Grau, D., & Mejia, G. (2011, June), Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering  Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18278

\bibitem{asee_peer_18278}
  Grau, D., \& Mejia, G. (2011, June), \emph{Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering}
  Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Vancouver, BC.
  10.18260/1-2--18278

David Grau and Guillermo Mejia.  "Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering".  2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC, 2011, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2011.  https://peer.asee.org/18278 Internet.  07 Jan, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_18278}
  David Grau and Guillermo Mejia.
  "Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering".
  \emph{2011 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Vancouver, BC, 2011, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2011.
  https://peer.asee.org/18278 Internet.  07 Jan, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_18278
author = "David Grau and Guillermo Mejia"
title = "Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering"
booktitle = "2011 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2011"
month = "June"
address = "Vancouver, BC"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/18278}
number = {10.18260/1-2--18278}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -             The Attitude and Learning of the Engineering Student as a           Measure to Design the Instructional Strategies in the Civil           Engineering Department at the Universidad Industrial de                            Santander, ColombiaIn recent years, Latin American governments have been adopting the UNESCO policy toprioritize the quality and the international outreach of the higher education institutions inemerging countries. In particular, Colombia, in the eve of a much brighter political andeconomic environment, is facing major challenges to better educate their civil engineers. Thus,there is a compelling need to update the currently outdated instructional methods in order to a)equate the education of the civil engineers in Colombia with that of lead countries, b) meet theminimum requirements of a new model law, that, for the first time, recognizes the figure of aprofessional civil engineer, and c) meet the international standards of the ABET accreditationor similar boards. This study represents the first step at analyzing the current instructionalstrategies in the Civil Engineering Department at the Universidad Industrial de Santander, andtheir influence in the attitude and learning aspects of the student. The long term andoverreaching objective of this study is to improve the retention and performance of the civilengineering student by means of novel instructional strategies.In its primary phase, this study has concentrated around the “Basics of Construction” course –the introductory course to the construction engineering discipline. Quantitative and qualitativemethods were used to collect data from the students. These methods were inclusive of atailored Felder Test, a questionnaire-survey, and an open-survey filled by the students. In total,data was collected over a period of 18 months with almost 200 student responses. The data wasstatistically analyzed in order to identify the instructional strategies that resulted both in apositive student attitude and in an improved transfer of knowledge. Further insights to explainthe student responses and to analyze and improve the current instructional strategies wereobtained by means of informal discussions, short student interviews, class materials (problems,exams, quizzes, etc…), faculty group meetings, and personal notes.The major outcomes of this study are two fold. First, the content on cost estimating, planning,and scheduling is instructed in parallel from the first day of class rather than in a sequentialmanner. The data analysis revealed that the sequential learning of these interrelated topics hadprevented the students to solve advanced problems requiring the simultaneous reasoning inestimating, planning, and scheduling. Since such advanced problems were only introduced atthe end of the semester, the sequential methodology negatively affected the performance of thestudents. Second, the implementation of practical workshops were investigated as a mechanismfor the student to better consolidate the course content by means of practical problems and realcase studies. For instance, the students, with computer help, have to search for unit costs ofbasic labor, material, and equipment, in order to estimate the cost of an activity as they woulddo in real life. Such workshops allow the students to study in a work-like situation and improvetheir decision making skills. These two instructional changes have been pilot tested in thecourse and have resulted in higher student satisfaction, comprehension, and performance.
AU  - David Grau
AU  - Guillermo Mejia
CY  - Vancouver, BC
DA  - 2011/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Lessons Learned on the Redesigb of Content and Learning Strategies for an Introductory Course to Construction in Civil Engineering
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/18278
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--18278
ER  -