Jeffrey Buckley

Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest · Faculty of Engineering and Informatics

The philosophy and epistemology of technology education are relatively unique as the subject largely focusses on acquiring task specific relevant knowledge rather than having an explicit epistemological discipline boundary. Additionally, there is a paucity of intelligence research in technology education. To support research on learning in technolo...

The educational significance of eliciting students’ implicit theories of intelligence is well established with the majority of this work focussing on theories regarding entity and incremental beliefs. However, a second paradigm exists in the prototypical nature of intelligence for which to view implicit theories. This study purports to instigate an...

An abundance of empirical evidence exists identifying a significant correlation between spatial ability and educational performance particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite this evidence, a causal explanation has yet to be identified. Pertinent research illustrates that spatial ability can be developed and th...

A core aim of contemporary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is the development of robust problem-solving skills. This can be achieved by fostering both discipline knowledge expertise and general cognitive abilities associated with problem solving. One of the most important cognitive abilities in STEM education is s...

ABSTRACT Background: Substantial research highlights the differences between scientific and technological knowledge. Considering that learning is heavily focused on the acquisition of knowledge, it is important to examine the individual and systematic implications of these types of knowledge. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the...

Technology education research is a growing field, with the rate of growth increasing over the last 2 decades. As the field grows, it is paramount that credibility is maintained in published findings. To date there is no evidence to suggest a lack trust is warranted, however in the midst of the replication crisis there is need to ensure continued ri...

Technology education research is a growing field, with the rate of growth increasing over the last two decades. As the field grows, it is paramount that credibility is maintained in published findings. To date there is no evidence to suggest a lack trust is warranted, however in the midst of the replication crisis there is need to ensure continued...

While reliability has been the subject of much Comparative Judgement (CJ) research, understanding its validity, which and relates directly to the included judges and their decision-making, is paramount. Understanding this decision-making better would add significantly to the formative use of CJ and its use in educational task-design. This paper rep...

The quantity and quality of talented individuals in STEM (science/S, technology/T, engineering/E and mathematics/M) fields contribute to a nation’s overall competitiveness. Taiwan and many countries around the world are vigorously promoting the training of STEM professionals and the enhancement of STEM literacy for all as one of the key education o...

STEM education in Sweden exists for students from their initial engagement with compulsory education at the age of 6 and is mandatory and cohesive for all students until they enter upper secondary level. The importance of STEM education is highlighted through the impact of STEM on the Swedish economy and can be further seen through government inves...

Design as a construct has multiple meanings depending on context, function, and agenda. This paper proposes to set out functions of design as it manifests in the context of technological activity for the purposes of technology education. The importance of context and by association intention in technological and designerly activity is presented wit...

A high level of transparency in reported research is critical for several reasons, such as ensuring an acceptable level of trustworthiness and enabling replication. Transparency in qualitative research permits the identification of specific circumstances which are associated with findings and observations. Thus, transparency is important for the re...

This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching...

This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching...

This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching...

A number of key graduate outcomes related to industry-based interventions and work-industry-related activities (WIA's) are specified by the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance for all Engineering Degree Programmes. A paucity of research regarding student perceptions of these WIAs and their role in student's motivation for learning motivates the curr...

Understanding how design is, could be, and should be incorporated into technology education is of growing importance, as evidenced by an increasing amount of research in this area. However, there is considerable variance surrounding the ways in which design is defined and operationalised within technology education research. Creating an overview of...

Literature has shown there to be a direct correlation between spatial ability and success in various STEM disciplines. Those testing with lower spatial ability in undergraduate STEM degrees can improve their skills with tailored interventions. This indicates that spatially orientated subject matter at second level could have the possibility of unlo...

Spatial ability is documented as a predictor of success in STEM disciplines and noted to contribute to individuals problem-solving approaches. While there is a significant body of correlational evidence indicating that spatial ability relates to success in different areas in STEM, there is a gap in understanding of the cause of this relationship. T...

