Building Kits: Adapted Hands-on Building Activities for the Virtual Environment

10 pages•Published: June 9, 2021

Abstract

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, traditional university classes, and any associated experiential hands-on learning laboratory, adapted to comply with safety standards for public health, transitioning from a traditional classroom environment to a virtual one. This paper discusses the creation of a hands-on building kit to continue experiential hands-on learning activities in the virtual environment, transitioning from the construction of a small wooden structure to a roughly two-foot square wall section. Each hands-on experiential exercise was completed after first introducing the material in a virtual class setting through recorded online lectures and readings. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted during each term to identify how students’ confidence in building abilities, tool use, and quality control measures changed over the term, along with their confidence in identifying items for inspections. The results of the student surveys are presented and discussed, with additional analysis, providing insight into the types of learning activities that can be performed in a virtual environment, and the impact it has on student confidence as it pertains to building abilities and inspections. This information may assist construction management programs that are interested in developing hands-on experiential laboratory exercises in either the virtual or online environment.

Keyphrases: cirricula, construction management, experiential learning, hands on, virtual learning

In: Tom Leathem, Anthony Perrenoud and Wesley Collins (editors). ASC 2021. 57th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference, vol 2, pages 587-596.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/d3Gb
	https://doi.org/10.29007/3h14