Assessing the Pedagogical Needs to Couple Front-end Planning Tools with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects
Conference
Elzomor, M, Ferrer, V, Pradhananga, P et al. (2021). Assessing the Pedagogical Needs to Couple Front-end Planning Tools with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects
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Elzomor, M, Ferrer, V, Pradhananga, P et al. (2021). Assessing the Pedagogical Needs to Couple Front-end Planning Tools with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects
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Front-End Planning (FEP) for Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) projects is a promising process that can support addressing multiple challenges in infrastructure projects (i.e. cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor sustainability). Nonetheless, commonly adopted construction and civil engineering (CCE) pedagogy centers on traditional planning and vertical construction sustainability, neglecting the significance of FEP and SI. Nowadays most construction projects are required to meet sustainability goals, a trend that will continue to expand to all types of projects, whether they are vertical or horizontal, new construction, maintenance, or renovations. Therefore, it is critical to teach and encourage the future CCE workforce about the importance and application of FEP and SI tools, not only in residential or commercial construction, but also for infrastructure projects. The objective of this research paper is threefold: (1) to examine the efficacy of the applied PBL activity in terms of improving students' knowledge and ability to work with FEP and SI tools, (2) to assess the student's perspective on the convenience of coupling FEP and SI, and (3) to determine the student's level of interest towards FEP and SI within construction management (CM) curricula. To achieve these objectives, this research applied a Problem Based Learning (PBL) activity and assessed 45 undergraduate and graduate CM students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. The PBL activity enhanced students' knowledge on FEP for SI projects and could potentially provide an edge in their professional careers. The findings of the paper contribute to the engineering and construction education bodies of knowledge by paving the way for the future workforce to realize the criticality of constructing sustainable infrastructure projects and the importance of the FEP process in such complex projects.