New standards for Initial Teacher Education programmes, published by the Teaching Council of Ireland, have highlighted the need for pre-service teachers to develop assessment literacy with particular emphasis on formative assessment practices. This follows a period of curricular reform in the second level education sector that sees the assessment s...

The introduction of Adaptive Comparative Judgement (ACJ) into technology education through the e- scape project conducted by the Technology Education Research Unit (TERU) in the United Kingdom fundamentally impacted discourse on assessment in technology education, particularly for designerly activity. Since e-scape there has been a significant rise...

The development of spatial skills within STEM fields is of growing importance with studies showing correlation between spatial skills in adolescence and the attainment of advanced degrees in STEM later in life. The rising need for STEM professionals is well documented which leads to the question of how STEM attainment can be improved earlier in lif...

The establishment and maintenance of national examination standards remains a serious issue for teachers and learners, whilst the levers of control remain firmly in the hands of Awarding Bodies and supervising politicians. Significantly, holistic assessment presents an agility and collective approach to establishing in the minds of teachers "what i...

There is a continuing rise in studies examining the impact that adaptive comparative judgment (ACJ) can have on practice in technology education. This appears to stem from ACJ being seen to offer a solution to the difficulties faced in the assessment of designerly activity which is prominent in contemporary technology education internationally. Cen...

General intelligence is a fundamental human capacity with significant educational implications. However, it is often not considered in educational research despite substantial evidence illustrating its association with positive life outcomes and student’s capacity to learn. There are a number of potential reasons for this including the controversia...

Understanding the factors that impact learners with respect to their academic achievement is critical for enhancing educational provision, and the nature of these factors can vary widely. They could be, for example, cognitive, conative, physiological, or physical. With increased understanding of such factors teachers can better meet learner needs....

Design is core element of general technology education internationally. While there is a degree of contention with regards to its treatment, there is general consensus that the inclusion of design in some form is important, if not characteristic, of the subject area. Acknowledging that design is important, there are many questions which need to be...

There is a growing need for higher education to facilitate the development of digital competence in students. This has become increasingly apparent in light of changes to the higher education landscape resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital competence however is an ambiguous and manifold construct which warrants further qualification to faci...

A high level of transparency in reported research is critical for several reasons, such as ensuring an acceptable level of trustworthiness and enabling replication. Transparency in qualitative research permits the identification of specific circumstances which are associated with findings and observations. Thus, transparency is important for the re...

There is a growing demand for the use of digital tools in assessment. Few approaches show innovative benefits beyond being logistical aids. Comparative judgment (CJ) has the potential to enhance educational practices by providing a mechanism for reliable assessment, supporting formative feedback, and by supporting critical discourse on evidence of...

Discourse in psychological science concerning the replication crisis is growing, with typically cited indicators including scientific fraud, the use of questionable research practices and the failure of published effects to replicate. It is paramount that education researchers are aware of this crisis and adopt appropriate methodological and report...

Spatial ability is attributed to success in STEM disciplines and is outlined as a component of general cognitive ability through the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of human intelligence. Research in spatially orientated disciplines outside of STEM has indicated that individuals with high levels of spatial ability and lower levels of expertise can...

The technology education curriculum in Ireland has gone through significant reform with the introduction of four new subject specifications at lower secondary school level. These new technology subjects were implemented in September 2019 and denotes a move from prescribed content and learning objectives syllabi to subject specifications presented i...

Technology education (TE) is a transient area of study. Few other subject areas require such levels of up-skilling similar to that of technology teachers in order for them to stay current and aligned with the developments of technology subject matter. The subject area has undergone a significant shift, from a predominantly vocational, skills or cra...

How can we maximize what is learned from a replication study? In the creative destruction approach to replication, the original hypothesis is compared not only to the null hypothesis, but also to predictions derived from multiple alternative theoretical accounts of the phenomenon. To this end, new populations and measures are included in the design...

