Teaching Construction Management Capstone as a Remote Course
Transcript of Teaching Construction Management Capstone as a Remote Course
Paper ID #35349
Teaching Construction Management Capstone as a Remote Course
Prof. Eric Anderson R.A., Farmingdale State College
Eric Anderson is an architect and educator with more than thirty years in educational and non-profit facil-ities planning and management. He has overseen the planning and/or construction of over $ 1 billion ofcapital improvement for non-profit and educational institutions in New Mexico, West Virginia, Nevada,and New York. He is a registered architect in New York and West Virginia. Professional memberships in-clude the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Engineering Education. Teachingexperiences includes graduate design studios at the UNLV School of Architecture from 1997-2000, andas an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Farmingdale State College from 2006-2017, teachingArchitectural Design III and Architectural Design IV. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor ofArchitecture and Construction Management, teaching Architectural Design III, Architectural Design IV,and several courses in Construction Management including Materials and Methods, Quantity Surveyingand Estimating, and the CM Capstone course.
c©American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
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TEACHING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CAPSTONE REMOTE
Teaching Construction Management Capstone as a Remote Course
Eric E. Anderson
Farmingdale State College – SUNY
Department of Architecture and Construction Management
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TEACHING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CAPSTONE REMOTE
Abstract
The capstone project course for Construction Management Engineering Technology
students (CON496), has been taught by guiding students to demonstrate integration of the various
skills for drawing management and plan reading, technical calculations, materials selection, and
project management (scope of work, estimating, risk management and scheduling) acquired in the
course of study for the 4-year program at Farmingdale State College.
Until the onset of the pandemic, students were organized in groups and provided a project
brief based on project requirements from a project sponsor (client) engaged as part of the project
development process. The in-person course met weekly in a computer lab to provide hardware
and programs to
– Plan and participate in a field visit to review the project site.
– Develop the scope of the project through a series of due diligence assignments.
– Present preliminary findings for scope, WBS, and budget to the project sponsor.
– Verify the details and data to develop a viable construction project plan during a verification
phase.
– Present the final technical report to the project sponsor and course instructor.
Like most colleges and programs, our courses went to remote teaching partially during the
spring semester 2020 and migrated to remote teaching full-time where practical for Fall 2020. The
challenge to maintain the applied learning focus of the course and deliver it in a remote
synchronous fashion was met by integrating the emergency as part of the development of the
project, supplemented by self-directed activities integrated into the project assign-
ments. Integration activities included:
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– Developing the field trip in accordance with state workplace guidelines and using that activity
as an introduction to examine the development of scope and cost for general conditions.
– Using a program management contract to organize group activities and provide a concurrent
examination of project activities to develop an awareness of ethics in construction
management.
– Using webinars from the EPA Sustainable Materials Management program and LinkedIn
Learning as virtual tutorials for project development.
– Coordinate class presentation and discussion with regularly scheduled group tutorials and the
creation of an online Request for Information inquiry file that was available to the entire class
for examination and discussion during scope development and verification.
When the class evaluation becomes available at the end of 2020, it will be compared to
previous class evaluations to determine if the modification of class activities to work within the
constraints of remote class delivery was an effective change to the class program and make a list
of best practices to assist with future syllabus development for capstone courses.
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Introduction
The author has taught the capstone project course for Construction Management
Engineering Technology (CM) students (CON496) for four years. The course description
describes the goals and outcomes as follows:
This is a capstone course. It utilizes skills and knowledge acquired in various courses in the
curriculum and general education courses to produce a real-life project. In this course, students
follow a faculty driven structured process to integrate various components of a project. This
course introduces very little new material, rather it helps the student to synthesize skills and
knowledge learned in other courses to apply in real-life situations.
