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Teaching in the Built Environment
Creating Transformational Active Learning Experiences
C. Ben Farrow, Eric Wetzel, Thomas Leathem
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eBook - ePub
Teaching in the Built Environment
Creating Transformational Active Learning Experiences
C. Ben Farrow, Eric Wetzel, Thomas Leathem
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About This Book
Teaching in the Built Environment: Creating Transformational Active Learning Experiences offers a blueprint for teaching success from an award-winning team of educators, with classroom-ready strategies for maximizing undergraduate learning in built environment disciplines. Drawing on the authors' years of experience as education researchers and faculty at one of the nation's top design and construction schools, this primer empowers instructors to implement high impact teaching practices in any educational setting, from intimate seminars to "mega classes" of hundreds of students. Chapters on internships, study abroad, and field experiences equip faculty with teaching tools guaranteed to work on or off campus.
Just as importantly, this book identifies the teaching tactics that don't work. The authors' candid reflections on their own failed pedagogical experiments help instructors avoid confidence-shaking missteps and encourage them to turn teaching struggles into future successes. A thorough review of the latest education research provides theoretical context and empirical support for strategies direct from the authors' award-winning classrooms, studios, and labs.
Features:
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- Classroom-tested strategies for maximizing undergraduates' learning in built environment disciplines
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- Adapted teaching methods from the authors' award-winning classrooms, studios, and labs to any higher education setting
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- An ideal resource for built environment faculty, from first timers to veteran educators
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- The latest research on teaching and learning in design and construction disciplines
A must-read for built environment educators, from first-time faculty to classroom veterans, Teaching in the Built Environment: Creating Transformational Active Learning Experiences inspires teaching that will resonate long past the semester's end.
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1 A Call for Transformative Educational Experiences
DOI: 10.1201/9781003106029-1
Sarah is in her mid-30s and has been living in Omaha, Nebraska, for a few years. She likes it. Her job as an engineer for the city is fulfilling, and she feels confident in the work she is doing. Sarah is a proud alumna; the diploma in her office displaying her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering is hung where it couldn’t be missed by a passerby. She has little knickknacks with the university logo and a sticker on her hardhat with the seal of her alma mater. It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally, Sarah has an opportunity to lean back in her office chair and think about her time in college. She fondly recalls the football game in the blizzard, the party near the lake, her sorority bid day, and her study abroad experience in Bolivia.
The Bolivia trip was only a week, but what a week it was. They had spent much of the semester designing a water irrigation system for a remote village, an eight-hour drive from their initial destination, La Paz. Leading up to the trip, the group of ten students had really grown to trust each other. Their professor, Dr. Wake, spent a great deal of time preparing them for the experience and set clear expectations to create a workable irrigation system for this arid community. On arrival in the tiny village, Sarah was met by one of the local children who insisted she spend time with her coloring a picture. At a service to celebrate their arrival, Sarah heard several of the locals share (through a translator) what the project would mean to the community. As she prepared to start the week, it became very apparent the challenge that lay ahead. The altitude, the heat, and the available tools all seemed daunting to the task. However, she loved working side by side with the Bolivian locals and getting to learn more about each of them and their culture. Eduardo, who said very little but worked tirelessly, showed her some tricks to make the work easier. Over the course of the week, she could tell he was drawn to the students’ passion for the work, and a connection was built that extended beyond languages. Before leaving, the villagers cooked a special dinner for the students, and each student was asked to share their experiences. Sarah vividly remembers the smell and taste of that meal, the passion in her voice as she shared her experience, the pride in completing the project, and the relationships she fostered with both students and villagers.
It has been 15 years since that trip, but Sarah’s memories of Eduardo, the dinner, and the villagers feel recent. What was it that created such an impactful experience? It was only one week of her four-year college journey, and much of it was spent doing backbreaking work at altitude under a baking sun. Why did that experience stand out among all the educational experiences she had in college? It was a water irrigation system – who gets excited about that? What was Dr. Wake’s role through the trip and was there something he did that could shed light on why this memory is so vivid? Perhaps a trip to Bolivia would be inherently memorable. But, manual labor for a week shouldn’t yield such fond memories. What can we, as educators, learn from Sarah’s experience – through her lens? Could the lasting impact of her trip be captured, and could a framework be developed that would maximize the opportunity for any student to have deep, impactful educational experiences that they would likely carry with them for the rest of their lives – an instilled passion? And finally, could this approach be scaled to cover most class types, so students could have at least one or two of these experiences each semester of their college career?
