New Teaching/Learning Methodology in the Computer and Graphic Communications Course

 

Svetlana Olbina, MSArch.

Rinker School of Building Construction

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida

 

The course titled “Computer and Graphic Communications” in the Rinker School of Building Construction includes free-hand sketching, print reading, and AutoCAD.  A new instructor of the course implemented a new teaching/learning methodology in the course to encourage students to develop constructive learning, critical thinking, and teamwork abilities.  The course content, organization, and old and new delivery methods are explained in this paper. The survey was conducted to evaluate the students’ opinions about the new methodology. The survey included questions about ways of obtaining the course information, importance of the course material, effectiveness of teamwork, usefulness of the assignments, and use of the teaching facility as a case study. The results of the survey are presented in this paper as an instructor’s guide to be used for modification of the methodology for the following semesters.

 

Key words: free-hand sketching, print reading, AutoCAD, case study, constructive learning, teamwork, critical thinking, students’ evaluations

 

 

Introduction

 

The course titled Computer and Graphic Communications (BCN 3255) was developed to introduce students to different construction communication tools, including free-hand sketching, print reading, and computer-aided drafting (in chronological order). The goal of the course was to help the students understand how to apply these communication tools to successfully manage a construction process. The lectures and labs were designed with the objective to create a constructive learning environment, with the emphasis on developing critical thinking, teamwork abilities, and a feeling for the “real-world” setting. The new teaching/learning methodology for an existing course was developed by a new instructor to help achieve these goals. Various methods were implemented in the lecture part as well as in the lab part of the course in the Fall 2004 semester.  An evaluation of these methods was necessary to understand whether to continue to use the same methodology for the following semesters or to modify the methodology.  In addition to other possible evaluation techniques, a survey was conducted to collect information about students’ opinions regarding the course content, teaching approach, and ability of the students to learn this material.  Results of the survey were used to evaluate the success of the implemented teaching/learning methodology.

 

 

Teaching Methodologies Description

 

The course BCN 3255 Computer and Graphic Communications is a junior level course which has the following objectives for students:

 

 

The course is a part of required curriculum for the building construction major. The new teaching methodology for the course BCN 3255 Computer and Graphic Communications was implemented for the first time in the Fall 2004 semester.  The new methodology is also used in the Spring 2005 semester.  Before the Fall 2004 semester, the same course was taught by another instructor who used a different (“old”) teaching methodology.

 

Old Teaching Methodology Description

 

The class had a lecture/lab format.  Fifty percent of the time was used for lecture with the remaining fifty percent used for lab sessions.  The course was divided into three sections.  Free-hand sketching was taught four weeks, plan reading for three weeks, and AutoCAD for three weeks.  The final project was done during the last five weeks of the semester.  Class met twice weekly for two hours.  The first meeting included lecture.  Students were required to watch a series of videos, which consisted of the recorded lectures of the instructor.  In the recorded lectures, the instructor used the following instructional materials:

 

 

The second meeting consisted of the lab session, which was taught by the teaching assistants. The exercises were given in each lab session. The exercises on free-hand sketching and print reading used a specially designed Trainer as an example. “The example includes simple and complex beams, cantilevers, tension and compression rods, and point and distributed foundation loads. It also incorporates many of the fundamental details of both wood and lightweight steel framing, as well as basic heavy steel, masonry, and reinforced concrete construction.” (Fukai, 2003)  In the free-hand sketching exercises, students drew an isometric assembly of a simple detail of the trainer, an isometric of a site layout, and an isometric of a framing detail of the trainer.  In the plan reading exercises, students drew three-dimensional free-hand sketches as the interpretation of some part of the plans and specifications of the trainer. The students were required to read the plans and draw an isometric of a site layout from the construction drawing and an isometric of a footing, column, and retaining wall from the construction drawing of the trainer.  All drawings from the free-hand sketching exercises and plan reading exercises were kept and saved in a portfolio that was reviewed at the end of semester.  The exercises on AutoCAD included drawing the simple three-dimensional shapes as well as the model of trainer layout, excavation, and CMU wall.  The final project was done by using the AutoCAD software.  Students were required to draw a three-dimensional model of one room of Rinker Hall.

