Technology integration in project oriented design based learning for distance education

Technology plays critical role in delivering modern education to the next generation. Proper and effective use of technology is extremely important especially for distance education. Students who enroll in distance mode have a number of limitations as most of them work full time along with the commitments to the family. This paper discusses technology integration for the distance students based on the Project Oriented Design Based Learning.

Students’ views on the incorporation of commercial awareness in real estate education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review how real estate students perceive and define commercial awareness, which is one of the most important employability skills. This paper also examines students’ perceptions about how their courses support and develop their commercial awareness. In addition, it compares students’ and academics’ views on commercial awareness and identifies whether there are any gaps.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents the research findings of a questionnaire survey and e-mail discussions with students who are currently studying Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)-accredited real estate courses in the UK. The questionnaire aimed to gather students’ views on the definitions and components of commercial awareness and identify what skills and attributes are required for its development. It also evaluates how commercial awareness has been embedded in the real estate courses. The aim of each discussion was to gain deeper insight on how components of commercial awareness are embedded in real estate courses, and 17 discussions were conducted. The contents of the e-mail discussions were analysed and similar themes were identified and coded. The frequency of the answer in the questionnaire and comments from interviewees is presented. The findings from students’ views have been compared to published research reporting UK RICS-accredited real estate course providers’ views on commercial awareness. In addition to descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact test was used to identify the statistical significance between the academics’ and students’ views on commercial awareness.

Findings – The UK real estate students agreed that the most important definition of commercial awareness is a “person’s ability to understand the economics of business”. They agreed that “financial” component is the most important component of commercial awareness and it is the largest portion of their courses. The most important skill and attribute for commercial awareness development are “critical thinking” and “ability and willingness to update professional knowledge”, respectively. Although the descriptive analysis shows students and academics have different views on the definition and components of commercial awareness and its incorporation within real estate courses, the Fisher exact test shows that only a few elements are different enough to be statistically significant. This analysis shows that while students and academics have slightly different views on commercial awareness they are not very different.  Commercial awareness is an important employability skill, thus, it is still necessary for real estate academics to re-visit the curriculum and to ensure learning outcomes related to commercial awareness have been clearly explained and communicated to students. Furthermore, it is vital for students to obtain practical experience in order to fully develop their commercial awareness. 

Originality/value – This paper is a pioneer study focused on reviewing real estate students’ views on commercial awareness, including identifying its definition, components and evaluating the extent to which commercial awareness has been embedded in their courses. It also identifies the skills and attributes that students thought were required for the development of commercial awareness.  Furthermore, it discusses students’ preferred ways of enhancing their commercial awareness as part of the course they are studying. It is the first study identifying the statistical difference between students’ and academics’ views on commercial awareness. The understanding of students’ views on commercial awareness, their preferred delivery method and the divergence between students’ and academics’ views on commercial awareness can provide useful insights for course directors on the development and renewal of real estate course curriculum

An evaluation of the impact of using authentic design and build industry projects in project-based learning

BACKGROUNDChisholm’s ‘first year experience’ is a significant feature of the new industry focused Bachelor of Engineering Technology program delivered in association with the South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance (SEMMA). This conceive-design-implement-operate (CDIO Initiative) program commenced as a full time program in first semester 2012. Whereas it is common for CDIO Initiative programs to have a first year experience program containing a project typical of the type of industry project they would complete as a graduate engineer or engineering technologist, this goes further by using real industry projects provided by SEMMA members.This design-and-build industry project runs across both semesters supporting project-based learning in three first year subjects. A concern is that the industry involvement of the projects adds substantially to an already heavy student workload. This has been further increased by the addition of two additional first year initiatives: writing workshops, and training in, and substantial use of, student oral presentations. It is recognised that an excessive workload could lead students to adopt surface learning approaches in other subjects.PURPOSEThe goal of the project is to evaluate student perceptions of the value and work load impact of the industry project and the other new first year initiatives.DESIGN/METHODCentral to this project is a student survey-based evaluation of the industry project based learning that is the core of the ‘first year experience’. The participants were limited to the small group of students who, in a single year, completed all three subjects that comprise the ‘first year experience’. To avoid compromising the results the survey was administered by Chisholm Institute’s Department of Strategy and Planning with no engineering technology degree program staff present. The survey included questions to enable responses to be linked with specific student demographics without identifying any of the respondents.RESULTSThe study showed the industry project-based learning had worthwhile outcomes but placed considerable time pressures on most respondents. For some, this also impacted on their other subjects. A first year oral presentation program was also shown to have worthwhile outcomes. However no conclusions could be reliably drawn on the third initiative – writing workshops.CONCLUSIONSThe results confirm that the authentic industry project is considered a worthwhile initiative but contributes significantly to student overload. This applies also – to a lesser extent – to the first year oral presentation program. Both also require new approaches to delivery as student numbers increase. Strategies to address these issues are discussed.