We, the authors, believe that by closely evaluating examples like Sarah’s and others, we can answer all these questions and more. This book is our attempt at breaking down and harnessing these types of incredible learning experiences, in all different types of classes.A trip to Bolivia would surely create some excitement, but we will show that by being intentional in course design, it’s possible to create that same passion in all Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) classes. By using a combination of existing pedagogical approaches, the literature behind High Impact Educational Practices (HIPs), impactful moments, and a novel approach to coursework design, anyone can create the environment to maximize the opportunity for a deeply impactful, lasting educational experience – a Transformational Active Learning Experience or if you prefer, a “TALE.”
But why are TALEs necessary? The question isn’t rhetorical. For decades, many universities have prioritized research over teaching. Bringing in external funding, publishing in journals, and writing books have been the primary concern of faculty, while teaching has been relegated at times to something done in between grant applications and graduate student meetings. Recently, due to external pressures (high cost of education, declining enrollment, rise of online education, etc.), we can see a shift; not to a point where grants and research become a miniscule factor of promotion and tenure, but perhaps weighted closer together. The shift has been trickling in for years with pedagogical foci on active learning and engagement, but with the onset of COVID-19, the rumblings from students and parents became boisterous yells. The obvious was exposed. To the students and their parents, the experience provided by colleges and universities is as important as the academic credentials.
Through student affairs, athletic departments, and alumni associations, many universities are well situated for the social experience of college, but we, the faculty and administrators, are the vanguard of the academic experience. Are we adding value to the student experience, or are we simply disseminating technical information, testing their knowledge, and granting a degree? It is easy for faculty to be critical of athletic budgets, recreation center pools, multimillion-dollar workout facilities, and gourmet dining in the student center, but if we are doing the bare minimum to engage students academically, then the complaints are hypocritical. Like it or not, universities must attract and retain students, and with the significant cost of higher education, we can no longer assume that our impressive research portfolios and lecture hall approach will bring them to campus. Football stadiums, dining halls, and dorm rooms may get students to apply, but teaching keeps them engaged, connected, and propels them toward a successful adult life. The most valuable faculty will be those who can both motivate the content and drive the experience. The most valuable administrators will be those who recognize the importance of the student experience and leverage resources towards improving it to create a competitive advantage for their university. Said another way, universities that differentiate themselves in the years ahead will not only convey knowledge but also curate learning experiences. The emphasis on academic student engagement must be a top priority.
At the time of writing this book, COVID-19 has impacted the traditional higher education landscape where students come together to live and study in close proximity to one another. Universities have rushed to maximize online learning while fortifying IT support structures. Yet, many of us have realized that dependence on community and in-person interaction are basic human needs. These dependences provide a platform on which the in-person student experience can be enhanced to elevate learning and to differentiate higher education programs.
In the subsequent chapters, we will discuss how to maximize your students’ opportunity for a TALE. In order to understand our approach, we first provide some background in existing pedagogies and literature. Chapters 2 and 3 explain, in significant detail, how we use elements of HIPs and the science behind “Moments” – two important aspects of TALEs. Chapter 4 will show how these concepts, aligned with active learning strategies, can be structured to analyze the student learning experience. In Chapter 5, we provide a step-by-step approach to evaluating your course content for TALEs. Finally, the balance of the book looks at different class types and how our framework can be applied to each class to maximize the opportunity for a TALE, using examples and some helpful tidbits including active learning strategies. Remember, our goal is to not only create TALEs in study abroad and service-learning classes, but to create deep, impactful experiences in all types of classes – analytical classes, large lectures, studio and labs, and others. In our opinion, no class is inherently boring, inherently mundane, or too difficult for a deep experience; a class is limited only by the constraints of time and creativity. We hope that by structuring our framework in a step-by-step format, you can allow your creativity to run unbridled while we provide a mechanism to evaluate each activity.