 

New Teaching/Learning Methodology Description

 

·The new methodology was implemented in the existing course for the first time during the Fall 2004 semester when the new instructor taught the course for the first time. The class was divided into two sections. Each section met twice weekly for two hours. Since the class had a lecture/lab format, fifty percent of the time was used for lecture with the remaining fifty percent being used for lab sessions.  As a result, the class had two lecture and two lab sections.  The instructor taught the lecture sessions.  With the help of the teaching assistant, the instructor also taught the lab sessions.  The course consisted of three major parts: free-hand sketching, print reading, and AutoCAD.  Each part of the course was taught for approximately four weeks, leaving the last three weeks of the semester for the final project.  The lecture part of the course took one hour and consisted of presentation and discussion of relevant topics. In the lab part of the course, which also took one hour, the students were required to complete the exercises related to the material discussed during the lecture. The exercises were given in each lab session. The following instructional materials were used during the lecture part:

 

 

The required textbook for the course was Fukai Dennis, Graphic Communications in Construction. The following books were recommended as the supplemental material:

 

 

A combination of these instructional tools was necessary due to the nature of the topics presented in the course. All lectures related to free-hand sketching and print reading were prepared in PowerPoint and posted on the course website so that students could refer to the material whenever it was needed.  In addition to the PowerPoint presentation, most lectures on free-hand sketching were also presented in the traditional format, by drawing  specific examples on the blackboard.  Since this is a drawing-intensive course, the “learning by doing” approach was implemented as the preferred methodology.  In the lecture session, students were required to draw examples by following the instructor’s explanations.  The examples given in the class lectures were indirectly related to the exercises given in the lab session.

 

The purpose of the exercises given in the lab part of the course was to encourage critical thinking and simulate real-world situations. The lab exercises were different than the examples given in the lecture because the idea was to encourage the students to think creatively and critically about the given problems. The lecture exercises gave the students background and understanding of the material; then the lab exercises gave the students a more comprehensive understanding through application.  The idea was also to simulate real-world situations in these exercises.  For that reason, the Rinker Hall building, which is the teaching facility of the Rinker School of Building Construction, was used as a case study. Also, by using Rinker Hall as a real-world example and using a set of drawings throughout all the exercises, the course connected free-hand sketching, print reading, and AutoCAD and achieved simulation of different parts of the construction process (see Figure 1).  The introductory exercises on free-hand sketching included free-hand drawings of the basic and combined three-dimensional shapes. The students completed the following exercises:

 

 

The objective of these exercises was to develop the students’ ability to visualize three-dimensional space. After obtaining this background knowledge, the students were asked to complete exercises that were applications of different drawing techniques, for example, partial view, cutaway view, or exploded view, by drawing three-dimensional details of Rinker Hall, for example, structural details, facade details, and roof details.

 

The objective of these exercises was to develop the students’ ability to represent the detail as it was observed on the actual building. These exercises were also useful because they simulated the real-world situations. The students were exposed to the situation that can occur on the construction site where they may be required to draw three-dimensional details of the building to solve the imposed problem. In addition to observing the details of Rinker Hall, the students were required to refer to the set of construction drawings of Rinker Hall for additional information needed to complete their drawings. These exercises also introduced print reading to the students before the formal lectures on print reading started so that the students gained an understanding of the importance of print reading. These exercises also connected free-hand sketching with print reading as the two major topics of the course.

 

The set of drawings of Rinker Hall was used for all exercises on print reading. The exercises were created to simulate the process of reading the set of drawings, similar to the process that will occur in actual practice. The exercises led the students through the set of drawings step-by-step, introducing relevant elements of the drawings as well as the specifications.  By completing these exercises, the students developed the ability to approach a new unknown set of construction drawings. After the print reading part of the course, the students were completely familiar with the Rinker Hall building and ready to start the next part of the course -- learning the AutoCAD software.

 

The objective of the introductory exercises in the AutoCAD part of the course was to develop an understanding of the basic commands related to two- and three-dimensional drawings. After the students learned how to apply the AutoCAD commands, they were ready to begin the final project of the course. For the final project, the students were required to draw a segment of Rinker Hall by using the AutoCAD software. The assignment included drawing a segment of the plan, section, and elevation of Rinker Hall in two dimensions. The students were also required to draw details of their choice in three dimensions. The details were to be taken from the assigned building segment.  To complete the drawings, the students needed to use the set of construction drawings of Rinker Hall. If certain information was not found in the drawings, the students were required to observe the structure as it was built and draw the actual condition. The students had to include in their drawings all information given in the blueprints of Rinker Hall (drawing elements, dimensions, reference symbols, titles, notes, grid, etc.). In this way, the students exercised print reading and AutoCAD at the same time. Also, drawing three-dimensional details of Rinker Hall in AutoCAD is connected to free-hand sketching. The students were encouraged to use the experience gained in free-hand sketching of the details of Rinker Hall completed in the first part of the course. Free-hand sketching and AutoCAD were linked by using the same drawing techniques and similar drawing exercises.

