A Warm Welcome from the
University of Wolverhampton
Evaluation of curriculum design for a Work
Based Learning module in construction
Paul Hampton
“Proud to deliver
accredited RICS courses”
Traditional Industrial links
•
“The Black Country’
•
Industrial revolution
•
Changing expectations
(Engel, 1997 and Poikela
and Poikela 1997) describe
as a community expectation
that graduates not only have
a specific knowledge base,
but are equipped with the
knowledge to solve complex
problems in an effective way
‘ local companies - Global Expectations’
Challenges in
designing curriculum?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Historically - Construction industry
barometer for economic position of
UK – Current state putting increased
demand on students time
24,000 students, over 83% graduates
get a job within the first 6 months
External Stakeholders
Around 3,000 international students
World Class
Researchers …reputation
Employer engagement of curriculum
design
Academic models
Pre-requisites - Module


Inaugural run - 30 credit, year long module
WBL feeds in to the Professional body accredited
courses - BSc (Hons) Construction Management,
- BSc (Hons) Building Surveying,
- BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying,
- BSc (Hons) Commercial Management
and Quantity Surveying (not accredited)
The students are industry based part-time students
Plan
>
>
>
>
Pre-consultation with
all stakeholders
Diagnosis of needs
and formulation of
objectives
Selection of contents /
learning outcomes
Reflective
practitioners – (My aims
and objectives)
>
Evaluation
Pre- consultation
Professional bodies
•
Competencies
•
APC – Requirements – Pathway
•
Student membership
University

MST (Module Specification
Template)

Inaugural run
Students

Liked portfolio

Deeper understanding of
individual discipline

Working with peers
Employers .........
Employer Engagement

Employers subscribed to the notion of group discussion, and engagement of
questions and answer sessions, so Kolb’s Socio-constructivist model would
be ideal. Both the workplace and the weekly tutorials with myself at the
University, would encourage what the model portrays ‘engagement of
learning with peers’
My Aims and Objectives

I wanted the students to experience ‘transformation’ which would
entail letting go of earlier, comfortable positions and encounter
less familiar and sometimes disconcerting new territory. (Meyer
and Land, 2006) Be creative

Subject matter of construction related disciplines, predominately
involves problem solving, critical thinking, creative thinking, and
skills transfer to new content – Importance in design

Address ‘What will students be able to do after they complete
the course, or in this case module, that they could not do before’
- Could I embed and encourage autonomy and mastery of
knowledge in the curriculum.

Engagement of our ‘blended learning strategy’ – Podcasting ‘Threshold concepts’……
Reflection & Evaluation
(Other considerations)

Threshold concepts –

Avoiding ‘stuffed curriculum’
relevance
and suitability of my initial attempt at
curriculum design and question its ability
to be ‘student focussed’ whilst
constructively aligning with my
expectations to reach concept threshold,
and aligning my students with mastery of
subject understanding ‘thinking like a
practitioner’
(Cousins 2006)
Curriculum Design

Designing, planning and formulating curriculum aims and objectives
is paramount towards providing clarity and structure for both the
teacher, and the learner. To encourage depth of learning, and
mastery of subject, requires ‘constructive alignment’ (Biggs, 2003)
and creation of new engaging learning environments.
Constructive Alignment
Learning Outcomes
Learning experience
‘Creativity’
Theory


Engaging and motivational (Year module)
Perhaps Cowan (1998) captures the
issue when he defines teaching as ‘the
purposeful creation of situations from
which motivated learners should not be
allowed to escape without learning
Nicholls cyclical model
Objectives &
selection of outcomes

Taba’s model for curriculum design –
follows 7 steps
Step 1 – Diagnosis of needs
Step 2 - Formulation of objectives
Step 3 - Selection of content
Step 4 - organisation of content
Step 5 - selection of learning experiences
Step 6 - organisation of learning experiences
Step 7 - determination of what to evaluate,
and ways and means of doing it.
Selection &
organisation of methods
Nicholls cyclical model
Situation
Analysis
& evaluation
Potential solutions





