Enhancing Project-Based Learning in Sustainable Building by Incorporating Learning Technology

Abstract

This project aimed to enhance the learning experience of undergraduates in sustainable building by incorporating learning technology. Four objectives guided the research: Identify the most appropriate areas for improvement in student project-based learning (PBL) in sustainable building through the use of learning technologies; Determine the most suitable learning technologies to address the previously identified areas for improvement and how such technologies can add value and how these can be most effectively incorporated into the PBL in sustainable building; Develop a sub-site of the University’s SharePoint, incorporating the use of the identified learning technologies, for enhancing student PBL; Evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating learning technology in sustainable building PBL Background to project (or context)

Project-based learning (PBL) has been increasingly utilised in Higher Education (HE), which helps students develop a range of skills, including problem-solving, group working, critical analysis, and communication. PBL has also been gradually supported by technology to foster student-directed scientific inquiry of problems in a real-world setting. Sustainable building has been regarded as strategically important for the future of the UK construction industry. As a consequence of that strategic importance, there have been fast-evolving, increasingly stringent regulations and standards on sustainability and world-wide good practice of sustainable building. Therefore, PBL in sustainable building will only be effective when the state-of-the-art, fast-evolving knowledge and practice of sustainable building are fully reflected and engaged in the project learning context. Despite the previous research into integrating technology to enhance student PBL, it remains a concern to engage students effectively in authentic practice, particularly in the comparatively new, fast-evolving discipline of sustainable building.