Using Active Construction Sites As The Classroom: A Unique Course In Engineering And The Construction Process

The construction industry is a $4 trillion-a-year business that employs a significant number of engineering students each year. Teaching engineering students about the construction process and building technology often involves traditional pedagogy (e.g., lectures, assignments, exams, etc.) with occasional visits to construction sites. Many times, these visits are met with some trepidation from site contractors who may view them as an interference or interruption to normal site operations. Instructors may also find site visits difficult to incorporate into the course schedule due to logistical problems; e.g., travel to and from the site, and site work schedules. This paper describes an engineering course; presented by Linbeck Construction Inc., the site’s construction manager, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University, based on two, active, on-campus construction projects; a residence hall and a new music building. Active, problem-based learning was central to course delivery with access to real-world applications of construction processes and technology readily available. The course instructors were CEE faculty, Linbeck personnel, and numerous guest presenters ranging from architects/engineers/builders to managers of university operations and community relations. The classroom was on-site; a construction trailer converted into the Linbeck Learning Center. Pedagogically, this arrangement changed the course dynamics from using sites as coor extracurricular components in course delivery to having active sites, and all their technical and nontechnical activities, become the central point through which the course is delivered. Direct contact with a “living” site provided valuable insight to what the students were reading and hearing in lectures as well as immediate relevance to course assignments. It is hoped that the course becomes sustainable via a continued partnership between the department and the construction manager.