Beyond Pro/DESKTOP Computer Aided Design (CAD) : the transfer of CAD-based design modelling skillsfrom schools to Higher Education

Most secondary schools in England and Wales now include the use of three-dimensional (3D) CAD modelling skills in their secondary design and technology curriculum and the majority of those employ PTC Pro/DESKTOP as the software that is used to develop and implement 3D CAD modelling skills. The use of CAD, and other digital media, is a key part of the Industrial Design and Technology programme at Loughborough University. This paper reports on investigations into the ways in which Pro/DESKTOP software has been used in A’ Level work, from the perception of 120 students in their first year of the undergraduate Industrial Design and Technology programme. It draws distinction between being able to use CAD modelling features and being able to model products in CAD. The need to move from Pro/DESKTOP to Pro/ENGINEER is clearly underpinned by the need for graduates to have capability with a sufficiently complex and appropriate CAD modelling system that the design intent is not compromised by their ineffective use of the software. A seamless progression from CAD work at A’ Level to that at undergraduate degree level is unlikely, in part because of the range of effective CAD capability across A’ Level students and also because the different CAD software packages employ some differences in style and approach. The paper considers some issues concerned with the transfer of generic CAD skills between school and undergraduate level at university, and draws conclusions that have implications for the teaching and learning of CAD