Conference Session

Trend in Construction Engineering Education I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eddy Rojas, University of Washington; Carrie Dossick, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Construction

functionalareas: the Virtual Construction Laboratory, the Methods and Materials Laboratory, and theConstruction Education Laboratory. Experiential learning has been introduced as a methodologythat combines problem-solving skills with theoretical principles to redefine engineeringeducation in order to meet the demands of the industry14. The University of Washingtonenvisions the Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education as a placewhere learners will experience construction engineering and management theory and skills firsthand, while researchers will study pedagogy and education methodologies related to engineeringeducation.Experiential learning can be defined as a constructivist pedagogical approach where learnersbuild understanding

Conference Session

Technology in Classrooms - Construction Engineering Perspective

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Zhili (Jerry) Gao; Russell Walters, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Construction

applications toenhance construction process visualization with such tools as 3D animation. The sequence oftopics, course sequencing, software licensing, and laboratory development will be discussed inthe paper along with a proposed project example. After students obtain these basic skills, theywill be able to graphically simulate and the operate construction process with spatial constructiondata in a simple, accurate, safe, and effective way. The prerequisite knowledge for these coursesand the way to bring industry practice into this course is discussed as well.IntroductionRecently, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) arebecoming increasingly useful and beneficial in construction engineering and management

Conference Session

Trend in Construction Engineering Education I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, SUNY

Tagged Divisions

Construction

assignments must be persuasive or informative • All final submission must be reviewed by at least one peer • All final submissions must be accompanied by the draft (with corrections/comments made by the peer)Critical Thinking and WritingWilliam Zinsser states, “Writing is thinking on paper.”5 And we can not agree more. Oneof the primary objectives of the writing-intensive course in construction course was toenhance critical thinking among the students. It is the instructor’s obligation to make thestudent think. We found in our earlier experiment with writing across curriculum thatduring writing laboratory report most students had problem writing the conclusion. Manystudents amusingly wrote “I enjoyed the lab very much” or “This is a very

Conference Session

Technology in Classrooms - Construction Engineering Perspective

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Mulva, Texas State University-San Marcos

Tagged Divisions

Construction

concerned.Students have also planned projects using the SimVision® software by simultaneously designingboth the activity precedence relationships and the organizational resources as a model.Typically, they report that the process is simple and intuitive. Certainly, the activity of modelinga project leads to excellent questions being asked by the students about project control andmonitoring while in a laboratory setting. Plus, once their simulation is compiled, studentsreceive immediate feedback regarding the potential time and cost impact of their design. Thisform of feedback allows each student to make adjustments to improve project planning in much Page