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The specialization of careers in various industries has created a multitude of professional networks that demand close collaboration between parties when working toward a common goal. Additionally, the exponential growth of information technology has evolved with the workflows among various entities involved in a project. Therefore, professionals in various construction or engineering positions must work with their peers closely to form teams. As an interpersonal skill set, the ability to work in teams is gaining more attention in workforce development programs. Construction and engineering programs in higher education should prepare their graduates with ample knowledge and experience in teamworking skills. While the technical and detailed nature of construction and engineering courses influences the possibility of students working in teams, there is still sufficient flexibility in the classroom to facilitate students' collaboration in the form of team projects. This paper reports on a study conducted in Fall 2022 to explore teamwork among construction and engineering students. The goal of this study is to investigate various aspects of teamwork as perceived by students. In the first phase, a quantitative survey was designed and developed, and a sample of subjects was drawn from students in construction and engineering programs at Mississippi State University. The comparison between these programs produced common themes. The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge by addressing key aspects of team-based projects and practices when developing or modifying course components in pertinent programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teamwork skills are increasingly gaining importance in graduates' qualifications in engineering programs. The interconnected systems of the workflow of engineering products and projects necessitate certain technical and managerial skill sets. The need for multifaceted professionals is highlighted further by the advancement of tools and methods for remote collaboration on projects. This study's objective was to explore students' perceptions of the different aspects of teamwork. The first phase of this study was conducted in Fall 2022, in which students in the Construction, Biomedical, and Mechanical Engineering Departments at Mississippi State University were recruited to participate in a survey on different aspects of teamwork. A quantitative approach was used to ascertain essential facets of teamwork and provide content for in-depth exploration. This paper contains two main result sections. The first one addresses similarities and differences between gender-based students' perceptions. The second section focuses on the perceptions of students from underrepresented groups and highlights distinctions among groups' responses. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing key aspects of teamwork that can be incorporated into engineering course layouts. Also, it reports on barriers and shortcomings in team-based practices and activities. The findings of this paper help engineering scholars and educators to design and develop opportunities to inclusively develop teamwork skill sets in engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly discusses the collaborative experiences between construction and architecture students in a design-build studio and highlights important features of effective collaboration in an educational environment. American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), as the primary accrediting body of construction programs in the U.S., has defined 20 student learning objectives (SLOs), among which "SLO 9: apply construction management skills as an effective member of a multidisciplinary team" that has been discussed and evaluated as a controversial one. While this educational objective covers a crucial skill set that construction students should develop, the design and application of role-playing are intricate and have caused some ambiguity. Working with construction-related programs allows educators to clarify the process intended for this SLO and exemplify an educational setting in which students can assume different roles and work in multidisciplinary teams. However, even with this opportunity, many teamwork features should be carefully designed, and every aspect of the educational component or assignment needs to be clearly defined and properly assigned to students. The nature of educational activities and projects assigned to construction students is not entirely aligned with collaboration features, and, therefore, educators should particularly define projects and assignments that promote collaboration and teamwork aspects in students. This study aims to report on different features of collaboration efforts between two programs. The research question was how a collaborative environment I perceived by students from different majors. A quantitative method in fall 2021 was employed to highlight various students' perceptions of the subject. The results indicate that program identity, trust, need to fill the knowledge gap, time and effort commitment, and defined values are among factors that impact the collaboration effectiveness. The findings also show that collaborative efforts can be differently interpreted based on the students' structured criteria. The results of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge by providing inputs for construction administrators and educators to design and develop collaborative settings in which students are led to develop their managerial skills and effectively perform in larger multidisciplinary teams and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction safety is an important aspect of every construction project in the United States. Safety training is provided by construction industry companies for individuals involved with safety programs as professional development, non-credit courses, seminars and in-company training classes. The safety training industry is well established and active in all sectors of construction. Most construction managers have attended training to receive their 10-hour or 30- hour safety cards. Few programs exist in higher education where students receive a safety card, but the number of programs providing students with a safety card upon course completion is growing. At Mississippi State University, students in the Building Construction Science program obtain their 30-hour construction safety card in the third year program curriculum. Students learn about federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) construction safety requirements. They also write site specific safety plans to meet accreditation requirements through the American Council on Construction Education (ACCE). Attendance at 100% of classes is required to receive the safety card. Instructors teaching a 30-hour course must themselves meet OSHA training requirements and also attend update training every four years. The standard curriculum for a 30-hour course contains required and optional topics, and time durations. The course results in an awarded safety card, which assists students in gaining employment with the Mississippi State University Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) members, and can support academic program assessment. The additional costs for Mississippi State University in providing the certifying coursework for their students is nominal and the course can be used to enhance connections to industry for programs which require industrial advisory board or committees. This paper discusses the implementation of a safety course in a four year, technical, academic program. Instructor training required to teach the safety course, curriculum provided to students and other benefits of a 30-hour OSHA safety course are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecture and lab course formats are still the dominant forms of course delivery in higher education. However, universities and international colleges are increasingly providing abbreviated courses usually lasting one to eight weeks during summer semesters. The definition of intensive course formats lends some key terms such as time-shortened, compressed, condensed, and block courses. Some research shows that quality of the learning in courses in which various creative teaching methods are employed and students' performance and outcomes are attentively assessed is comparable to methods when the same subject matter is taught in a traditional format. Yet, there are some studies that show while the learning outcomes from both traditional and intensive formats were perceived to be similar, students found the intensive method more interesting, and rated this format higher overall. On the contrary, some researchers have expressed their concerns about the negative impacts of intensive courses. They believe academic quality is compromised by the efficiency of time and cost. Additionally, another issue reported about intensive courses is their intrinsic requirement for a high level of self-discipline and selfregulation which impacts the success of students lacking self-management skills as compared with traditional course formats. However, there are not ample research studies addressing the preference of courses with physical activities and hands-on experiences in an intensive format offered in a regular semester. In this narrower area, two opposite arguments still contradict each other. One side positions itself with a claim on the benefit of physical activity continuation and believes in physical activity accomplishments in more frequent and longer sessions, as common in intensive courses, helps students to continuously be involved in such activities and ultimately learn more. On the other hand, the opposing group argues the short-term learning period does not allow students to fully comprehend a full semester course content. The Building Construction Science (BCS) program at Mississippi State University is one of the only two construction programs in the United States with a studio-based curriculum. The program provides a project-based learning environment in which collaborative learning activities are designed and accomplished within the construction department and also between the construction department and other educational units in the same college. The backbone of BCS curriculum is eight consecutive, sixcredit hour studios, each of which is offered in one semester. The major topics of construction programs such as construction equipment and methods, estimating, scheduling, contracts and regulations, and BIM technology are iteratively introduced and practiced through several activities and projects. However, the chain of studios prohibits students from completing their degree in a shorter period. The BCS program offers the first two studios in summer so that students can decrease their program duration. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the summer studios, the performance of two groups of students was compared over the course of four years. This paper briefly addresses the outcomes of a quantitative research method used to show the similarities, differences, and correlations between the subjects in traditional and intensive course formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Interactive Construction Education (VICE) is a simulation designed for construction education. The purpose was to provide the traditional lecture-based construction contents along with supplementary instructions in a project-based learning environment. Six modules were proposed as a curriculum delivery guideline including: single span bridge, residential building, light commercial, heavy commercial, highway, and segmental bridge. The single span bridge was the first module used for prototype development providing an opportunity to design, analyze, implement, and test for effectiveness. This paper describes the design steps and results of this three-year research project. VICE-Bridge required participants to sequentially order the construction activities and then select the required resources for each activity such as personnel, equipment and material. The diversity of participants' responses were represented by an animation or real situation video within the simulation. Different iterations were tested during development and used for analysis, design changes and implementation using feedback from participants to augment development process. The hypothesis of this investigation is that simulations can have a positive effect the participants' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and particularly construction. In addition, the study investigated the participants' perceptions of simulation on learning and the contrast between project oriented delivery and simulations when compared with traditional teaching methods. VICE was tested three times during the development process by 99 participants that included both high school students and college students. High school students were selected as a sample for two reasons. First, their knowledge and preconceptions about construction would not be tainted as would a student body from a construction program. Secondly, it was important to know what effect the educational game might have on an entry level population. A mixed methodology of both quantitative and qualitative methods was used in this research. The results from the post-survey indicated whether VICE had an influence on participants' interest in each of the STEM disciplines. Participants also stated to what degree their performance in simulation was impacted by different factors, including prior knowledge from experience, prior knowledge from classroom instruction, instructions within the simulation, "ask a consultant" feature, instructional videos, and learning from mistakes. In addition, the participants' beliefs about using simulation-based learning and project-based learning methods as a part of integrated construction program curriculum were analyzed. Moreover, the weaknesses and strengths of VICE, asked as open-ended questions, were categorized and qualitatively analyzed for all participants. These various feedback data were further developed, then, utilized in subsequent iterations. Since the participants' population consisted of college and high school students, a comparison was used to show any possible difference in each group for aforementioned questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]