Enhancing and assessing group and team learning in architecture and related design contexts

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTeamwork skills are essential in the design industry where practitioners negotiate often-conflicting design options in multi-disciplinary teams. Indeed, many of the bodies that accredit design courses explicitly list teamwork skills as essential attributes of design graduates e.g., the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) of the United States and the Institution of Engineers, Australia (IEAust). In addition to the need to meet the demands of the accrediting bodies, there are many reasons for the ubiquitous use of teamwork assignments in design schools. For instance, teamwork learning is seen as being representative of work in practice where design is nearly always a collaborative activity. Learning and teaching in teamwork contexts in design education are not without particular challenges. In particular, two broad issues have been identified: first, many students leave academia without having been taught the knowledge and skills of how to design in teams; second, teaching, assessment and assignment design need to be better informed by a clear understanding of what leads to effective teamwork and the learning of teamwork skills. In recognition of the lack of a structured approach to integrating teamwork learning into the curricula of design programs, this project set out to answer three primary research questions: • How do we teach teamwork skills in the context of design? • How do we assess teamwork skills?• How do design students best learn teamwork skills?In addition, four more specific questions were investigated:1. Is there a common range of learning objectives for group-and-team-work in architecture and related design disciplines that will enable the teaching of consistent and measurable outcomes?2. Do group and team formation methods, learning styles and team-role preferences impact students’ academic and course satisfaction outcomes?3. What combinations of group-and-team formation methods, teaching and assessment models significantly improve learning outcomes?4. For design students across different disciplines with different learning styles and cultural origins, are there significant differences in performance, student satisfaction (as measured through questionnaires and unit evaluations), group-and-team working abilities and student participation?To elucidate these questions, a design-based research methodology was followed comprising an iterative series of enquiries: (a) A literature review was completed to investigate: what constitutes effective teamwork, what contributes to effectiveness in teams, what leads to positive design outcomes for teams, and what leads to effective learning in teams. The review encompassed a range of contexts: from work-teams in corporate settings, to professional design teams, to education outside of and within the design disciplines. The review informed a theoretical framework for understanding what factors impact the effectiveness of student design teams. (b) The validity of this multi-factorial Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams was tested via surveys of educators’ teaching practices and attitudes, and of students’ learning experiences. 638 students and 68 teachers completed surveys: two pilot surveys for participants at the four partner institutions, which then informed two national surveys completed by participants from the majority of design schools across Australia. (c) The data collected provided evidence for 22 teamwork factors impacting team effectiveness in student design teams. Pedagogic responses and strategies to these 22 teamwork factors were devised, tested and refined via case studies, focus groups and workshops. (d) In addition, 35 educators from a wide range of design schools and disciplines across Australia attended two National Teaching Symposiums. The first symposium investigated the wider conceptualisation of teamwork within the design disciplines, and the second focused on curriculum level approaches to structuring the teaching of teamwork skills identified in the Framework.The Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams identifies 22 factors impacting effective teamwork, along with teaching responses and strategies that design educators might use to better support student learning. The teamwork factors and teaching strategies are categorised according to three groups of input (Task Characteristics, Individual Level Factors and Team Level Factors), two groups of processes (Teaching Practice & Support Structures and Team Processes), and three categories of output (Task Performance, Teamwork Skills, and Attitudinal Outcomes). Eight of the 22 teamwork factors directly relate to the skills that need to be developed in students, one factor relates to design outputs, and the other thirteen factors inform pedagogies that can be designed for better learning outcomes. In Table 10 of Section 4, we outline which of the 22 teamwork factors pertain to each of five stakeholder groups (curriculum leaders, teachers, students, employers and the professional bodies); thus establishing who will make best use the information and recommendations we make. In the body of this report we summarise the 22 teamwork factors and teaching strategies informed by the Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams, and give succinct recommendations arising from them. This material is covered in depth by the project outputs. For instance, the teaching and assessment strategies will be expanded upon in a projected book on Teaching Teamwork in Design. The strategies are also elucidated by examples of good practice presented in our case studies, and by Manuals on Teamwork for Teachers and Students. Moreover, the project website (design.com index.html=""> visited by representatives of stakeholder groups in Australia and Canada), is seeding a burgeoning community of practice that promises dissemination, critical evaluation and the subsequent refinement of our materials, tools, strategies and recommendations. The following three primary outputs have been produced by the project in answer to the primary research questions:1. A theoretical Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams;2. Manuals on Teamwork for Teachers and Students (available from the website);3. Case studies of good/innovative practices in teaching and assessing teamwork in design;In addition, five secondary outputs/outcomes have been produced that provide more nuanced responses:4. Detailed recommendations for the professional accrediting bodies and curriculum leaders;5. Online survey data (from over 700 participants), plus Team Effectiveness Scale to determine the factors influencing effective learning and successful outputs for student design teams;6. A community of practice in policy, programs, practice and dialogue;7. A detailed book proposal (with sample chapter), submitted to prospective publishers, on Teaching Teamwork in Design; 8. An annotated bibliography (accessed via the project website) on learning, teaching and assessing teamwork.The project has already had an international impact. As well as papers presented in Canada and New Zealand, the surveys were participated in by six Canadian schools of architecture, whose teaching leaders also provided early feedback on the project aims and objectives during visits made to them by the project leader. In addition, design schools in Vancouver, Canada, and San Diego in the USA have already utilised the Teacher’s Manual, and in February 2014 the project findings were discussed at Tel Aviv University in a forum focusing on the challenges for sustainability in architectural education.design.com>

