Teaching First-year Construction Management Students: Lessons Learned from Student Satisfaction Surveys

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe first semester at the university can be challenging for first-year students. Therefore, motivating these students could become a major task for lecturers. This research examines a first-year undergraduate construction management course over a 6-year period (2010–2015) to identify factors that affect student satisfaction. Thematic analysis of student surveys was used to identify these factors. The results found five fundamental factors: lectures, assessment, teaching methods, communication, and lecturer characteristics. Lectures should be structured, have interesting contents, and practical. Assessment tasks should have clear criteria, be linked to lecture contents, and diverse. Teaching methods should be diverse and be supported by organized lecture notes. Lectures should also communicate clearly, respond to enquiries in a timely manner, and give valuable feedback on student performance. Lastly, lecturers should be perceived as being knowledgeable, enthusiastic, approachable, helpful, and considerate. In the midst of contemporary teaching and learning methods, these factors are not new. However, lecturers should realize that students are unlikely to be satisfied when these fundamental factors are not incorporated into their teaching.