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Assessing the Pedagogical Needs to Couple Front-end Planning Tools with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Construction Engineering Division Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Construction Engineering

Page Count

20

DOI

10.18260/1-2--36721

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/36721

Download Count

469

Paper Authors

biography

Mohamed Elzomor Florida International University

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Dr. Mohamed ElZomor is an Assistant Professor at Florida International University (FIU), College of Engineering and Computing and teaches at the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Dr. ElZomor completed his doctorate at Arizona State University (ASU), Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Prior to attending ASU, Dr. ElZomor received a master’s of science degree in Architecture from University of Arizona, a master’s degree in Engineering and a bachelor of science in Construction Engineering from American University in Cairo. Dr. ElZomor moved to FIU from State University of New York, where he was an Assistant Professor at the college of Environmental Science and Forestry. Mohamed’s work focuses on Sustainability of the Built Environment, Engineering Education, Construction Engineering, Energy Efficiency Measures and Modeling, Project Management, and Infrastructure Resilience. Dr. ElZomor has extensive professional project management experience as well as a diverse cross-disciplinary academic knowledge. Mohamed, distinct expertise supports fostering interdisciplinary research in addition to embracing innovative pedagogical approaches in STEM education. Dr. ElZomor has been integrating innovative and novel educational paradigms in STEM education to support student engagement, retention, and diversity.

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biography

Valentina Ferrer Florida International University

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Valentina Ferrer grew up in Venezuela, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. After graduating she worked for a year in a construction management company and a civil engineering consultant company in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was involved in various residential and infrastructure projects. After gaining some work experience she decided to pursue a Master’s, so she moved to Miami, Florida to study Construction Management at Florida International University. During her master’s program, she has been working as a Graduate Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction Management, researching various topics related to sustainable infrastructures, pre-project planning, and aiding STEM majors to assess their pedagogical needs.

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biography

Piyush Pradhananga Florida International University

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Piyush grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal. Following college graduation in 2016 from Tribhuwan University (TU) in Kathmandu, he worked for a leading real estate corporation of Nepal on a project worth over ten million USD. He then joined a Research firm based in London where he worked as Engineering Graduate Researcher. Piyush now is a Ph.D. Candidate at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Teaching/Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Florida International University. His research interest includes Sustainable construction, Construction Safety, Engineering Education, AI and Robotics-based construction, and Sustainable infrastructure and resilience for disaster and extreme weather.

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biography

Rubaya Rahat Florida International University

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Rubaya Rahat grew up in Bangladesh, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After graduating she worked for two years in a construction management company in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was involved in various residential and infrastructure projects. Rubaya now is a Ph.D. student at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Teaching/Research Assistant at Moss School of Construction, Sustainability and Infrastructure, Florida International University. Her research interest includes Sustainable and resilient infrastructure, Engineering Education, and Sustainable transportation system.

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Abstract

Front-End Planning (FEP) for Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) projects is a promising process that can support addressing multiple challenges in infrastructure projects (i.e. cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor sustainability). Nonetheless, commonly adopted construction and civil engineering (CCE) pedagogy centers on traditional planning and vertical construction sustainability, neglecting the significance of FEP and SI. Nowadays most construction projects are required to meet sustainability goals, a trend that will continue to expand to all types of projects, whether they are vertical or horizontal, new construction, maintenance, or renovations. Therefore, it is critical to teach and encourage the future CCE workforce about the importance and application of FEP and SI tools, not only in residential or commercial construction, but also for infrastructure projects. The objective of this research paper is threefold: (1) to examine the efficacy of the applied PBL activity in terms of improving students’ knowledge and ability to work with FEP and SI tools, (2) to assess the student’s perspective on the convenience of coupling FEP and SI, and (3) to determine the student’s level of interest towards FEP and SI within construction management (CM) curricula. To achieve these objectives, this research applied a Problem Based Learning (PBL) activity and assessed 45 undergraduate and graduate CM students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. The PBL activity enhanced students’ knowledge on FEP for SI projects and could potentially provide an edge in their professional careers. The findings of the paper contribute to the engineering and construction education bodies of knowledge by paving the way for the future workforce to realize the criticality of constructing sustainable infrastructure projects and the importance of the FEP process in such complex projects.

Elzomor, M., & Ferrer, V., & Pradhananga, P., & Rahat, R. (2021, July), Assessing the Pedagogical Needs to Couple Front-end Planning Tools with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36721

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