Hard hats, soft skills: a responsive scaffold model for construction management education

This chapter presents approaches to situated cognition and cognitive apprenticeship learning. It pertains to “learning science”, as it is a theory that explains the way learning happens in the context of learners working together with a specialist, master or coach, in an environment. Empirical and theoretical developments in learning sciences have led to the emergence of the situated cognition, which assumes that cognition is fundamentally a social activity, and is distributed across members of a learning community, and that knowledge is situated in social, cultural, and physical contexts in which it is produced and used (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Cognitive apprenticeship learning reflects situated learning theory (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991; Rogoff, 1990). The notion of apprenticeship has been influential in teaching and learning throughout the history. Nonetheless, in education, there has been a move from traditional apprenticeship to cognitive apprenticeship. A focus on cognitive skills and process rather than only physical skills development, the use of skills in varied contexts rather than only the context of their use, and the use of structured rather than entirely naturalistic opportunities for skill development differentiate cognitive apprenticeship from traditional apprenticeship. In this chapter, we report four dimensions of cognitive apprenticeship for designing a learning environment: content, method, sequencing, and sociology (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991). This chapter also presents a framework of cognitive apprenticeship learning that includes six processes teachers would use to promote student learning: modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991). In this chapter, we framed design thinking methodology from a cognitive apprenticeship perspective with these four dimensions and six processes of cognitive apprenticeship learning (Brown, 2009; Cross, 2011). We believe that pedagogical practices of cognitive apprenticeship and strategies like design thinking (Cross, 2011) would help teachers to make key aspects of thinking visible to students (Cakmakci, 2012; Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991).

Property Development graduates play a significant role in sustaining the economic growth of South Africa. Hence, they have to be adequately equipped with state-of-the-art knowledge and skills to satisfy the need of the South African construction industry. The unique structure of the construction industry coupled with the challenges of global competitiveness and changing regulatory requirements calls for highly educated and competent graduates. However, it seems that there is a lack of direction and leadership concerning Property Development education in South Africa. This view is supported by construction professionals who stated that Property Development graduates are not provided with the appropriate combination of hard and soft skills needed to deal with complex construction projects. Accordingly, this paper investigates the competency requirements of Property Development graduates, especially with a major in Construction Management, as an approach to satisfy the qualifications of the South African construction industry. The Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is examined after achieving the lowest rate in a survey conducted to study the appropriateness of built environment tertiary education in South Africa. To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of literature review and survey questionnaires, is designed to accomplish three objectives. Firstly, literature review is used to investigate the structure of the Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, National Qualifications Framework and Construction Management education. Secondly, survey questionnaires were used to investigate the relevancy of the Property Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal towards meeting the National Qualifications Framework unit standards and the South African construction industry requirements. Finally, this research summarises the conclusions and recommendations useful for improving Property Development and Construction Management education in South Africa. Although the research revealed that the Property Development Programme succeeded in graduating students who are adequately equipped to satisfy the expectations of the the South African construction industry, a number of key areas have been highlighted to enhance the Property Development and Construction Management education in South Africa generally and at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in particular.

This paper describes an investigation of the soft management skills of senior personnel within construction companies in Northern Ireland. A literature review was undertaken to identify issues relating to soft management skills, and is summarised within the paper. Data were collected using eight semi-structured pilot interviews to identify the major issues required for inclusion in a subsequent on-line questionnaire. Each interview was analysed through cognitive mapping, using Banxia Decision Explorer software. The questionnaire asked respondents to indicate, on a five-point Likert scale, if they considered they had adequate soft management skills training and was circulated through the Construction Employers' Federation (N.I.). SPSS software used in the analysis of the 47 usable responses identified stress management, communication, people management, negotiation and presentation as the main soft management skills currently lacking. These soft management skills gaps are not widely recognised, the major emphasis of employers being on hard skills. Recent research at Queen's University, Belfast found that construction management education throughout the UK and Ireland also focuses primarily on developing hard management skills. Bridging of these soft management skills gaps will help improve day-to-day running of construction organisations.

