Cecilia Lawler, University College, CoBE
Fiona Brodribb, University College, CoBE
Diploma of Construction Management students work in the building and civil construction industries. In Australia’s construction industry, employees work 40-50 hours per week. There is little understanding of university learning, as most students come from trades where industry skills were learned through apprenticeships.
From 2022 to 2023, the student cohort transitioned from Tasmanians attending in-person workshops, site visits and online tutorials, to a national cohort with 80% of students residing outside Tasmania.
The Diploma of Construction Management, developed with industry professionals, relies on students relating theory to construction projects; and every construction project is different.
Opportunities for students to commit to synchronous learning activities are limited, so teaching sessions need to be relevant, efficient, engaging and inspiring. Design thinking methodology (Dam & Siang, 2022) was used to empathise with the student cohort. Hybrid teaching and learning opportunities delivered are underpinned by Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Equality of learning opportunities and student–teacher and student–student connections were vital in student-centred teaching delivery.
This video showcases a workshop for ZAX101 Leadership and Communication in Construction and ZAX103 Legislation and Standards in Construction. The Week 2 workshop sets students up for success through learning by doing and applying theory to practice. It includes in-person site visits, peer-to-peer learning, hybrid information sharing, and teacher–student unpacking of information that constructively aligns: from learning materials and activities to assessments tasks. This good practice exemplar outlines the learning objectives, the processes undertaken, the learning outcomes and student feedback.
Dam, R. & Siang T., (2022, June 27). What is design thinking and why is it popular? Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-is-design-thinking-and-why-is-it-so-popular
View the exemplar on the Teaching Matters 2023 intranet page.