How can we maximize what is learned from a replication study? In the creative destruction approach to replication, the original hypothesis is compared not only to the null hypothesis, but also to predictions derived from multiple alternative theoretical accounts of the phenomenon. To this end, new populations and measures are included in the design...

How can we maximize what is learned from a replication study? In the creative destruction approach to replication, the original hypothesis is compared not only to the null hypothesis, but also to predictions derived from multiple alternative theoretical accounts of the phenomenon. To this end, new populations and measures are included in the design...

Males are generally overrepresented in higher education engineering. However, the magnitude of this variance differs between countries and engineering fields. Evidence associated with the field-specific ability beliefs hypothesis suggests that perceptions of intelligence held by actors within engineering affects the engagement of underrepresented g...

Whilst investigating student performance in design and arithmetic tasks, as well as during exams, electrodermal activity (EDA)-based sensors have been used in attempts to understand cognitive function and cognitive load. Limitations in the employed approaches include lack of capacity to mark events in the data, and to explain other variables relati...

This Work in Progress paper describes considerations relative to the development of a follow-up exploratory quantitative design for examining student motivation in higher engineering education. The intent of the current work is to build on the outcomes of a previous qualitative study exploring the perceptions of students with regard to work industr...

The use of design assignments for teaching, learning, and assessment is considered a signature of technology education. However, there are difficulties in the valid and reliable assessment of features of quality within designerly outputs. In light of recent educational reforms in Ireland, which see the introduction of classroom-based assessments ce...

The use of design assignments for teaching, learning, and assessment is considered a signature of technology education. However, there are difficulties in the valid and reliable assessment of features of quality within designerly outputs. In light of recent educational reforms in Ireland, which see the introduction of classroom based assessments ce...

This full research paper aims to investigate the nature of industry-related activities engineering students encounter at a Swedish university, as well as the impact these activities have on their motivation to study engineering. Over the last decade, many studies have been conducted concerning university-industry engagement which chart the landscap...

In Sweden, there have been multiple large scale interventions to support compulsory school teachers generally and within specific subjects. Due to the costs associated with such interventions it is critical that interim evaluation measures exist which can indicate potential success. Additionally, evaluation measures which can measure the actual imp...

Educational assessment has profound effects on the nature and depth of learning that students engage in. Typically there are two core types discussed within the pertinent literature; criterion and norm referenced assessment. However another form, ipsative assessment, refers to the comparison between current and previous performance within a course...

Women are significantly underrepresented in engineering and engineering related disciplines. One area where this is clearly illustrated is in the percentage of females enrolled in higher education engineering courses. The 2016 data on enrolment by field from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the maximum pe...

It is well established that spatial ability correlates with STEM performance. This has been shown through substantial longitudinal evidence e.g. (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). Specifically, it has been demonstrated as an important factor in engineering and technology education consistently for the last two decades (Buckley, 2018; Sorby, 1999, 200...

Technology Education continues to establish itself internationally as a primary contributor to a broad and balanced curriculum that prepares students for the technological age that we are living in. It is critical that those responsible for the shaping and delivery of our subjects pay special attention to how they are conceived and delivered to stu...

A new curricular framework, presented by the Department of Education and Skills (DES), (2015) implements an assessment strategy that has changed from a predominantly summative to a more formative integrated approach. With the emphasis being placed on the process of learning rather than the product, it is critical that the assessment practices and i...

Gender representation in technology and engineering education is generally not equitable with females being underrepresented in many areas (e.g. Sultan, Axell, & Hallström, 2018; Yoder, 2017). While there are many perspectives on gender representation in technical fields, from the perspective of advancing engineering and technology as disciplines,...

Problem solving is an important element of engineering and technology disciplines and spatial ability contributes to learners' success in problem solving in these areas (Wai, et al., 2009). As excessive cognitive load can impede an individual's capacity to process information (Kirschner, Paas & Kirschner, 2009) it is posited that higher levels of s...