Construction management education is increasingly adopting innovative learner-centered technology-rich approaches to prepare students for leadership roles in the construction industry.Still, there is a need for evidence-based studies to measure the effectiveness of such approaches and their transferability at different institutions.Consequently, this paper presents a study of an innovative project-based approach for teaching construction scheduling using Reality Capture technology.As part of this study, students used technologies such as 360 cameras and 360 walkthrough software to collect reality capture data from an operating construction site and used it to create project progress reports.This study used a designed quasi-experiment to assess the effectiveness of this approach regarding students' learning performance and satisfaction with two groups of students in the Construction Scheduling course who collected the data from the site and who used the data to fulfill the class activity.As part of the experiment, a survey was completed by students who completed the reality capture activity to provide feedback about the experiment while other students of the class provided feedback on whether the approach was helpful for better communication between their project teammates and presenting data for project progress.This approach aims to transfer the construction management knowledge to students while fostering their leadership abilities and communication skills.The proposed technology-based training can also reflect the application of evolving knowledge in construction and building sciences.The students learn time-and costefficient methods of capturing, transferring, and storing site-related factual data to assess the status of a project and how this information is used to prepare for upcoming construction activities.The findings of this study support the development and implementation of practical learner-centered education for building construction education using reality capture.This technology-based training also informs the discipline about the opportunity for utilizing automated data capture technologies to monitor construction progress and train the workforce.

Objectives: Cognitive apprenticeship learning focuses on improving understanding and clinical diagnostic rea- soning among learners. The aim of this study was to describe the feasibility of cognitive apprenticeship encounters in clinical paediatric settings in terms of time consumption; and to describe the encounters in terms of learner and teacher behavior. Methods: This study was based on data from 485 self-reports filled in by participating learners during a 3-month quality improvement project conducted at three Danish paediatric departments. Teacher and learner cognitive apprenticeship skills training took place at repeated workshops. A total of 59 different learners participated, 4 were medical students, 49 were residents, and 6 were specialists in pediatrics. A total of 75 different teachers participated. Results: Apprenticeship encounters between teachers and learners lasted median 9 (range 2-120) minutes. In 47% of the encounters, the teacher and learner examined the child together. In 91% of the encounters, the learner reported that his or her knowledge was challenged and in 92% of the encounters, the learners and the teachers verbalized their clinical diag- nostic reasoning processes. Educational strategies to reach learning objectives were reported in 77%. Conclusions: Cognitive apprenticeship learning was a feasible approach to teaching and learning in paediatric depart- ments. Median 9 (range 2-120) minutes were used for the encounters. Almost all learners reported being challenged dur- ing the encounter. Almost half of the encounters included a joint teacher and learner examination of a patient.

This study makes use of online teaching in this environment and adopts it for use in a required computer skills course with Cognitive apprenticeship (CA) and Co-regulated learning (CRL) teaching methods to improve students’ computer skills, learning motivation, and experience of online learning. The subjects of this study are first-year students of a non-information-related department at a private university in northern Taiwan. A total of four classes comprising 111 students participated in the research. The CRL and CA group (C1, n=24) concurrently received CRL and CA treatments; the non-CRL and CA group (C2, n=25) received only the CA teaching method, and the CRL and non-CA group (C3, n=40) only the teaching method of CRL. The non-CRL and non-CA group (C4, n=22) served as the control group. The results show that the use of CA can significantly improve students’ computer skills; however, the expected effects of CRL were not found in this study.

Exploring the decision-making abilities of undergraduate students, including students from vocational education backgrounds, is the main priority in the achievement of mathematics learning in general and in Calculus courses particularly. Decision-making processes require cognitive guidance through activities describing in detail the systematic steps of each process. It is implicitly said as part of a cognitive apprenticeship procedure. There are claims that students with a vocational education background can develop their academic and practical potential more through a cognitive apprenticeship model. In addition, using video as visual media learning allows students to sharpen their skills. Therefore, the study aims to explore the distinction in achievement and improvement of mathematical decision-making skills between undergraduate students who learn with a Video-assisted Cognitive Apprenticeship approach (CAV), and they are who receive Cognitive Apprenticeship learning (CA) with conventional learning. A quantitative study with the Static-Group Pretest-Posttest Design was employed as a methodology in the research. Based on the research stage, there are differences in achievement and improvement of student decision-making skills with a review of the type of vocational school between undergraduate students.

