; I have spent many hours 'hangng out' in craft practitioners' workshops. It is an environment where I feel at ease as my partner, Robin Wood, is a traditional craftsman. (This project came to fruition through a concern that his skills, and those of others like him, were unique and could easily be lost.)
It is important to me that I observe authentic activity rather than a performance so, as well as spending time getting to know those I have observed, I have developed techniques for recording in such environments.
My research has engaged simultaneously with the two problems of what is to be learned and how it will be learned. It brings together master craftsmen, learners and designer in hybrid activities that provide an arena for generating understanding of skilled practice, embodied implicitly in learning materials rather than stated explicitly in formal conclusions.
Tacit knowledge
The skills involved in craft practice involve a large degree of tacit knowledge; the theory governing a skilled craft practitioner’s actions are often only known through their undertaking those actions.
Traditionally this was not an issue because such skills were passed from one to another through apprenticeship, based on observation and imitation over a period of time during which master and apprentice could build an understanding. However, once master and apprentice are separated a problem occurs.
When I first started working with craft practitioners I had imagined video as providing the key to recording and transmitting craft knowledge. However my subsequent experience has led me to believe that video is only useful for those already experienced in the skill. For the beginner video is a very difficult medium to learn from, having a tendency to conceal rather than reveal the complexity of craft practice.
The expert practitioner makes the task look easy, tacitly responding to subtle cues that may be any combination of kinesthetic, visual, auditory or olfactory. Whilst they may be able to verbalise some of this, much will remain unspoken. The observer has to interpret what they are seeing themselves and attempt to replicate it in their own activity, a difficult task for the novice.
Bridging the gap
In response to this problem I have developed a multi-layered approach to interpreting the skills I have been recording, using interpretation based on images and text as a starting point for novices, providing them with a bridge across the knowledge gap between themselves and the expert. These 'bridges' are identified and the iterpretation developed through working with craft practitioners and learners of different abilities.
It is important to note that this does not imply that the interpretation makes the tacit knowledge of the expert practitioner explicit. The factors identified for interpretation are not the expert practitioner’s tacit knowledge, they are explicit concepts which can help the expert articulate his tacit knowledge. They are potentially bridges across the knowledge gap which help the novice 'dwell in' the practice of the expert.
Learning resources
The framework I have develped for learning resources offers a layered structure to support learners through different phases of learning.
Introductory: a passive, observational phase where the learner gains an overview of what is to be done and is introduced to any key skills or strategies
Guidance: an active, participatory phase where the learner is guided step by step through the basic process and gains an understanding of any common errors
Development: repetition is necessary to gain mastery of the skill and this is supported by encouraging the learner to evaluate their outcome, identify and solve problems, and offering them a greater depth of material to explore
Video remains an important medium but is mostly used in the first and last phases; for contextualising each stage of the process and for more advanced learning where the learner has the ability to form their own interpretation.
In the central phase still images, in particular line drawings, are key to providing the interpretation necessary for learners to engage with the activity. The step by step guidance provides the bridges for the novice to start to tap into the skills of the expert and learn to read moving images, whether live demonstration or video, for themselves.
Publications
Wood N (2007). Unlocking the knowledge of others: knowledge elicitation in practice-led design research. Position paper for Sint-Lucas Research Training Sessions 2007. Brussels: Hogeschool voor Wetenschap & Kunst Sint-Lucas, June 2007. PDF
Wood N (2007). Discourse through making: eliciting knowledge to support craft skills learning. Proceedings of European Acadamy of Design Conference, Izmir, Turkey, April 2007. PDF
Wood N (2006). Transmitting craft knowledge: designing interactive media to support tacit skills learning. PhD thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, November 2006. <downloadable from here>
Wood N (2005). Uncovering tacit knowledge for the design of interactive media. Proceedings of Cumulus Spring Conference, IADE, Lisbon, May 2005. PDF
Wood N (2004). Unknown knowns; knowledge elicitation for multimedia in craft learning. Proceedings of Challenging Craft Conference, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, September 2004. PDF
Wood N (2003). Design for tacit learning. MA thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, August 2003. PDF
Wood N & Rust C (2003). Designing for tacit learning: an investigation of design strategies for multimedia supported learning in the crafts. Proceedings of European Academy of Design conference, Barcelona, April 2003. PDF
