Abstract

In our research context, CAD is one of most important courses for students. Viewing expertise in CAD as a requirement for a professional career should motivate students to learn it without hesitation; however, studies show they practice only for examinations or assignments. The reason cited for seldom practicing is frustration with lack of immediate assistance from teachers or mentor classmates when problems are encountered. When use of CAD is required to complete out-of-class assignments, students often ask friends for help. Indeed, student interaction helps them learn CAD, but how that interaction helps them remains unknown. A questionnaire based on Achievement Motivation Theory (AMT) was used in 3 different classes to test the causality between motivation, behavior and performance with three constraint conditions (N=129, Cronbach’s α=0.68~0.78), which were during the same period, in the same course, and in the same classroom. Survey items also included students’ social networks (SN) while learning CAD. HLM was used to test cross-level mediation and 2-level growth linear model. Our study found motivation could also be used to predict longitudinally the performance in a CAD learning situation. Furthermore, students’ SN behaviors significantly have a changing mediation effect. That is why we claim that students should be allowed to walk around and talk to each other while learning CAD in the classroom.