Skills and Competency in Construction Project Success: Learning Environment and Industry Application- The GAP

The present research tried to prompt self-regulated learning, autonomy, and self-efficacy of EFL learners through authentic assessment in Iranian EFL classrooms. To do so, 57 Iranian EFL learners were chosen and assigned to two equal groups; the Experimental Group (CG) and the Control Group (CG). Then, three questionnaires were administered to assess the respondents’ self-regulated learning, autonomy, and self-efficacy before doing the treatment. After that, the EG received the treatment via using authentic assessments whereas the CG received the instruction through non-authentic assessments. After teaching 15 English passages to both groups, three post-tests were administered to them to determine the effects of the treatment on their self-regulated learning, autonomy, and self-efficacy. Lastly, the attitude questionnaire was given to the EG students to assess their attitudes toward implementing authentic assessments in EFL classes. The outcomes of ANCOVA revealed that there were significant differences between the post-tests of the EG and the CG. The results displayed that the EG noticeably outdid the CG in self-regulated learning, autonomy, and self-efficacy post-tests. In addition, the results showed that the EG held a positive attitude toward using authentic assessment in EFL classes. It can be concluded that applying authentic assessment in EFL classes can bring about constructive impacts for EFL learners. The findings of this investigation can be extremely valuable for EFL teachers and material designers to consider the impacts of authentic assessments and invest more in using these sorts of assessments.

Graduate engineers in the 21 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">st</sup> century are expected to be well rounded engineers after graduating with a Washington accord degree. Academics and industry concur that engineers need to have a set of soft skills in the 21 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">st</sup> century. Competence in soft skills may equally have a great influence over an engineer's general career achievement as hard skills competences. The purpose of this study is to investigate the magnitude to which the gap between Washington accord engineering degrees offer and industry expectations. The study found that graduate engineers with a Washington accord (WA) degree are taught the following soft skills; communication skills, teamwork, entrepreneurial skills, problem solving skills, decision making, ethic, self management skills, life long learning, and creativity/innovation. In contrast, industry found that graduate engineers are competent in the following soft skills; interpersonal skills, flexibility, teamwork, decision making skills, problem solving skills, and self management skills. Moreover, the result revealed that graduate engineers are taught the following soft skills; communication skills, ethics, and entrepreneurial skills but were not inline with industry expectations. The findings suggest that by revising the engineering curricula, it may be able to produce engineering graduates who are more prepared to meet industry expectations.

As the construction industry evolves rapidly in the era of Industry 4.0, there is critical to reassess and realign construction management education and teaching approaches to meet these new demands.Thus the need for research looking at the misalignment between current construction management education and the evolving demands of the Industry 4.0 era.Addressing these challenges is crucial to ensure that future professionals have the skills and competencies to excel in the evolving construction landscape.This study adopted the PRISMA model through a systematic literature review to scope relevant studies on construction education and its teaching approaches.This review addresses the current state of construction management education in Industry 4.0.The study reveals that educational institutions have actively adapted curricula, integrating emerging technologies, data analytics, sustainability practices, and soft skills.Concurrently, teaching approaches have evolved to incorporate experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and digital literacy, reflecting the multifaceted competencies required in the new industry landscape.Despite these advancements, the review identifies further research and improvement areas, emphasising continuous course quality assurance, more effective pedagogical strategies for cultivating soft skills, and stronger industry-academia collaboration.The findings underscore the importance of continuous innovation, research, and collaboration in equipping future professionals with the necessary skills and competencies to thrive in the Industry 4.0 era.

