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Session 2606

Group Projects

Lisa Wipplinger Kansas State University

Abstract

Accreditation boards and industry are telling educators that the ability to work together in groups or teams is an important skill for engineering and construction graduates to have. As a result we are trying to integrate this more fully into our classes. This paper presents several group projects that have been tried in structural engineering classes over the last two years in the Architectural Engineering and Construction Science programs here at Kansas State University. Positive results and areas of concern will be discussed and examples of student work and feedback will be included.

Introduction

There is much talk these days about incorporating group work into undergraduate classes. Employer surveys indicate the people who are employing our engineering and construction science graduates believe the ability to work effectively in teams and to communicate with peers, consultants, and clients are very important to being successful on the job. Accreditation boards are starting to recognize this and have made the development of students teamwork skills a desired outcome. In addition, those involved in education theory and learning styles have concluded most students will perform better and learn more when collaborating with classmates. In light of the above information, we have been integrating more team-based projects into the structural design and construction classes here at Kansas State University. This has been a learning experience for faculty and students alike, with some successes along with a lot of room for improvement.

Decisions to include certain group projects in structural classes were based on relevance and perceived benefit to the students. We tried to pick projects that represented the types of things graduates might be expected to do on the job, encouraged deeper thought and life-long learning, and/or were too complex for individual work.

Projects

The structural faculty in the Architectural Engineering and Construction Science and Management department here at Kansas State University have been purposely integrating group projects into Timber Structures, Steel Theory/Design, Concrete Theory/Design, Masonry Structures, and Steel Construction classes over the last two years. The types of projects used in these classes have included analysis, design, evaluation and research. Each project was developed with learning objectives and enhancement of the student s experience in the class in mind. The projects presented in this paper are from the structural classes taught by the author, Professor Charles Bissey and Professor Craig Baltimore.

Analysis projects are used to help students begin to look at the overall structural system, types of

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Wipplinger, L. (2000, June), Group Projects Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8419