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A Survey of Construction-Related Math Skills in an Introductory-Level Construction Management Course

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Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

New Teaching Methods in Construction Eduction

Tagged Division

Construction

Page Count

8

Page Numbers

22.114.1 - 22.114.8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17396

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/17396

Download Count

466

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Paper Authors

biography

Kirsten A. Davis Boise State University

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Kirsten A. Davis is an Assistant Professor in the Construction Management Department within the College of Engineering at Boise State University. Dr. Davis earned a B.Arch. in Architecture and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee, an M.S. in Civil Engineering specializing in Construction Engineering and Management from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering specializing in Construction Engineering and Management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her educational research interests are focused on improving construction management education.

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Abstract

A Survey of Construction-Related Math Skills in an Introductory-Level Construction Management CourseAbstractConstruction management (CM) professionals use construction-related math skills daily in manyaspects of their work. These math skills include adding and subtracting lengths, finding areasand volumes, and changing from one unit of measurement to another.Many of these math skills are taught during elementary school, but numerous students are unableto confidently apply the skills several years later when they enter college, even though they maybe eligible to take pre-calculus at that time.This paper presents the results of a diagnostic construction-related math quiz given in a freshmanlevel CM course over five different semesters, illustrating students’ consistent difficultyperforming these math skills. Since it is imperative that students have confidence applyingconstruction-related math skills upon graduation with a construction management degree, thispaper also proposes strategies to improve students’ construction math skills.

Davis, K. A. (2011, June), A Survey of Construction-Related Math Skills in an Introductory-Level Construction Management Course Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17396

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