 

Students completed the final project of the course by working in teams. Each team consisted of three students. Each student in the team was required to draw certain elements of the two-dimensional drawing. After that task, the students connected their partial drawings into a drawing of  the building segment. Each team member also had to draw one detail of the building in three dimensions. The objective of teamwork was to simulate the situation that occurs in the real world and to create a constructive learning environment. Working in teams helped the students in the learning process since they shared their knowledge and experience.

 

 

Students’ Evaluation of the New Implemented Teaching/Learning Methodology

 

A survey was conducted to get the students’ opinions about the course. A questionnaire was created to evaluate the proposed teaching/learning methodology (see Appendix A: Questionnaire). In the evaluation of the course, students used the grading scale from 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest grade and 5 being the highest grade).The students were asked questions related to the following topics:

 

 

Since the Fall 2004 semester was the first semester in which the proposed delivery method was implemented, a comparison of the accomplishment of the goals between various semesters was not used at this time. Only the students’ evaluations obtained at the end of Fall 2004 semester were analyzed in this paper. In future research, the same evaluation survey can be conducted for a few consecutive semesters to observe how the students view the course.

 

 

Results of the Students’ Evaluations

 

The class consisted of 69 students; 49 of these students (71% of the class) answered the questionnaire.  The first three questions in the questionnaire related to the way of obtaining knowledge in the specific area (see Figure 2).  In figures 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8, the acronym ‘”FHS” stands for free-hand sketching, “PR” for print reading, and “ACAD” for AutoCAD.  Questions 4 and 5 related to the importance of the course content. Question 4 referred to the importance of the course content for application in other courses in the school (see Figure 3).

 

 

Question 5 asked if the course content was important for the students’ general construction education and their future career (see Figure 4). Question 6 asked the students to evaluate their capacity to sketch, read prints, and use AutoCAD after taking this course (see Figure 5).

 

 

Question 7 asked students whether working in teams for the final project helped in the completion of the final project and in learning print reading and AutoCAD (see Figure 6). In figure 6, the acronym “FP” stands for final project. Questions 8 and 9 related to the assignments given in the lab session of the course. Question 8 asked if assignments given in the course helped in learning the course material (see Figure 7).

 

 

Question 9 asked at what level the assignments/exercises given in the class simulated a real-world situation, which was one of the objectives of the proposed teaching/learning methodology (see Figure 8). Questions 10 and 11 related to free-hand sketching of the details of Rinker Hall (see Figure 9). In question 10, the students were asked whether or not sketching the details of Rinker Hall was helpful for understanding and visualizing three-dimensional space. In question 11, the students were asked if sketching the details of Rinker Hall was helpful in connecting knowledge of free-hand sketching with print reading. In figure 9, the acronym “10-VIS 3D” stands for question 10 – visualizing three-dimensional space, and “11-CONN KNOW” stands for question 11 – connecting knowledge.

 

 

Questions 12 and 13 related to reading the construction drawings of Rinker Hall either individually or in teams (see Figure 10). In question 12, the students were asked whether or not reading prints individually was helpful. In question 13, the students were asked if reading the construction drawings in teams would be helpful.

Questions 14 and 15 related to the connection of AutoCAD to print reading and AutoCAD to free-hand sketching through the use of Rinker Hall drawings for the final project (see Figure 11).

 

 

The students’ evaluation survey showed the following results:

 

 

 

Discussion of Results

 

Results of the students’ evaluation survey were very useful for the instructor because they showed which parts of the methodology were satisfactory and which parts needed improvement (from the students’ point of view).

 

These results were considerably helpful because the instructor will redesign the assignments to better meet the learning needs of the students who could not connect the knowledge of free-hand sketching and AutoCAD.

 

 

Conclusions and Future Research

 

A new teaching/learning approach was used in the course BCN3255 Computer and Graphic Communications. The new methodology was used for the first time by a new instructor in the Fall 2004 semester. The new methodology linked three parts of the course (free-hand sketching, print reading, and AutoCAD) through a use of a teaching facility (Rinker Hall) as a case study. A “real-world” situation was simulated by using an actual building and organizing students in the teams for the final project. The survey was conducted to evaluate the success of an implemented methodology. The instructor distributed a questionnaire about the course to the students at the end of the semester. The students’ evaluations showed the students’ satisfaction with the implemented teaching/learning methodology. Based on the students’ evaluations, the proposed objectives of the course were achieved in the area of print reading and AutoCAD. Regarding the students’ opinions, the area that needs more attention/modification--in terms of the material presented in the lecture part, the assignments, and simulation of a real-world situation--is free-hand sketching. In addition to other evaluation tools, the students’ evaluation of the implemented teaching/learning methodology is a useful guide for the instructor in modifying and improving the course content and delivery methods.  The instructor will use the same questionnaire for following semesters to receive feedback about the delivery method. The results of the survey for a few consecutive semesters will be compared to see if the teaching methodology has improved.