The healthcare products market is a diverse market supplying critical care products ranging from pharmaceutical products to biologics to medical devices. The regulation and best practices associated with the manufacture of such devices is very well documented in ISO standards, AAMI Technical, European and US Pharmacopeia. As part of Good Manufactur...

Technical report on the features of quality associated with project work in the the Irish Junior Cycle technology subjects commissions by the Irish National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

Development of a Methodological Approach to Measure Cognitive Load Throughout a Problem Solving Experience

A substantial degree of empirical evidence has illustrated the correlation between spatial skills and performance in engineering education. This evidence has been foundational in the construction of educational interventions which have resulted in both increased levels of spatial ability and increased educational performance and retention. However,...

While comparative judgement has now been around for a number of years, it continues to be used in a variety of new ways and across multiple subjects. Jeffrey has specific experience using comparative judgement in design education which he will discuss as well as presenting other applications described in the literature. The intention of this presen...

A philosophical shift in policy now situates the development of technological capability as the focus of Irish technology education. Internationally, the effectiveness of curricular reform in the discipline has previously been called to question, as the legacy of the preceding vocational craft subjects has been seen to throttle the evolution of pra...

Technology subjects are a relatively recent addition to the discipline offerings at post-primary level, and have a short but interesting history in terms of associated educational research. In this paper, an overview of the evolving research agendas that emerged in response to the nature of practice, from the perspectives of the Technology Educatio...

Design activities typically involve and culminate in the creation of models representative of new ideas and conceptions. The format is often dictated by the specific discipline, with ideas in design and technology education regularly being externalised through the use of computer aided design (CAD). This paper focusses on the realisation stage of a...

Education is a particularly complex discipline due to the numerous variables which impact on teaching and learning. Due to the large effect of human intelligence on the variance in student educational achievement, there is a substantial need to further contemporary understandings of its role in education. Multiple paradigms exist regarding the stud...

The provision of engineering education as a means of enabling students to develop contemporary transversal competencies such as problem solving, critical thinking, adaptive reasoning and communication, places a responsibility on curriculum designers to reposition these aptitudes within the hierarchy of desired skills. Problem solving is a fundament...

Spatial ability has been established as having a significant effect on performance and subsequently on retention in engineering education. However, the cause for this phenomenon is not yet fully understood. Based on previous findings, it is posited that spatial ability has an effect on the students' capacity to acquire knowledge. This study aspired...

The Technology subject in general post-primary education is unique based on its conception and treatment of knowledge. The task specific utility of knowledge is emphasised and at the same time, in reflection of the breadth of technology in society, the variance in the context of learning tasks can be quite large. The subject is considered to have a...

Conference proceedings for the 2018 PATT36 International Conference. Editors: Niall Seery, Jeffrey Buckley, Donal Canty and Joseph Phelan

Hartell, E., Buckley, J., Gumaelius, L., Doyle, A., & Seery, N. (2018). Arbeta med komparativ bedömning (Working with comparative assessment). Skola & Samhälle. http://www.skolaochsamhalle.se/flode/skola/eva-hartell-m-fl-arbeta-med-komparativ-bedomning/

Decades of empirical evidence demonstrates the correlation between spatial ability and STEM education. However, a causal relationship is yet to be confirmed. This talk will present empirical data concerning this relationship gathered across a series of experiments with various focuses such as cognitive ability levels, implicit theories of intellige...

Design activities form an extensive part of design and technology education with a link being posited within the pertinent literature between the cognitive activity of learning and the cognitive activity of design. It is therefore critical that design educators' understand the effects that design constraints can have on the learning process. This p...

Buckley, J. (2018). [Review of the book Design epistemology and curriculum planning, by E. Norman & Baynes, K. (Eds.)]. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 23(1), 109-112.