Mobile-Based Sloper Courseware for Pattern Drafting : A Malaysian IPTS Study

Abstract

Pattern drafting is one of the basic skills taught in fashion design courses, but in Malaysian private higher education institutions (IPTS), students are still having problems in learning pattern drafting as it is not consistently included in the curriculum and there is a limited opportunity for them to practice it, which indicates that the students need to understand the challenges they are encountering in learning pattern drafting effectively, in order to design an effective intervention. This study will be used to highlight the major problems that face fashion design students in learning pattern drafting at Malaysian IPTS. The four constructs, namely, Curriculum Learning, Curriculum Development, Learning Style and Preference, and Technology Enhanced Learning, were measured using a structured questionnaire with responses collected from 275 students (N = 290) at five IPTS institutions in Klang Valley, namely UCSI University, Management and Science University, UNITAR International University, City University, and Raffles University, with IBM SPSS describing the results. In relation to the study objective, the following important findings arose. To begin with, students found there were existing structural gaps in the way pattern drafting is currently being taught (M = 4.01–4.09), even though they also showed high engagement with course content. Second, current digital tools adopted in pattern drafting teaching were felt to be limited in their ability to facilitate effective learning, although students’ responses towards the digital teaching approaches were positive (M = 4.13). Third, students reported that limited resources for drafting, ineffective teaching methods, and time were the three most important factors that affect students' ability to learn pattern drafting. Regression analysis further showed that curriculum development, learning style and preference, and technology-enhanced learning significantly predicted students’ curriculum learning outcomes (p < .001), with curriculum development emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.473). The results of this study suggest that the factors of curriculum gaps and lack of resources are the main constraints in learning pattern drafting, not the lack of student motivation. The study concludes that these gaps in curriculum and materials are important in improving the technical competency of students in the field of fashion design and serves as an empirical basis for the next step to develop fashion pattern drafting courseware for pattern drafting learning in IPTS in Malaysia that will be supported by using mobile technology.

Keywords: mobile learning, sloper courseware, pattern drafting, fashion design education