 

 

References

 

Batie, D., Morton, D. (2001). Computer Graphic Applications for a Construction Document Reading Class. ASC Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference, 7-12.

 

Fukai D. (2003). Graphic Communication in Construction. Prentice  Hall.

 

Grosskopf, K.R. (2004). Teaching Methods Improvement Using Industry Focus Groups: A Case Study in Construction Financing. International Journal of Construction Education and Research,9 (2), 13-25.

 

Wiezel, A., Walsh, K., Brefla, J. (1997). A Critical Analysis of an Introductory Computer Course for Constructors. ASC Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference, 153-162.

 

 

Appendix A – Questionnaire

 

1. The knowledge of free-hand sketching:
   1. I was able to sketch before taking the course
   2. I learned how to sketch during the course
   3. I did not learn free-hand sketching during the course
2. The knowledge of print reading:
   1. I was able to read blueprints before taking the course
   2. I learned how to read blueprints during the course
   3. I did not learn print reading during the course
3. The knowledge of AutoCAD:
   1. I was able to use AutoCAD before taking the course
   2. I learned AutoCAD during the course
   3. I did not learn AutoCAD during the course
4. Importance of the course content for application in other courses in the school (scale 1-5, 1- not important, 5 – significantly important)
   1. Free-hand sketching     1             2             3             4              5
   2. Print reading                1             2             3             4              5
   3. AutoCAD                     1             2             3             4              5
5. Importance of the course content for your general construction education and future career (scale 1-5, 1- not important, 5 – significantly important)
   1. Free-hand sketching     1             2             3             4              5
   2. Print reading                1             2             3             4              5
   3. AutoCAD                     1             2             3             4              5
6. After taking this course, how do you evaluate your capacity to: (scale 1-5, 1- no capacity, 5 – large capacity)

   1. Sketch                        1              2              3              4              5

   2. Read prints                  1              2              3              4              5

   3. Use AutoCAD              1              2              3              4              5

7. Working in teams for the final project (scale 1-5, 1- does not help, 5- helps significantly):
   1. Helped you in the completion of the project        1            2            3            4            5
   2. Helped in your learning of AutoCAD                   1            2            3            4            5
   3. Helped in your learning of print reading               1            2            3            4            5
8. Assignments (homework) given in the course helped in your learning of the course material (scale 1-5, 1- did not help, 5- helped significantly):
   1. Free-hand sketching            1              2              3              4              5
   2. Print reading                       1              2              3              4              5
   3. AutoCAD                            1              2              3              4              5
9. Assignments (homework) given in the course simulated “real world” situations in the construction environment. (scale 1-5, 1- did not simulate, 5 - simulated at the significant level):
   1. Free-hand sketching            1              2              3              4              5
   2. Print reading                       1              2              3              4              5
   3. AutoCAD                            1              2              3              4              5
10. Free-hand sketching of the details of Rinker Hall was helpful for understanding and visualizing three-dimensional space (scale 1-5, 1- not helpful, 5 - very helpful)

                                                                   1              2              3              4              5

11. Sketching of the details of Rinker Hall was helpful in connecting knowledge of free-hand sketching and print reading. (scale 1-5, 1- not helpful, 5 - very helpful)

                                                                    1              2              3              4              5

12. Reading the drawings of Rinker Hall done individually (without direct help of instructor or peers) was useful. (scale 1-5, 1- not useful, 5 - very useful)

                                                                    1              2              3              4              5

13. Reading the drawings of Rinker Hall in teams (without direct help of instructor) was helpful. (scale 1-5, 1- not helpful, 5 - very helpful)

                                                                    1              2              3              4              5

14. Use of the drawings of Rinker Hall for the final project was helpful in connecting and applying knowledge of blueprint reading and knowledge of AutoCAD. (scale 1-5, 1- not helpful, 5 - very helpful)

                                                                    1              2              3              4              5

15. 3D free-hand sketching of the details of Rinker Hall was helpful for creating the 3D details of Rinker Hall in AutoCAD (scale 1-5, 1- not helpful, 5 - very helpful)

                                                                    1              2              3              4              5