Prerequisite(s): Department Approval, Upper Division Status, recommended in the final
semester, CON357, ARC 364 and CON401W. Level: 400 Credits:3 (FSC Website)
The syllabus adapted for the course in 2017 guided students to demonstrate integration of
the various skills for drawing management and plan reading, technical calculations, materials
selection, and project management (scope of work, estimating, risk management and scheduling)
acquired in the 4-year CM program at Farmingdale State College. The syllabus used before 2017
presented a task-oriented project based on a scenario developed from projects typical to
construction project management in the Long Island region with minimal external input.
The immediate changes that were implemented in course delivery were made to enhance
the applied learning experience to engage non-profit organizations that had capital project goals at
real sites, or use realistic scenarios at real sites. The objectives required definition of project
budget, project scope, project constructability, project budget, and project schedule. Of the five
projects discussed in this paper, four had project sponsors, and one had a realistic scenario based
on actual sites
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Until the onset of the pandemic, students were organized in groups of 2 or 3 to develop and
present a project response. Initially, the early project briefs were drawn from the material
developed from the task-oriented project. As project sponsors were identified and potential
projects were identified, a shift from task-specific projects to project phase development evolved.
Construction types and use group classifications were comparable from course to course. The
projects developed from 2017-2019 include:
• PROJECT 1: Construction of a swimming pool complex and parking improvements for a
youth group camp in the Long Island region of New York. (Spring 2018)
• PROJECT 2: Construction of a dining hall complex with associated sanitary and storm
water retention infrastructure in the Hudson Valley regions of New York (Summer 2018)
• PROJECT 3: Construction of a training conference center and parking improvement for
the youth group camp engaged for Project 1. (Spring 2019)
• PROJECT 4: Construction of two projects based on consequential development of housing
on a site occupied by a non-profit organization, which relocated to another site. This
project included planning relocation of assets and operations in addition to the development
of scope, costs and schedule. (Summer 2019 – combined with ARC 486).
The scale and scope of these projects were approximately 10,000 – 20,000 gross square feet.
The semester project brief outlined the key project requirements from a project sponsor
(client), who was engaged as part of the project development process. The in-person course met
weekly in a computer lab to provide hardware and programs to:
– Plan and participate in a field visit to review the project site.
– Develop the scope of the project through a series of due diligence assignments.
– Present preliminary findings for scope, WBS, and budget to the project sponsor.
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– Verify the details and data to develop a viable construction project plan
– Present the final technical report to the project sponsor and course instructor.
During the development of projects 1 through 4, changes in the syllabus were made to
eliminate building design activities that had been incorporated into the course prior to 2017 and
increase the emphasis on review of established designs, preparation of preliminary and final budget
projections for direct costs, indirect costs, project margins and contingencies, and fees for permits
and design services; scope of work, work breakdown structure (WBS) and project schedule
documents.
This paper is an overview of the changes required to move the course delivery from in-
person instruction to remote synchronous delivery in the context of pandemic restrictions. Key
changes are noted to provide the curriculum and technical elements to provide a comprehensive
capstone experience.
Planning and Delivering the Course During the Pandemic
Like most colleges and programs, our courses went to remote teaching partially during the
spring semester 2020 and migrated to remote teaching where practical for Fall 2020. The CON496
course was scheduled for the fall semester with 23 students, which was consistent with the course
enrollment for the previous fall semesters when the course was offered.
Planning revisions to the delivery of the course began in June 2020. The fall semester
project sponsor (fifth project) was located in western Connecticut. The project site (a 160+ acre
youth group camp adjacent to an environmentally sensitive watershed) had two structures – a
dining hall (use group A-3, construction Type V) and a training center (use group B and R-1,
construction Type V) that was assembled in an ad-hoc manner by project sponsor volunteers
approximately 20 years ago. Both facilities had approved certificates of occupancy from the local
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project jurisdiction. The overall project for both facilities envisioned making exterior shell
improvements for thermal performance and service life.
The student groups were organized in groups of 3 (one group of 2 identified late in group
formation due to late enrollment). Group formation took place in June, at least 60 days before the
start of the fall semester. The advanced participation of the student well before the start of the
semester permitted pre-course planning that was well received by the students.
