The Use of Peer Teaching Quality Managers to Improve Student Learning in a Construction Project Management Course

Anthony Torres; Vedaraman Sriraman; Araceli Martinez Ortiz; Kristin Marie Kibling

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: Construction Division Technical Session 2: K-12 through Adult Learning
Tagged Division: Construction Engineering
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--31132
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/31132
Download Count: 560

Paper Authors

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Anthony Torres Texas State University

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Dr. Torres, a native of New Mexico, joined the Department of Engineering Technology (Concrete Industry Management program) in August 2013 where he teaches Concrete Construction Methods and a variety of project management courses. He received both of his graduate degrees, Ph.D. and M.S., in Civil Engineering (Structural), from the University of New Mexico. He obtained his B.S. degree, also in Civil Engineering, from New Mexico State University. Dr. Torres’ research areas include the science and advancement of materials, such as concrete and cementitious materials, glass fibers, and composite materials. Dr. Torres’ research interest also extends to the classroom, where he is constantly evolving his courses to provide the best education to his students.

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Vedaraman Sriraman Texas State University

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Dr. Vedaraman Sriraman is a Piper Professor and University Distinguished Professor of Engineering Technology at Texas State University. He has served as the Associate Director of the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research at Texas State University. Dr. Sriraman's degrees are in Mechanical and Industrial engineering. His research interests are in engineering education, sustainability, and applied statistics. In the past, he has implemented several grants from the NSF, NASA and SME-EF. Dr. Sriraman has served as the faculty advisor to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the American Foundry Society and the Society of Women Engineers and as the Foundry Educational Foundation Key professor. He has also received several teaching awards at Texas State University. Currently, Dr. Sriraman serves as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Texas State University.

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Araceli Martinez Ortiz Texas State University

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Araceli Martinez Ortiz, PhD., is Research Associate Professor of Engineering Education in the College of Education at Texas State University. She leads a comprehensive research agenda related to issues of curriculum and instruction in engineering education, motivation and preparation of under served populations of students and teachers and in assessing the impact of operationalizing culturally responsive teaching in the STEM classroom. As executive director of the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research, she collaborates on various state and national STEM education programs and is PI on major grant initiatives through NASA MUREP and NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education and NSF DUE . Araceli holds Engineering degrees from The University of Michigan and Kettering University. She holds a Masters degree in Education from Michigan State and a PhD in Engineering Education from Tufts University.

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Kristin Marie Kibling Texas State University

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Ms. Kristin Kibling is a graduate student, completing her Masters of Science in Technology Management with a concentration in Construction Management at Texas State University. She is a full time professional in the construction industry with over 15 years’ experience in the private and public sector of commercial preconstruction, marketing, business development and project management. Kristin currently holds a position in Texas State University’s Facilities Planning, Design and Construction department where she is responsible for planning, estimating, directing, scheduling, inspecting and coordinating construction activities for campus facilities.

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to measure the impact of a special form of peer-teaching that utilizes a group of students as peer teachers for another larger group of students enrolled in the same Construction Project Management course. A peer-teaching methodology was implemented, that made use of Quality Managers (QM) as instructional guides. According to Jeager et al. (2013), a QM is a student or students who are enrolled in a course and serve as instructional and supportive extensions of their professor in lab and class settings. The students are recruited and guided by the course instructor and serve for only one assignment or lecture per semester. Jeager et al. (2013) stated that the use of QMs provide higher-level classroom and lab experiences in situations where the learning experience would otherwise need to be scaled back, or possibly eliminated, due to limitations of larger classes. In this study a QM peer-teaching methodology was used, in which a group of students (four) were selected to lead a scheduling software lecture. Amongst the group of four, one student was identified as the QM, in which they knew the scheduling software (Microsoft Project) and the remaining three had no experience with the software. The teaching group had approximately 12 weeks to learn Microsoft Project, develop a lecture, and present it to the remaining students enrolled in the class during one lecture period. The teaching group was primarily reliant on learning Microsoft Project from the embedded QM. The peer-teaching methodology was validated in two ways; i) in-course surveys, to asses student learning perceptions, submitted to both the teaching group and the remaining students, and ii) objective grade comparison from the student-led lecture and a professor-led lecture teaching a similar scheduling software package (Primavera). This entire process was completed in the Spring 2016 semester and again in the Spring 2017 semester, with comparable class size and demographics. Data collected via student surveys indicated that the student-led group enjoyed teaching the topic and their perception of learning the software increased. The survey also revealed that the teaching group benefited from the expertise of the QM and that the remaining students preferred the student-led lecture. The homework grade average of the two comparative lectures showed a higher average grade for the student-led lecture (94%) over the professor-led lecture (88%) in Spring 2016. The Spring 2017 semester showed similar results, in which the student-led lecture (95%) had higher average grades than the professor-led lecture (85%). It can be concluded that the course was not adversely affected by the peer-teaching methodology, but also that peer teaching may have contributed to improved student learning in this course.

Citation
Format

Torres, A., & Sriraman, V., & Ortiz, A. M., & Kibling, K. M. (2018, June), The Use of Peer Teaching Quality Managers to Improve Student Learning in a Construction Project Management Course Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--31132

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The objective of this study was to measure the impact of a special form of peer-teaching that utilizes a group of students as peer teachers for another larger group of students enrolled in the same Construction Project Management course. A peer-teaching methodology was implemented, that made use of Quality Managers (QM) as instructional guides. According to Jeager et al. (2013), a QM is a student or students who are enrolled in a course and serve as instructional and supportive extensions of their professor in lab and class settings. The students are recruited and guided by the course instructor and serve for only one assignment or lecture per semester. Jeager et al. (2013) stated that the use of QMs provide higher-level classroom and lab experiences in situations where the learning experience would otherwise need to be scaled back, or possibly eliminated, due to limitations of larger classes. In this study a QM peer-teaching methodology was used, in which a group of students (four) were selected to lead a scheduling software lecture. Amongst the group of four, one student was identified as the QM, in which they knew the scheduling software (Microsoft Project) and the remaining three had no experience with the software. The teaching group had approximately 12 weeks to learn Microsoft Project, develop a lecture, and present it to the remaining students enrolled in the class during one lecture period. The teaching group was primarily reliant on learning Microsoft Project from the embedded QM. The peer-teaching methodology was validated in two ways; i) in-course surveys, to asses student learning perceptions, submitted to both the teaching group and the remaining students, and ii) objective grade comparison from the student-led lecture and a professor-led lecture teaching a similar scheduling software package (Primavera). This entire process was completed in the Spring 2016 semester and again in the Spring 2017 semester, with comparable class size and demographics. Data collected via student surveys indicated that the student-led group enjoyed teaching the topic and their perception of learning the software increased. The survey also revealed that the teaching group benefited from the expertise of the QM and that the remaining students preferred the student-led lecture. The homework grade average of the two comparative lectures showed a higher average grade for the student-led lecture (94%) over the professor-led lecture (88%) in Spring 2016. The Spring 2017 semester showed similar results, in which the student-led lecture (95%) had higher average grades than the professor-led lecture (85%). It can be concluded that the course was not adversely affected by the peer-teaching methodology, but also that peer teaching may have contributed to improved student learning in this course.
AU  - Anthony Torres
AU  - Vedaraman Sriraman
AU  - Araceli Martinez Ortiz
AU  - Kristin Marie Kibling
CY  - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA  - 2018/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - The Use of Peer Teaching Quality Managers to Improve Student Learning in a Construction Project Management Course
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/31132
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--31132
ER  -