Team Building for Collaborative Learning Environment in Construction Education

A collaborative learning environment is essential for students’ motivation and learning outcomes in construction engineering and management education. In a collaborative learning environment, students are better engaged in their own learning through a variety of class activities among peers and an instructor inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, class activities should be designed for students’ learning improvement as well as team building amongst class participants within the course context. Good relationships among class participants and various class activities play a critical role in creating a collaborative learning environment in which students satisfy both their psychological and intellectual needs. The purpose of this paper is to show a case study of framework for a class environment through class activities and relationships among students and the instructor. This framework is based on freshmen in a university construction program. The elements of class activities are mainly designed in relation to the course materials for students’ learning and improvement of relationships with peers and the instructor in the class. Having a good relationship in class plays an important role in creating a good atmosphere because a good class has to satisfy students’ psychological and intellectual needs. This paper addresses various issues of the learning environment including “factors of environment”, “goal and achievement”, and “activities and rewards” from our literature review and then proposes a framework for team building among class participants. Also, the new roles of the instructor in this environment are discussed. This framework emphasizes the relationships amongst class participants. The outcomes of pilot implementations of this framework are useful for practitioners to manage and design class activities to improve students’ learning and relationship among class participants.