Key changes to maintain the applied learning focus of the course and deliver it in a remote
synchronous fashion integrated the emergency as part of the development of the project:
• Curation and presentation of resources - Building a ‘lifeboat’ of resources based on guided
discovery of construction newsfeeds and compilation of authoritative documents and websites.
• Using the AIA B172 program management contract to organize group activities and provide a
concurrent examination of project activities to develop an awareness of ethics in construction
management.
• Curating and using webinars from the EPA Sustainable Materials Management program and
LinkedIn Learning as virtual tutorials for project development.
• Field trip restrictions as a generator for project management and development: Developing
the field trip in accordance with state workplace guidelines and using that activity as an
introduction to examine the development of scope and cost for general conditions.
• Community Engagement – Recruiting a project sponsor provides the “edge” that creates a goal
for students to develop meaningful project solutions to present to the project sponsor, with the
knowledge that the sponsor has been actively engaged because of the value they see in the
information and presentations resulting from student project development
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• Course management system– Making the course management system a home base for the
lifeboat of resources, student collaboration, student accountability, and instructor/student
mentoring.
• Opportunities found to strengthen remote delivery of the course
o Remote Mentoring
– Coordinating class presentation and discussion with regularly scheduled group
mentoring sessions and submission of journals in the course management system to
track and discuss group progress and roadblocks
– Creation of an online Request for Information inquiry file using Google Forms
available to the entire class for examination and discussion during scope development
and verification.
o External assessment – The project assessment incorporated real professional relationships
in the project review. Project sponsors and leaders in the regional construction sector were
engaged in the ongoing development of the project by the students.
RESOURCE CURATION AND PRESENTATION
The curation of resources to reduce the anxiety of students in research activities was a specific
goal to ensure students have equitable access to base resources. It is not appropriate to assume
that all students have equal access to equipment, bandwidth, or campus with the ongoing pandemic
restrictions for campus access. During the spring 2020 semester, review of technical resources for
the project became a critical course development activity to build a “resource lifeboat” of
immediately accessible textural and graphic files on various project topics, and to identify and
curate webpage links and pertinent videos for the course. Based on the project scope, the key
technical topics were
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• Program management agreement template
• Deconstruction of facilities
• Building enclosure retrofits
• Alignment of project mobilization and operations with pandemic prevention regulations
• Storm water pollution prevention
• Preliminary and detailed cost estimating resources
• Preliminary and detailed scheduling resources
Video courses were also curated in support of student research. Curating and using
webinars from the EPA Sustainable Materials Management program (https://www.epa.gov/smm)
and LinkedIn Learning (through the college library portal) as virtual tutorials for project
development, especially during the project scope development phase. It was recommended to
students to use these resources as an orientation for the research topics listed so they would know
what to look for in the review of the curated technical documents.
A review of technical documents resulted in posting over 300-500 files with technical
information and links to key web resources with many technical files, such as
– Whole Building Design Guide website (https://www.wbdg.org/)
– EPA Sustainable Materials Management website (https://www.epa.gov/smm)
– HUD Policy Development & Research website (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/research.html)
– Building Science Corporation website (https://www.buildingscience.com/)
Subscription to online construction newsfeeds, such as Builder (Hanley Wood -
https://www.builderonline.com/) and Probuilder (National Association of Home Builders -
https://www.probuilder.com/) provided ongoing “news blasts” that were distributed to the students
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with the Announcements feature in Blackboard. Pertinent newsfeed articles were sent, normally
with 24-36 hours of receipt to providing ongoing broadcasting of topical information.
Building the “resource lifeboat” was essential to supporting autonomous student research
in response to the pandemic restrictions to normal collegiate resources. The curation of these
materials would give students greater flexibility to search and use the videos, websites and files
during the time they allocate to do the work, which is not necessarily a set block of time during
conventional business hours. The course instructor has a datum of resources to provide guidance
to additional research areas not collected in compiling the core project topics.
