Assessing the Effect of Mnemonics on Acquiring Knowledge of History of Furniture Design
摘要
History of Furniture Design has traditionally been taught in the chronological order. However, this study is of an unorthodox approach at teaching History of Furniture Design. The unorthodox method implements the usage of a mnemonic namely, acronym. Acronym is a short word that is made from the first letters of a group of words. This alternative method is based on the idea that organizing information alphabetically may have mnemonic advantages, potentially aiding in information retention among students. The study involved thirty students with fifteen students in the control group, who were instructed in the conventional chronological order. The remaining fifteen students were experimented with the alphabetical acronym order. Significant variations in mean scores between the control and experimental groups were observed after the instructional period, indicating different levels of knowledge acquisition. The results of unpaired t-tests indicated the better impact of the alphabetical acronym method. Significant disparities were noted in the understanding and application of objectives related to History of Furniture Design between the two groups. These findings provide an opportunity for teachers to think tangentially on the methodology used in teaching History of Furniture Design. This study adds on to the ongoing research on alternative methods of creative teaching techniques. It also provides a leverage to teach history by means of an unorthodox teaching method. By challenging the traditional chronological teaching method and exploring the potential of the mnemonic alphabetical organization, the research sheds light on the importance of considering diverse instructional strategies to enhance student learning outcomes. Further research in this area could explore the impact of mnemonics in teaching history creatively, while assessing the benefits obtained by this technique on knowledge retention and application in design education.