Associations between dietary intakes of first-time fathers and their 20-month-old children are moderated by fathers' BMI, education and age

Children's learning about food is considerable during their formative years, with parental influence being pivotal. Research has focused predominantly on maternal influences, with little known about the relationships between fathers' and children's diets. Greater understanding of this relationship is necessary for the design of appropriate interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the diets of fathers and their children and the moderating effects of fathers' BMI, education and age on these associations. The diets of fathers and their first-born children (n 317) in the Melbourne Infant Feeding Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program were assessed using an FFQ and 3×24-h recalls, respectively. The InFANT Program is a cluster-randomised controlled trial in the setting of first-time parents groups in Victoria, Australia. Associations between father and child fruit, vegetable, non-core food and non-core drink intakes were assessed using linear regression. The extent to which these associations were mediated by maternal intake was tested. Moderation of associations by paternal BMI, education and age was assessed. Positive associations were found between fathers' and children's intake of fruit, sweet snacks and take-away foods. Paternal BMI, education and age moderated the relationships found for the intakes of fruit (BMI), vegetables (age), savoury snacks (BMI and education) and take-away foods (BMI and education). Our findings suggest that associations exist at a young age and are moderated by paternal BMI, education and age. This study highlights the importance of fathers in modelling healthy diets for their children.

Student opportunities in materials design and manufacture: Introducing a new manufacturing with composites course

The shift towards strong and lightweight fibre reinforced polymer-matrix composites for many high performance applications has resulted in an increasing need to expose students to composite design and manufacture courses in the undergraduate curriculum. In contrast, student exposure to composite materials is often still limited to a topic within a materials or manufacturing related course (unit). This paper presents the initial offering of a composite materials elective at Griffith University in Australia. The course also addresses environmental concerns through the inclusion of natural fibre composites. An evaluation of student perceptions is considered from Griffith’s Student Experience of Course (SEC) and separate Student Experience of Teaching (SET) surveys. These evaluations demonstrate the high level of student engagement with the course, but also highlighted areas for improvement, including the need to incorporate even more hands-on practical work. Interestingly, the inclusion of natural fibre composites and the related discussion surrounding environmental and societal issues are not focused on in student feedback.

Studying mathematics teacher education: analysing the process of task variation on learning

Self-study of variations to task design offers a way of analysing how learning takes place. Over several years, variations were made to improve an assessment task completed by final-year teacher candidates in a primary mathematics teacher education subject. This article describes how alterations to a task informed on-going developments in self-study of one assessment task employed in an online subject. Analysis of my journal, notes from conversations with colleagues, teacher candidates’ work on the task and responses to online forums, and survey data inspired variations focused on better exploration of key concepts involved in the task, raising of focal awareness, developing a stronger professional eye in the students and the author, adaptations for multiple curriculum levels, and explorations of dual teacher–student perspectives. The overall challenge has been to support teacher candidates to learn to design effective open-ended tasks with a critical professional eye. Descriptions of the changes made to the task and the development of my own professional eye as a consequence of the application of self-study are included. Data show that variations to the task increased teacher candidates’ understanding of mathematics problem posing and generated pedagogical insights for task design.