THE PANDEMIC BECOMES A TEACHING TOOL
Due to the workplace requirements in response to the pandemic in New York and
Connecticut, a review of the requirements for internships in the SUNY system and the
requirements for managing workplace occupancy at business sites and youth camps in Connecticut
had to be reviewed and organized to develop a working model for student field trips. Field trips
to the project site by students unaccompanied by faculty is an important part of the course to
develop student due diligence for review of project conditions and scope. There was no model for
unaccompanied visits to project sites during a pandemic. All field trips by students are voluntary.
Due to the number of internships established in various college programs, the State
University of New York (SUNY) central administration had developed guidelines for internship
sponsors to engage students remotely and in-person. These guidelines became the basis for
developing an approved course-related field trip. Approximately 5-6 weeks was used to negotiate
the terms for approval of the trip; the major modifications included:
• Providing extensive video and static images of the project sites and context to permit students
that did not volunteer to travel to the site to have authoritative review materials
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• Restricting the student visitors to the site to 1 student per group
A detailed plan conforming to SUNY requirement for planning student travel was
submitted, with correspondence from the project sponsor describing visitor preparation and
conduct during the site visit. Campus health and safety officers in charge of campus pandemic
monitoring student safety and liability of the campus for pandemic-related exposure reviewed and
approved the site visitation plan.
The site was approximately two hours from the campus. Two of the eight student groups
elected not to visit the site. The immediate impacts of the visit preparation and actual activity by
the six student groups included:
• Review of all instructor-prepared video and image documents, with sponsor-suppled
documents to prepare a visitation strategy to confirm measurements and topography, identify
potential mobilization and storm water retention strategies
• Development of student group relationships with the chief executive officer of the non-profit
organization to enhance the due diligence review at the site and experience informal
commentary and changes to the course project brief.
• Collaboration between the non-participating groups and participating groups to confirm
information in the video and static images that would not have necessarily occurred in visits
with a less-constrained context.
• The preliminary cost projection and the final cost estimate had to incorporate the costs
associated with workplace pandemic prevention requirements imposed by the state of
Connecticut. In previous courses, the identification and compilation of general condition costs
were based on allocations or percentage based on the cost of the construction without a detail
exploration of how those cost are affected by conditions external to the project. Student groups
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had to research current articles and on-line construction newsfeeds since no historical data was
available to assess the impact of pandemic prevention in the construction workplace. There
was extensive discussion on issues regarding the pandemic and general conditions. Several
students working full or part time in the construction sector used their formal and information
networks of supervisor, colleagues and subcontractors to develop their strategies for
developing these costs.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT AS SOCIAL MEDIA
Remote teaching required replacement of the distribution and discussion of many resources
during class sessions. Drawings, specifications, codes, spreadsheets, and other textural
instruments would have been printed and distributed in class and reviewed in a general session or
in individual group meetings after an in-class review period. Our college uses Blackboard as the
course management system. Prior to the pandemic, Blackboard would have been a simple
repository for documents with no interface to the interactive portions of the course site.
The college hosted presentations from Ken Reid (Ohio Northern University) - American
Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) on effective teaching in March 2019. His presentation
noted design of course management sites should model how students use various social media
applications and that faculty should review the structure and content of course management sites
to make it engaging. This presentation influenced the revisions to the course management site
template that had been used for the previous four capstone projects.
The course site was redeveloped to be the “home base” for course students by creating a
structure for information, consultation and presentation that mirrored the relationship that students
will have with social media. The instructor committed to responding to all inquiries by email, in
journal entries, and with the RFI feature within a 24-to-36-hour time frame. This encouraged
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students to maintain continuity in the project development process similar to pre-bid or pre-
proposal communication in the commercial construction and project management sector.