Adopt - Taba’s model for curriculum design – follows
7 steps
Consultation – With all internal/external
stakeholders, including students
Reflection – on / in / after (Schon, Biggs,Moon)
Outcomes learning strategy – 3 main learning
outcomes
Evaluation – Re-evaluation … model
Portfolio
(Case study)
Strategic
approach
Feedback &
evaluation
Final
submission
Blended
learning
T5
Case study
Professional
Viva
Company visit
Learning
outcomes
Professional
body
Interim
submission
Case study - (T5)
T5
Key T5 details
The project management approach on Terminal 5 was developed based on
the principles specified in the Constructing the Team (Latham, 1994) and
Rethinking Construction (Egan, 1998) but went further than any other project
The construction of T5 consists of 16 main projects divided into
140 sub-projects and 1,500 “work packages” on a 260 ha site;
The £4.2bn project includes not only a vast new terminal and satellite
building but nine new tunnels, two river diversions and a spur road connecting
to the M25;
It is a multidisciplinary project embracing civil, mechanical, electrical
systems, communications and technology contractors with a peak monthly
spend over £80 million employing up to 8,000 workers on site;
T5
The T5 agreement is a unique legal contract in the construction industry
– in essence it is a cost reimbursable form of contract in which suppliers’
profits are ring-fenced and the client retains the risk. It focuses in nonadversarial style on the causes of risk and on risk management through
integrated team approaches.
The history of the UK construction industry on large scale projects
suggested that had BAA followed a traditional approach T5 would end up
opening 2 years late, cost 40% over budget with 6 fatalities
T5
ROLE OF THE COST CONSULTANTS/CONTRACTOR’S QS
BAA selected a consultancy framework for cost consultancy on the T5
project comprising the Turner & Townsend Group and EC Harris Group
Ltd (known as TechT).
Both companies were selected under the same terms of commission
and each provided 50% of the staff. On this project these two major
consultancy companies became one team “joined at the hip”. At its peak
the cost consultancy team comprised 120 staff, approximately two thirds
of which were quantity surveyors.
Laing O’Rourke Infrastructure Ltd was selected as the major 1st tier
supplier responsible for the civil construction, infrastructure and logistics
delivery. Laing O’Rourke were involved in nearly 50 sub-projects with a
turnover over the last three years averaging at £20 million per month
managed by a team comprising more than 50 quantity surveyors
Professional body competencies
T5
•
Preparing development appraisals
2.
Advising clients on project brief, preferred procurement route and cash
Flow [T10 – Level 3]
3.
Analysing whole life costs
4.
Planning the construction process
5.
Monitoring control of cost during pre-contract stage
6.
Preparing tender and contractual documentation [T062 – Level 3]
7.
Advising on payments to contractors, cost control and settlement of final Accounts [T074 –
level 3]
8.
Controlling the project on behalf of their employer
9.
Negotiating with client or subcontractors
10.
Reporting on the programme and financial matters [T067 – Level 3]
11.
Risk and value management
12.
Giving contractual advice in case of dispute
Traditionally
Terminal 5 time-lapse video
See Heathrow Terminal 5 take shape in front of your eyes with this timelapse video of the construction project.
Watch the video now (WMV format)
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http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/page/Heathrow%5EGeneral%5EAirpo
rt+information%5ETerminal+5%5ETimelapse+video/8ba4bff9863f4110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____/448c6a4c7f1b
0010VgnVCM200000357e120a____/
Portfolio
SUCCESS…?
Strategic
approach
Feedback &
evaluation
Final
submission
Blended
learning
T5
Case study
Professional
Viva
Company visit
Learning
outcomes
Professional
body
Interim
submission
Conclusion







Curriculum design can be complex – Quality not quantity
Review existing academic models
Engagement and evaluation with all stakeholders
Reflection at all stages
Know your subject, and
know your audience
Monitoring, returning to start
cyclical, loop,
Evaluation evaluation evaluation
CONCLUSION & REFLECTION
‘Thanks for listening’
Any Questions..?