Transcript INDUSTRY INPUT INTO THE EDUCATION OF CONSTRUCTION …

Why do project based learning?
Professor John Dickens
Department of Civil & Building Engineering,
Loughborough University
Outline
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Why I use Project Based Learning
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Teaching Civil Engineering Design
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What benefits for students?
Why Project Based Learning?
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Worked in Civil Engineering for 11 years mainly the
Design & Maintenance of Bridges.
Work in the design office is project based
Junior engineers are mentored by more senior
colleagues in a team environment
Learning by doing
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If graduate engineers learn this way why not students?
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Why involve industry?
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Exposing students to contact with industry enriches
student learning
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Requirement of accreditation by UK professional
bodies
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Benefits to all 3 main stakeholders:
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Student
Academic
Industry practitioner
Teamwork Design Project
( 25% of third year MEng)
Aim
To give students an appreciation of the complete design cycle
through the vehicle of a real design project
Each student will work as part of a group to produce a design for the
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the redevelopment of a brownfield site in central Birmingham
Background
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Teaching Civil Engineering Design through design projects
set by industry since the mid 1980s
Started with an option limited to 4 groups of 4
Opened to all final year BEng Students in 1995
 Cut down version for large numbers
Reverted to longer 30 credits version for the MEng in
1999 numbers have increased from 12 to 50
Groups of 4 students (5 since 07-08)
Value of Industry Link
 Importance
of real
project data to work with
 Background
data
provided by company
 Unique
input from
industrial practitioner
including assessment
 Provides
ideal vehicle for
developing employability
skills
Objectives
Students will be required to meet the following objectives.
 The definition of a problem
 The identification of solutions
 Evaluation of alternatives to reach preferred solution
 The production of a detailed design and associated drawings
 The production of Tender Documents
Skills
In order to meet the objectives students will need to
develop the following skills
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Effective group working
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Effective communication, written and oral
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Working to deadlines
Assessed Group submissions
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The Brief - Defines the problem (10%)
Produce a report for the design brief through a formal meeting with the client,
informal consultation with staff and any other resources they wish to use.
Design Options – Creative formulation of solutions (30%)
Each group will submit a formal options report .
There will be a formal presentation of the options report to the client team. This
is recorded on video and students will assess their own performance, that of
their group and of two other groups at a later session
Detailed Calculations – Applying broad range of existing and new knowledge (35%)
Each group will be required to produce detailed design of their preferred scheme for
which will include design calculations and associated drawings, a method
statement, construction programme and Risk assessment. Must include
sustainability issues.
There will be a presentation of the final design to the client team.
Tender Documents (15%)
Each Group will be required to produce Contract Documents and Quantities for part
of their preferred scheme
Assessed submissions
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Individual Report (10%)
Describe which items of work they were specifically responsible
Group organisation & function relating it to teamwork & leadership
theories covered on separate module
Criticism of how the module was run
Peer assessment with justification (webPA)
My view of the student experience
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Fear of the blank canvas at the start of the module
Students desire to be given examples of previous work
Growing realisation that they have to organise their own groups work and set
their own standard
Tensions in groups where individual standards differ
Response to feedback and marks for the early submissions
The increasingly professional way they use me and the external client to seek
information and guidance
The ‘eureka’ moments when students realise they can apply knowledge learnt in
other modules to an unfamiliar problem
My view of the student experience (2)
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The group insights given in the individual report
The improvement in the individual reports when the Teamwork &
Leadership module was introduced.
Student’s pride at the end in the substantial output produced
The different perspective the external client brings to assessment.
The real project with an external client motivates the students
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