To assist with student success, the course management site acted as a hub for all research,
collaborative, assessment and mentoring activities. Key changes in the site included
• Revising the landing page provided key course information and links to on-line student
services created to provide a seamless transition from in-person to remote learning. While
many of the links were not specifically related to deploying course resources, they became a
convenient access point for students to seek help with many student related services, thus
increasing the value of the site to the students.
• A wayfinding strategy to organize pertinent information provide feedback into restructuring
the organization of the course materials into themes vs. modules
• The journal section of the site became the focus for tracking group progress, conflict, and
reflection. Instructor feedback for weekly reports and expanding on requests for information
were provided weekly.
• Using Google Forms, a Request for Information (RFI) system was created give groups one
point to make formal inquiries on project scope, verification and presentation. All groups were
advised that all RFI inquiries and responses would be posted weekly and discussed in class
during the general session. Over 90 inquiries from the eight groups were made during the first
seven weeks of the course, when each group was developing costs, scope and schedule for
their project proposal. The RFI feature, which was linked to each phase of the course modules,
was effective in developing both course and group discussion each week.
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PRESENTATION OF THEMES VS MODULE
The structure of the Learning Modules evolved in the transition to remote learning. The
use of Blackboard for the courses for Projects 1 through 4 were driven by specific assignments
interspersed with the two milestones for preliminary and final presentation. This structure was
suitable when there was in-person teaching that drove completion of the assignments. The course
CMS structure was redesigned to reinforce the key phases of the capstone project was revised to
address the real division of work for the project:
• Project Brief and Agreement: The project brief for the entire course was place in this module,
as was the program management agreement that each group signed to affirm the deliverables,
they had responsibility for in responding to the project sponsor and meeting the project goals.
The use of the agreement in supporting the discussion of Ethics in Construction resulted in
both individual and group review of the agreement in an ongoing basis.
• Project Scope Development: All assignments, resource documents, links to LinkedIn Learning
videos and project drawings associated with all work required to make a preliminary
presentation of technical scope, preliminary budget, project work breakdown and schedule was
hosted here. A link to the RFI feature was posted to the section for ease of access.
• Project Verification: All assignments, resource documents, links to LinkedIn Learning videos
and project drawings associated with all work required to make a final presentation of technical
scope and submittal drawings, detailed cost estimate and project schedule was hosted here. A
link to the RFI feature was posted to the section for ease of access.
OPPORTUNITIES NOT CULTIVATED BEFORE THE PANDEMIC
Opportunities in instructional and research activity resulting from the change to remote instruction
included:
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• Guided field visit of previous projects was replaced with autonomous field visit in response to
the limitations of workplace pandemic mitigation. Groups worked with curated videos/images
and client guidance not mediated by the course instructor
• More collaboration with the project sponsor enabled by the use of the RFI inquiry and response
system. The formal procedures of RFIs were seen as a research method which resulted in both
technical feedback and client input which was more focused and transactional for the students.
• Using the recommendations of the March 2019 presentation by Ken Reid on developing course
management sites to encourage student patterns of using these sites as they use social media
for communication and collaboration.
COMPARISON OF STUDENT EVALUATION FROM IN-PERSON
AND REMOTE DELIVERY COURSES
Because the switchover to remote learning was both sudden and without formal procedures
for creating learning opportunities specifically for project-based courses, the only data that is
available to identify observable changes in student satisfaction with course delivery in the remote
learning mode are student evaluations from the previous courses (spring 2018, summer 2018,
spring 2019, and summer 2019). Student evaluations at Farmingdale State College have twenty-
one questions (Student Course Evaluations). These questions include:
1. The instructor's course material was well-organized.
2. The instructor presented the course material in a manner that made it interesting.
3. The instructor encouraged student participation.
4. The instructor seemed to care about our learning.
5. The instructor was available to students outside of class time; either during office hours or after
class.
6. The instructor communicated the subject matter clearly.
7. The instructor responded effectively to questions raised in class.
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8. The instructor attempted to make the course relevant to the students.
