Introduction
In this blog, I discuss and critically analyze the Master’s Thesis written by David Pertl. It is titled “The Sound of Light” published earlier this year in Graz. It is part of the Master’s programme in Education at the University of Graz. The thesis can be viewed here.
The author aims to experiment and test a unique form of teaching using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with the help of Sonification, a form of data interpretation using sound signals. This was followed by testing by a large number of participants, most of which have responded positively as the author had intended.
Evaluation of the Academic Quality
Quality of design and execution: The project was carried out methodically and had a natural progression from start to finish. The author carries out extensive research and prepares material prior to the testing phase. The usage of the Likert scale for such tests helps gather definitive results from participants. At the same time, the author describes limitations of not having a wider demographic for surveying.
Degree of innovation: The author delves into a novel concept and manages to blend 3 unique fields of work (education, chemistry and audio data research) and does a fantastic job in finding a link between the three. And as described by the author, sonification has been rarely employed in Chemistry studies, making him one of the few people to research and evaluate in this field of study.
Independence: A lot of participants were required for testing and finalizing results. At least 223 participants took part in the surveys conducted by the author. Therefore, the results would have greatly differed by the people that were asked and by their demographic as well. The sonification and animations were created by a fellow research student from Stanford University.
Organization and structure: The thesis is well structured with defined titles. It is easy to read and breaks down scientific concepts for better understanding. However, the primary title “The Sound of Light” could mislead readers from outside the field of chemistry, such as people connected to the film and visual media industry.
Quality of communication: The thesis entails a lot of topics which would require prerequisite knowledge for first time readers. However, the author manages to break down a lot of concepts into simpler information while conveying the message. Ultimately, he has done a good job in explaining various steps and processes in the project.
Scope of the thesis: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was one of the primary techniques the author identified to verify his research ideas. Implementing this with sonification of data in chemistry education was the primary goal of the project.
Spelling, care and accuracy: Though the writing has been consistent throughout the paper, there are occasional overlaps of British and American English conventions. For instance, the author uses the British spelling ‘analogue’ in a sentence preceded by the American spelling ‘analyzed’. Most readers would overlook this but for some it may be confusing.
Use of literature: The author utilizes a vast number of sources, successfully bridging pedagogy and technical application. He refers to educational journals such as the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability as well as official handbooks for Sonification and UDL. Citing interactive applications on GitHub further demonstrates that the author’s research is relevant with current digital developments.
Evaluation of the Practical Project / Work Produced
Though the author needed assistance to carry out part of the practical project, he has successfully managed to connect the research question with the theoretical framework and implement it successfully.
The documentation is well written, clearly defined and detailed. I personally believe the quality and level of development meet the requirements of a Master’s Thesis as he primarily tests a research design and implements ways to build and improve on it.
Conclusion
I enjoyed reading through David’s Thesis and found it to be very insightful. I was a bit disappointed to realize that he outsourced the sonification and visualization work to someone else. This is one of the major weaknesses I found in his work as he did not prepare the material by himself. I think he would have learned more with this process of experimentation.
At the same time it is acceptable due to the immense scope of work that the project contained. David is also majoring in Education, which is a very different field of work. He was able to record the observations and communicate the various processes effectively and come up with accurate results for the project.
Relevance to My Final Thesis
The thesis provides a lot of literature I could refer to for my personal project and instills a good framework for writing. One of the biggest aspects I would try to improve on is to build materials solely on my own or be present and be part of the process in any other possible way.
David has done a great job in combining cross-disciplinary fields. I would like to replicate the same in my own Master’s Thesis.
