Enhancing Civil Engineering Professional Skills through Survey Camp Course using Project-Based Learning

Comparing Models of Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) Courses and Student Engagement in Civil Engineering in Qatar

“…In general, the outcome of this study supports previous studies on the benefits of PBL in engineering education regarding students' positive attitude, interest, confidence, and competences in learning engineering (Kolmos, 2017). In particular, it provides further evidence supporting the understanding that PBL would be an effective teaching and learning method for civil engineering (Ahern, 2010;Beagon, Niall & Fhloinn, 2019;Hezmi, et al, 2017;Murray, Hendry & McQuade, 2019;Shekhar & Borrego, 2017). In our recent studies on implementing PBL in civil engineering courses at the same institution, we noted that while engineering students increased their deep approach to learning through a PBL course, their surface approach to learning remained unchanged (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019).…”

“…Recent decades have witnessed a dramatic change to the nature of civil and structural engineering as academic disciplines, with newly invented materials and new ways of analyzing structures and modeling designs necessitating new skills and competences for civil engineering graduates (Beagon, Niall & Fhloinn, 2019). PBL has been regarded as suitable to address these needs due to the focus of civil and structural engineering on the design, construction, management, and sustainability of the construction environment (Ahern, 2010;Hezmi et al, 2017).…”

“…Although the majority of the PBL literature in civil engineering tends to be an account of practice from the instructors' perspective or course feedback from students (Shekhar & Borrego, 2017), a few very recent studies have reported empirical evidence of students' development of deep learning (Du, Ebead, Sabah, Ma, & Naji, 2019) and self-directed learning (Du, Naji, Sabah, & Ebead, 2020) through collaborative learning in project teams. Also is newly reported includes students' selfreported improvement in professional skills for civil engineering, namely, communication, problem-solving, use of modern technological tools, teamwork and leadership (Hezmi et al, 2017). In addition, based on student feedback, Shekhar and Borrego (2017) provided detailed suggestions on how to overcome challenges in implementing PBL in a civil engineering course.…”