Challenge of Delivering Construction Courses in an Online Environment Based on Faculty Experiences

Abstract

Online education has seen rapid growth through teaching and learning in university degrees. Higher education faculty have identified challenges while transitioning from face-to-face to online because of time management issues and the different instruction modalities. This study analyzes how construction faculty feel about the delivery of online instruction. A survey was developed to determine construction faculty expertise in delivering online content and their level of expertise after the changes due to the pandemic. The survey was conducted during the pandemic (May/August 2020). We asked faculty to reflect on the pre-pandemic vs pandemic perception course delivery method. The relevant survey questions focused on teaching experience, different delivery types, online teaching experience, course management resources, and proficiency of online teaching. While most responding faculty indicated traditional lecture was typically used for content delivery, the remaining faculty indicated “project-based learning, experimental laboratory course, or computer lab studio," as the content delivery method. From the faculty responses, there are challenges in delivering online construction courses having components of project-based learning, experimental laboratory course, and computer lab studio. The survey responses identified specific concerns about online courses from construction faculty members. Online delivery is difficult for teaching hands-on or experimental lab types of construction courses. Some construction faculty also identified concerns about academic integrity in the online delivery of construction courses.