So why give this book a shot? Because we, the authors – two faculty members and an administrator – know how hard this can be. Whether new to the field of higher education with a cursory understanding of teaching and learning fundamentals, or a seasoned veteran, we have attempted to situate this book to be beneficial to everyone. It is not a panacea, and it is not a substitute for planning and hard work. However, we have seen first-hand how passionate and dedicated AEC faculty and administrators are to provide high-quality learning experiences that prepare students to be leaders within their chosen fields. If you are one of these educators, we encourage you to keep reading and give our proposed approach a try. We hope your experience with this book is as thought-provoking and fun as it was for us to write.
2 The Significance of High-Impact Educational Practices
DOI: 10.1201/9781003106029-2
Do you recall a great learning experience in college that resonates with you like Sarah had in Chapter 1 – maybe it was an internship, group project, study abroad, unusual classroom experience? What was it? When did it occur? Why was that event impactful for you?
What Does Sarah's Experience Teach Us?
Sarah found incredible value in some very specific experiences during her time in college. In her class with Dr. Wake, the trip to Bolivia used a variety of pedagogical tactics that yielded educational, social, and personal memories. The trip was one week of her time in college, but the experience helped propel her toward a successful career and provided a framework for her professional life. Sarah firmly believes that her ability to communicate and problem-solve with a diverse group of people was introduced throughout her education but was solidified on her trip to Bolivia.
Sometimes as faculty, we hear something less than this outcome when people discuss their college educations. Students and families alike may even debate the value of the college experience. The challenge is certainly real; students, parents, and employers continue to demand more from colleges. And in this era of increasing educational costs and demand for qualified college graduates, universities need to consider what they can do to improve the student experience. More importantly, what can we (as educators) do to create those impactful experiences for our students that chart a trajectory for passion, success, and a desire for lifelong learning?
George D. Kuh (2008) set out to address some of these challenges and help students reach what he termed the “full benefits – economic, civic, and personal” of a college education. He recognized that universities were focusing on features like student retention, graduation rates, and time until graduation when, in fact, the real metrics important to impactful higher education may be different. Kuh’s work has encouraged great discussion about what really matters in college education and has motivated deeper discussions about student learning outcomes and the actual experiences that lead to those outcomes. Termed High-Impact Practices (HIPs), Kuh identified a specific set of practices that tended to lead to meaningful experiences for students.
How Did HIPs Develop?
The concept of HIPs was formulated as part of a larger decade-long program called Liberal Education and America’s Promise. Developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the program focused on clarifying the needs of employers in the 21st century. The goal of the program sought to create a higher return on investment for college students and their families while being inclusive and assisting students from diverse backgrounds to reap the full benefits – economic, civic, and personal – of the higher education experience. These goals were supported on a foundation of four essential learning outcomes:
- Knowledge of human culture and the physical and natural world (including study in the liberal arts)
- Intellectual and practical skills (including critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving)
- Personal and social responsibility (including ethical reasoning, intercultural competence, and development as a lifelong learner)
- Integrative and applied learning
From these four outcomes, the Association of American Colleges and Universities set out to determine the greatest opportunities for achievement. Numerous research studies identified a core of experiences that provided substantial educational benefits to a diverse population of learners:
- First-year seminars and experiences
- Common intellectual experiences
- Learning communities
- Writing-intensive courses
- Collaborative assignments and projects
- Undergraduate research
- Diversity/global learning
- Study abroad
- Service learning
- Internships
- Capstone courses and projects
Researchers found that students who participated in such activities had higher grades and retained information at a rate higher than those who had traditional educational experiences. This was especially true for students who started out at a lower achievement level. HIPs provide an opportunity for students to connect information with specific experiences; blurring the boundaries between a student’s academic life and out-of-class life and amplifying the social and cognitive impact of the experience (Terenzini, Pascarella, & Blimling, 1996). Students have an opportunity to reflect on their experiences, and confidence is increased as they return to the classroom or engage in professional practice.
Kuh introduced HIPs using specific teaching and learning practices. While delivery styles vary, almost all the practices involved active learning – an approach to teaching that continues to provide positive experiences for most learners. Kuh’s work was built on educational research that showed an increased rate of student retention and engagement for each of the identified HIPs.
Since the introduction of the ter...