The development of technology makes students have many soft skills in facing the demands of the 21st century. These soft skills are better known as century skills, where students expect to develop the potential of these soft skills as preparation for the future. Progress of these soft skills can train using authentic science assessment media. Media contains material sketches, skill literacy, competency tests, and follow-up programs. Each content can develop children's soft skills in cooperation, communication, creativity, and students' critical thinking. This research includes research and development research. The initial stage of this research was to analyze the content needs of the authentic science assessment media, and a limited trial carried out if deficiencies improvements were made. This study's subjects were students, elementary school teachers, linguists, media experts, material experts, and assessment experts. Purpose the research aims to develop media authentic science assessment-based Century skills for elementary school students and know the quality of authentic science assessment media. The mean validation results from media experts, material experts, linguists, and assessment experts were 84.5%, 84.5%, 84.5%, and 82.5%. Based on these results, authentic science assessment media are good in content, language, and presentation.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether soft skill requirements found in employer job postings (advertisements) within different roles of business are similar to the soft skills practically needed in the workplace and the perception of faculties at schools of business in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A two-phased study was administered. Phase 1 involved reviewing the latest relevant literature and hundreds of job advertisements; and in phase 2, questionnaires were administered to elicit responses from executives and faculty members from different universities in Bangladesh. Judgment sampling and the snowball technique were used to develop the sample of 84 respondents with a response rate of 56 percent. In total, 15 soft skills were used to develop the instrument. Descriptive statistics and a Kruskal–Wallis test were performed to analyze the collected data, where factors that retained α at or below 0.05, a family-wise Bonferroni adjustment (Mann–Whitney U test) was applied. Findings All the mentioned soft skills are found to be desirable by the recruiters and faculties also agreed with them. However, there exist disparities on the perceived importance of four soft skills among faculties and recruiters, and a gap was found between the business curriculum and industry expectations from fresh-out business graduates. Originality/value This study could be a basis for future studies and would help business education institutions guide their students to master the skills, and to develop and prepare them for real life battle in the job market. Moreover, the study indicates the gap between executives’ expectations from the graduates and the institutional teaching provided by higher education institutions (for business majors), which would help practitioners reform their business curriculum to better ensure employability for their business graduates. Moreover, the study opens an avenue for further research in this field for implementing training programs for attaining the most desired soft skills among higher education institutions.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore how experiential learning activities enhance soft skills, reduce skill-role misalignments and contribute to students’ professional preparedness in operations and supply chain management. This study explores how experiential learning activities, particularly serious games and university challenges, contribute to students' skill development and professional alignment. The objective is to provide empirical insights on how these methodologies can bridge the gap between academic learning and industry demands in operations and supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the impact of experiential learning activities – namely university challenges and serious games – on students' soft skills development and their alignment with professional roles. A structured methodology, combining survey questionnaires and correlation analyses, was employed to evaluate participants' psycho-attitudinal traits, soft skills and role coherence. The data were analyzed using reliability tests (Cronbach’s alpha) and Pearson’s correlation matrices. Findings The findings demonstrate that participants in experiential learning activities exhibit fewer misalignments with professional role profiles compared to non-participants. Significant correlations were found between participation and improvements in soft skills, such as leadership, teamwork and adaptability, alongside greater self-awareness in self-assessment. Research limitations/implications The study’s limitations include a relatively small sample size and the focus on a single university course. Expanding the study to include larger and more diverse samples across different academic disciplines would enhance generalizability. Practical implications The study highlights the potential for integrating serious games and university challenges into academic curricula to address skill gaps and better prepare students for industry roles. Companies can leverage these tools for early talent identification, enhancing recruitment strategies and fostering partnerships with academic institutions. Originality/value This study offers empirical evidence on the role of experiential learning in bridging the gap between theoretical education and professional demands. By focusing on the development of soft skills and role alignment, the research provides actionable insights for both educational institutions and employers in operations and supply chain management.

This This review explores the pivotal role of nurturing learner autonomy in enhancing motivation and academic achievement in English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. It examines the multifaceted construct of learner autonomy, including self-regulation, metacognitive strategies, and self-directed learning. The review investigates how promoting learner autonomy can positively influence intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and persistence, which are essential for successful language learning. It scrutinizes instructional practices, learning environments, and pedagogical interventions that foster learner autonomy, such as learner-centered approaches, providing choices, and encouraging self-assessment and goal-setting. Furthermore, the review critically evaluates the impact of learner autonomy on academic achievement across diverse educational levels and cultural backgrounds, while exploring potential challenges and limitations. Ultimately, it offers practical implications for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of empowering learners and cultivating an autonomous learning mindset to enhance motivation and academic achievement in ESL contexts. IUBAT Review—A Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 7(2): 176-196