The Theory and Practice of Teaching Construction Sciences to Foreign Students

Abstract

This article deals with the problems of engineering thinking formation among foreign students and the proposed solutions of these problems based on the study of years-long cooperation between the universities of Russia and China and the practices of working with foreign students in various universities in the country.We focus on the problem of interaction of Russian-born teachers and foreign (Chinese) students aimed at the professional training of construction specialists. This article reviews the teaching practices employed in training foreign students, Chinese in particular, in such basic construction disciplines as Construction Mechanics, Bases of Architecture and Building Structures, General Architecture. We analyze the works carried out within joint Russian-Chinese programs, by FEFU and HUST (PRC) and the preparedness of foreign students chasing engineering degrees to master technical disciplines. The article analyzes possible training methods that may improve the acquisition of professional knowledge taking into account the features of engineering thinking formation among foreign students and the professional lingo of each of the covered disciplines. We also present a conventional classification of disciplines based on the features of their professional lexicon.