9. The exams and/ or assignments were fair.
10. The grading system was clearly stated.
11. The assignments helped me to learn the subject matter.
12. This was a challenging course academically.
13. I learned a great deal from this course.
14. Overall, I would rate this course highly.
15. The pace at which the instructor covered the material was good.
16. The textbook or other supplementary material helped me to learn the course material.
17. The workload required for this course was heavy.
18. I enjoyed this class.
19. Overall, I would rate this instructor highly
20. This course was required for my major.
21. Overall, I would rate this instructor highly.
Six of the twenty-one questions were selected to review the data.
Figure 1
COURSE EVALUATION
QUESTIONS
IMPACTS OF
COURSE DELIVERY REVISIONS
[1] The instructor's course material was
well-organized.
Curating materials to develop a resource lifeboat of
textural, graphic and video sources.
[2] The instructor presented the course
material in a manner that made it
interesting.
Revision from tasks to project agreement, project
scope development, and project verification.
[3] The instructor encouraged student
participation.
Student participation in field trip for COVID planning,
weekly journals and meetings, RFI inquiries
[4] The instructor seemed to care about
our learning.
Course management software for building mentoring
and collegial relationships.
[6] The instructor communicated the
subject matter clearly.
Leverages announcement for technical newsfeeds,
RFI responses to enable student-managed inquiries.
[7] The instructor responded effective-
ly to questions raised in class.
Course management systems organized to integrate
into large and small discussion/presentations
Course evaluation categories compared to changes required for remote course delivery.
These are the summaries of the evaluations for the six questions across the five course sections;
four in-person classes (2018-2019, and one remote class (2020).
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Table 1
IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION REMOTE
The instructor's course material was
well-organized.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 41% 60% 80% 40% 81%
4-Agree 29% 30% 20% 40% 10%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 12% 10% 0% 20% 0%
2-Disagree 6% 0% 0% 0% 5%
1-Strongly Disagree 12% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 1 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 1 suggests the recommendations outlined in creating a course data
lifeboat was effective in maintaining high rating review for curation, organization and deployment
of course resources when compared to the in-person course delivery.
Table 2
The instructor presented the course
material in a manner that made it
interesting.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 59% 70% 60% 40% 62%
4-Agree 35% 30% 40% 40% 29%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 6% 0% 0% 20% 5%
2-Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1-Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 2 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 2 suggests the recommendations outlined in course revision from tasks
to project agreement, project scope development, and project verification was effective in
sustaining high rating review for delivery of instruction, consultation and project review when
compared to the in-person course delivery.
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Table 3
The instructor encouraged student
participation.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 76% 70% 70% 60% 90%
4-Agree 24% 30% 20% 40% 5%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 0% 0% 10% 0% 0%
2-Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1-Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 3 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 3 suggests the recommendations outlined in student participation in
field trip for COVID planning, weekly journals and meetings, and creating RFI inquiries was
effective in sustaining high rating review for the management and encouragement of student
participation when compared to the in-person course delivery.
Table 4
The instructor seemed to care about our
learning.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 71% 90% 90% 80% 86%
4-Agree 23% 10% 10% 20% 5%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 5%
2-Disagree 6% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1-Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 4 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 4 suggests the recommendations outlined in the extensive use and
adaptation of course management software for building mentoring and collegial relationships was
effective in sustaining high rating review for the efforts of the instructor to engage with students
during the remote course when compared to the in-person course delivery.
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Table 5
The instructor communicated the
subject matter clearly.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 47% 60% 70% 40% 71%
4-Agree 29% 30% 10% 60% 14%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 12% 10% 10% 0% 10%
2-Disagree 6% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1-Strongly Disagree 6% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 6 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 5 suggests the recommendations outlined to make announcements for
technical newsfeeds and RFI responses to enable student-managed inquiries was effective in
maintaining a constant rating review for the efforts of the instructor to engage with students during
the remote course when compared to the in-person course delivery.
