The Transformation of a Construction Contracts Administration Class

As students are transitioning from academia to the professional world the responsibilities of educators is to ensure they receive the best possible experience that can be readily applicable. Transforming the traditional lecture style class to project driven class has proven to be successful learning experience for a senior level construction contracts class has proven to increase the student’s learning ability. Utilizing real project problems in relation to construction contracts topics gave the students an opportunity to solve today’s issues and truly understanding the legal implications when a project goes bad. Student grades and instructor evaluations increased significantly. In a survey the industry participants agreed with the new teaching structure and found that the students were better prepared for their new careers. Due to the success of the class transformation, there has been indication of utilizing the industry projects to create a template for others to use in their classes. More research is being conducted to create a structure for other academic institutions to use this methodology.