BIM Education Insights and Research Focus

BIM-Based Learning Outcomes and Teaching and Learning Activities in Higher Education: A Social Network Analysis

• Building Information Modeling (BIM) is increasingly used in higher education due to industry demands
• BIM promotes cost-effective facility planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustainability initiatives
• This research utilized social network analysis (SNA) to study BIM courses
• Research Questions:
  • What are the learning outcomes (LOs) of a typical BIM course?
  • What are the teaching and learning activities (TLAs) of a BIM course?
  • What are the relationships between LOs and TLAs in a BIM course?
• Findings: A relationship matrix of 57 keywords for LOs and 121 keywords for TLAs was created, ranked by expert feedback
• Key Takeaway: The results provide insights into the authentic relationships within BIM courses and suggest crucial LOs and TLAs for educators

Introduction

• BIM has led to roles like BIM coordinator and BIM specialist
• BIM education's importance in the construction industry is growing, including technical, management, and multidisciplinary cooperation components
• Previous studies highlighted BIM-based pedagogy's effectiveness compared to traditional methods (2D CAD, paper-based documentation)
• Effective BIM pedagogy often utilizes modern methods (multimedia, interactive or problem-based learning)
• Misconceptions about BIM and time-consuming BIM software are critical concerns within BIM education

Literature Review

• BIM education encompasses programs integrating BIM technology and principles
• Researchers emphasize BIM's relevance to higher education
• Many studies focused on technology aspects and interdisciplinary cooperation in BIM education programs.
• Issues in BIM higher education include:
  • Instructor-related issues: Instructor knowledge and availability of tools and aids
  • Curriculum-related issues: Curriculum and content limitations, change management issues
  • Industry-related issues: Lack of industry BIM skill criteria

Learning Outcomes (LOs)

• LOs are typically articulated using Bloom's Taxonomy which emphasizes cognitive and affective domains.
• Cognitive domain:
  • Facts, concepts, procedures, and metacognition
  • Knowledge, skills, and understanding
• Affective domain:
  • Learners' attitudes and feelings
• The terminology emphasizes what students will achieve, not what the instructor teaches.
• Experts use statements that encapsulate student achievement ("A learner knows, understands, and is able to do on completion of a learning process.").
  • The specific knowledge, skills, and understanding that students achieve are articulated in learning outcomes
• This framework is crucial for aligning teaching and learning activities.
• LO examples: BIM principles, building design solutions, drawing documentation, BIM applications, benefits of BIM

Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)

• TLAs are aligned with LOs as a core tenet of constructive alignment.
• They involve systematic instructor efforts to convey knowledge/skills to students, including technological tools to simulate real construction environments
• TLAs involve student activities to absorb knowledge - project-based exercises, collaborative work, simulations (e.g., using BIM software), and virtual lab practices
• BIM courses for undergraduate and graduate students, developed separately, cater to specific educational needs. Examples of TLAs include detailed methods for software, modeling, scheduling, coordination
• Key takeaways: Educational goals, teaching materials, and methods of assessment - specifically need to be aligned

Social Network Analysis (SNA)

• SNA examines interconnections, structures, and patterns within a network of individuals, organizations, or entities.

• Gephi is a valuable network visualization tool for analyzing relationships between LOs and TLAs.

• Network density and node (degree) are crucial metrics.

• Methodology: A comprehensive four-step methodology was developed:

  • Collecting BIM course syllabi
  • Parsing syllabi into LOs and TLAs and extracting keywords
  • Determining relationships between keywords based on expert feedback (through a survey process)
  • Performing SNA analysis and extracting crucial LOs and TLAs (using Gephi software)

• Results: Specific keywords and relationships were analyzed: degree, weighted degree, and betweenness centrality

• This approach assists in the development of a pertinent BIM curriculum in higher education.

Related Work

• Several prior studies highlighted various aspects of BIM integration in higher education, including course design, curriculum development, pedagogical approaches, and industry linkages.
• The study's SNA results provide a novel perspective by presenting an interconnected method to support the development of teaching and learning strategies

Identification of Relationships between LOs and TLAs Based on Experts' Feedback (Summary)

• Relationships between LOs & TLAs using 57 keyword LOs and 121 keyword TLAs
• A survey assessed interrelationship quality (H, S, or empty)
• Weighted relationships (H = 1, S=0.5, Empty = 0)
• The results assisted in structuring a balanced BIM curriculum to be used by instructors

Results (Summary)

• Data from New Zealand, the UK, and Vietnamese courses
• This research identified significant LO and TLA keywords for a balanced BIM curriculum.
• Matrices (tables) summarize the relationships (strong, supportive, none, or empty) between learning outcomes and teaching/learning activities
• Metrics from the Gephi software identified the relative significance of each factor

Discussion and Conclusion

• This study utilized SNA to explore LOs and TLAs (learning outcomes and teaching/learning activities) in diverse BIM courses (New Zealand, UK, Vietnam)
• A thorough analysis is needed for future research to include a more diverse range of courses and educational contexts.
• The findings of this research suggest a comprehensive approach, including Bloom's Taxonomy and SNA, and create a balanced curriculum for BIM courses