TL;DR: In this paper, an integrated course has been developed at the undergraduate level at Zagazig University-Benha branch, Egypt to apply the required change in the construction management education.
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Abstract:Construction management education emphasizes the qualitative and administrative aspects of construction such as contracts, specifications, value engineering, resource management, quality assurance, and quality control. Most of these topics conflict with the demeanor of engineering student who feels more comfortable with problem-solving technique than these humanities-like topics. The instructor of construction management course feels abandoned from the students at the beginning of the semester. The challenge to the instructor is how to convert the students to his side against their habitual learning attitude. This paper introduces one approach currently being implemented in the Construction Management program at Zagazig University-Benha branch, Egypt, to apply the required change. In this technique, the instructor motivates and enhances the communication skills of the students through discussion sessions held once a week after a lecture. The discussion may take the form of a student-led seminar followed by a question-answer session. It may be in the form of student-student discussion or instructor-led discussion. It was observed that the students become more active and involved in the subject and its implementations. The students showed more dedication to the course and to the instructor. Introduction In this era, the national development is based primarily on the strength of its infrastructure including transportation, education, health, water resources control, and housing facilities. The subsequent needs are focusing on how to deliver these services in effective capabilities and fully functional manner mean time. Current and anticipated methods of applying technologies in infrastructure delivery systems, construction management, construction engineering, and material engineering urged engineering industry to revolutionize its methodology and practice. These rapid changes in needs and practice demand a synchronous mutation in the engineering education. Particularly, educators need to overcome the traditional perspective of courses with concentrated subjects to widely needed integrated courses and integrated education. Interdisciplinary education collaborated by communication skills is very important for engineers with managerial functions in their technical ventures and even for engineers pursuing their careers in nontechnical trends. A constant growth of interest in nontechnical education among engineers is commonly observed and reflected in the design of engineering curricula in the United States where some innovative curricula assign as much as 50-60% of the required credits to be fulfilled by free or directed elective courses This paper introduces one approach for integrating educational model currently being implemented in the Construction Management program at Zagazig University. In this approach, P ge 577.1 an integrated course has been developed at the undergraduate level that vertically integrates basic construction management needs. Also, it presents openings to strengthen and exploit communication skills to prepare engineers for interdisciplinary projects and industry integrated needs. This paper describes the primary constituents of this approach including the integration of course, the cooperation required to support the communication emphasis, and the establishment of a technical/non-technical alliance to provide the industry by the needed quality of engineers. Integration of Construction Management Course Based on the industry needs feedback in the previous decades, it is likely for the construction field to employ a newly graduated engineer with higher communication skills and willing to improve her/his knowledge through life-long-education besides the traditional technical capabilities. These aspects are commonly stressed in all branches of the construction industry nowadays. This means that a new approach of integrated knowledge must be induced in the construction education in general and in construction management education in particular to match the fast spreading complex needs for the market. In the developed construction management courses it is required to widen the perspective of the syllabus instead of concentrating on traditional areas such as planning, scheduling, cost control. It is required to extend the contents of the course to the understanding of the design philosophy, engineering affairs, decision-making methods, and negotiation approaches. It is only with these skills, the young engineers (as well as older engineers) could be able to face the needs of interdisciplinary engineering needs. Teaching Communication Skills The objective of a Construction Management curriculum is to prepare staff with abilities to enhance and control production and marketing competence for future needs. In addition to stringent core courses, it is required to replenish students with necessary skills such as communications. In particular, conducting effective discussion is the basis for successful directive managing. Managers need discussion skills in instructing, negotiating, directing, informing, brainstorming, etc. Learning how to communicate effectively may not be accomplished by learning or reading, but practice is the principal tool for this skill acquiring. Construction management class is an appropriate position to improve the communication skills of engineering students because of its technical/nontechnical texture. This assists the instructor to narrow the gap created from the lecture-type and problem-solving classes that the students are used to. Most construction management courses in undergraduate level lecture planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling by requiring estimating, contracts, and other basic construction topics to prepare engineers for their future career. Moreover, communications in construction management is required in the form of written style such as reports, letters, requests, etc. It is, also, required in verbal style like in meetings, seminars, presentations, etc. For a construction project, verbal communication starts as early as the conceptual phase of a project starts. It continues through the different phases of the project. Even after finishing the project, it continues for issues such as project close out, dispute resolution, and "lessons learned" sessions. P ge 577.2 Why Discussion? The lecture type of education is advantageous in courses with specific target to conduct. In transmitting-fact courses such as that of the basic science and fundamental courses in engineering curriculum, it is more effective to use lectures than discussions. In other courses like analysis, design, and criticism objectives, lecturing is not the sufficient process to fulfill the required target of the course. In these preeminent programs, with respect to engineering profession requirements, it is needed to stimulate the students’ capacities to create, develop, and exploit different ideas through the course. The primary objective, in some cases a partial objective, of similar courses is to enhance and train the personal skills of the student more than pumping routine methodologies into student’s mind. In engineering education, as in many other programs, it is required to raise the mental skills as well as repetitive capacities of the student. Perception is generally deemed as personal talent but it may be enhanced through the different stages of education and practice. Open-ended problems, multiple solutions offered for a single problem, brainstorming, seminars, and discussion are different types for the required improvement of a future decision-maker. The instructor has to find out the appropriate method with respect to the course, subject, type of lecture, duration and time available within the course, instructor characters, reflex of students, and the goals of the course. Advantages and Disadvantages of Discussion Whatever the type of teaching used in the course, there should be many advantages and many other disadvantages. In the following session, an evaluation is performed for the discussion type with respect to the main alternative option, which is the lecture type of instructing engineering courses. Advantages of discussion: 1. Improving students’ capacities to make decisions, think criticismally, analyze, and justify. 2. The students show better retention for the material of the subject. 3. Students become more interactive and more cautious with the course. 4. Enhancement of students’ communication skills and ability to express themselves. 5. Changing students’ attitude and attraction to the course as well as to the instructor. Disadvantages of discussion: 1. It is more difficult to prepare and conduct a discussion class than that for a lecture class. 2. Engineering students are neither familiar nor prepared for discussion classes. 3. Discussion class is not convenient with big classes more than fifteen students. 4. Students should have a considerable background of the subject to be discussed. 5. The class could be ineffective if the students are youthful mentally or behaviorally. Also, it is advantageous to exploit discussion periods to conduct ethical problems that engineers need in their professional life. Besides, it helps the instructor to improve the attitude of the students through the discussion and through the course itself. The nature of ethical issues is attracting different types of opinions and responses from different personalities and creating a productive environment for discussion.
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