Impact of sequencing hands-on and theory in a concrete structures design course

• Autores: Martin Jaeger, Desmond Adair, Abdullah Al-Mughrabi, Mona Red
• Localización: The International journal of engineering education, ISSN-e 0949-149X, Vol. 33, no. 1 (Parte A), 2017, págs. 175-186
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The importance of identifying mistakes in concrete design, before a concrete structure is built, requires that engineeringstudents learn to review concrete design as effectively as possible. Although various educational approaches supportdeveloping the necessary skills, virtually no empirical study is currently available to compare the effect of a differentsequence of hands-on and theory focused learning facilitation. In order to evaluate the learning effectiveness of reviewingconcrete designs, experiments were carried out utilizing a pre-test/post-test experiment design with an experimental group(first hands-on, then theory) of 45 students, and a control group (first theory, then hands-on) of 109 students. Evidence wasfound for the assumption that a first hands-on approach increases learning effectiveness of reviewing concrete design moresignificantly than a first theory approach. Furthermore, the positive learning effect on students, who began the course witha hands-on approach, showed a continuing positive effect throughout the ensuing theory focused learning phase. Thefindings may encourage engineering educators and educational institutions to increase the learning effectiveness ofreviewing concrete design by beginning the course with a hands-on focused learning approach before focusing more on theinvolved theoretical concepts.