Table 6
The instructor responded effectively to
questions raised in class.
Spring
18
Summer
18
Spring
19
Summer
19
Fall
20
5-Strongly Agree 76% 80% 80% 60% 90%
4-Agree 24% 20% 10% 40% 5%
3-Neither Agree or Disagree 0% 0% 10% 0% 0%
2-Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
1-Strongly Disagree 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Summary of Student Response to Questions 7 (Student Course Evaluations)
The review of data in Table 6 suggests the recommendations outlined to deploy course
management systems to integrate into large and small discussion/presentations was effective in
sustaining high rating review for the efforts of the instructor to engage with students during the
remote course when compared to the in-person course delivery.
Additional review or compilation of data from the spring 2021 should be considered to
determine if improvements to course planning and delivery resulting from the feedback made in
the fall 2020 semester will have justify the refinements made for the current project.
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Closing the Loop: Recommendations to Colleagues.
The lessons learned from the need to shift from in-person instruction to remote learning for
the CON496 capstone project course offers a framework for assessing course preparation and
developing course resources and sponsors. Figure 2 is a summary of these lessons learned
presented to the faculty of the School of Engineering Technology at Farmingdale State College in
February 2021.
Figure 2
Summary of Lessons Learned from Remote Teaching/Learning in Capstone Course.
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Instructors need to invest additional time and resources to develop the networking
capabilities of course management systems such as Blackboard to leverage its ability to provide
seamless networking of students and external professionals to model the project planning and
delivery structures that students will encounter in their post-collegiate work environment.
Establishing and refining the course syllabus, course resources and course management
site to mirror aspects of student networking and collaboration of social media networks with course
management resources provide great opportunities to:
• Have flexibility in student engagement, especially with working students;
• Have greater contact with project sponsors with meetings that are more opportunistic due to
electronic availability.
Student formation as emerging professionals is enhanced as long as the instructor is constantly
curating project information, advisement, and reinforcing project goals.
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REFERENCES
Anderson, E. (2021) Getting organized to engage your students [Presentation handout],
Farmingdale State College, School of Engineering Technology Faculty Professional
Development
Course Description CON 496 - Farmingdale State College. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2021,
from https://www.farmingdale.edu/courses/?cid=CON+496
Reid, K. (2019). Can we engage students and make our lives easier? [PowerPoint slides].
Farmingdale State College. http://www.fsc.edu
Reid, K. (2019). Success and happiness as a professor – exploring “We’ve always done it that
way.” [PowerPoint slides]. Farmingdale State College. http://www.fsc.edu
Student Course Evaluation, CON 496 - Capstone Project (Spring 2018). (2018, January–May).
[Evaluation data for course delivery and instructor performance]. Farmingdale State
College. https://shib.axiommentor.com/Fac/reporting/teaching/Courses.cfm
Student Course Evaluation, CON 496 - Capstone Project (Summer 2018). (2018, May–August).
[Evaluation data for course delivery and instructor performance]. Farmingdale State
College. https://shib.axiommentor.com/Fac/reporting/teaching/Courses.cfm
Student Course Evaluation, CON 496 - Capstone Project (Spring 2019). (2019, January–May).
[Evaluation data for course delivery and instructor performance]. Farmingdale State
College. https://shib.axiommentor.com/Fac/reporting/teaching/Courses.cfm
23
TEACHING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT CAPSTONE REMOTE
Student Course Evaluation, CON 496 - Capstone Project (Summer 2019). (2019, May–August).
[Evaluation data for course delivery and instructor performance]. Farmingdale State
College. https://shib.axiommentor.com/Fac/reporting/teaching/Courses.cfm
Student Course Evaluation, CON 496 - Capstone Project (Spring 2020). (2020, January–May).
[Evaluation data for course delivery and instructor performance]. Farmingdale State
College. https://shib.axiommentor.com/Fac/reporting/teaching/Courses.cfm