Project Management Course Research Articles

Learning by facilitating: A project-based interdisciplinary approach

Teamwork skills are an important part of business school curriculum typically taught using project-based experiential methods. This paper presents best practices for teaching teamwork skills to Gen Z students using a project-based learning, peer mentoring approach. With experiential learning theory as a guide, an interdisciplinary process was developed between an introductory programming course and a capstone business project management course to improve experiential learning and overcome issues like the free-rider problem. The opinions and sentiments of peer mentors were examined using text analysis and sentiment analysis. Peer mentoring between two interdisciplinary courses was found to reduce the free-rider problem and was beneficial for both classes.

Strategy for improving learning in the Financial Tools and Project Management Course through the use of Second Life-SL

This research addresses the difficulty of achieving active learning in financial areas through virtual education. The aim of the study was to evaluate a strategy for improving the learning of the Financial Tools and Project Evaluation (HFEP) course using the Second Life (SL) platform. A mixed research approach was used and data was processed using Excel, Atlas ti, and Ucinet programs. Results indicated that although the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in learning is inevitable, approximately 70 % of students were not familiar with the tool and had never seen a class in a 3D space. However, once they became familiar with SL, 69,6 % of students considered their management level to be low to medium difficulty. Likewise, students associated the use of SL with attitudinal, pedagogical, and technological elements, expressing that it was interesting, entertaining, and novel. Finally, students considered SL to be a very useful tool for the HFEP course, as it allowed them to better understand topics such as project time, budget, and scope. With the pandemic, the use of ICT in teaching processes has spread worldwide, but traditional tools are still the most used. Students are open to new experiences and consider virtual education to be monotonous. One of the challenges of virtual education is to achieve active learning and for the tools implemented in teaching to contribute to skill development. The use of SL contributes greatly to this purpose.

Guidelines for teaching with ill-structured real-world engineering problems: insights from a redesigned engineering project management course

ABSTRACT Real-world design settings can be complex, ill-structured, open and typically uncertain and/or ambiguous about their goals and solution paths. This study contributes to understanding how to work with these types of problems in a course project setting. The main objective of the study is to identify, propose and validate a set of practical guidelines for dealing with ill-structured, open-problem project assignments in courses that teach design engineering or design development planning. A literature review identifies key practices for proposing the guidelines, which are then validated by intervening in an engineering project management master’s course. The intervention took place during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions with 12 project groups created from 105 enrolled students. During the validation, qualitative and quantitative feedback was gathered from the students, and the results provide positive evidence for achieving the objective. Key to this outcome was the combination of the self-regulation of learning, co-regulation of learning and socially shared regulation of learning. In this sense, the proposed guidelines look promising for redesigning university courses that deal with open problems, thus enhancing students’ capacity for handling uncertainty and ambiguity.

Re-planning a fundraising event during a global pandemic

Research methodology The case recounts actual events and embeds information that has either been provided by the organization or that is publicly available from secondary sources, such as links to news articles, the organization’s financial report and videos. The protagonist is a real person, although identified only by first name, and she was interviewed extensively and provided planning documents. Case overview/synopsis The case addresses fundamental project management concepts via a nonprofit’s fundraising event that had to be shifted to online delivery during the early days of COVID. Students take the perspective of advising the protagonist, a key member of the event committee. As if this substantive re-plan during a pandemic was not challenging enough, the committee had the additional complication of integrating a fundraising management system into the organization in time to support the event. Students must work through detailed planning and calculations and also need to think more broadly about appropriate tradeoffs and justify them in their recommendations. Complexity academic level As this case has students work with concepts and skills central to project management and has involves a mix of applying, analyzing and evaluation outcomes, it can be used within operations management or project management courses for either undergraduate senior-level or early graduate-level business or engineering students. It has already been assigned in project management courses in two separate MBA programs. The case required no substantial revisions, and feedback from student evaluations show that it was perceived positively in both classes.

Reconciling occupational safety and health (OSH) Master’s of Science curricula with employer demands

This study concurrently investigated the characteristics of 20 distance learning United States OSH M.S. programs and 101 OSH employment postings preferring or requiring candidates with an advanced degree. The goal was to determine if there was consensus in the required curricula and employer demands. Such agreement is one of the requirements for achieving occupational closure, an important step for OSH being considered a profession. The results demonstrated there is both diversity in OSH M.S. courses being offered and in knowledge, skills, and abilities being sought by employers. A Pareto comparison analysis illustrated that more OSH M.S. programs should offer courses in project management, auditing, leadership, training, and environmental, health and safety (EHS) management. Less emphasis should be given to research methods, capstone or thesis projects, and OSH management. At the OSH M.S. hiring level, there appeared to be more of an emphasis on management and soft skills than technical skills. It also appeared that many employers were hiring OSH individuals that have environmental responsibilities (not well represented in current curricula), supporting an EHS versus OSH paradigm. The most common job requirement sought by employers was regulatory knowledge, a course required in most OSH M.S. curricula. Specific recommendations are provided based on the study results to further promote the goal of OSH occupational closure.

The Application of Case Teaching Model of Project Management in Colleges and Universities

Project management courses in colleges and universities have strong application characteristics, and teaching knowledge points are relatively boring. In view of this actual situation, teachers usually give systematic lectures in the form of case discussion for each unit of the course, set up different roles in the case discussion link, and ask students questions step by step to make teaching knowledge points more clear and systematic. Through the application of case teaching mode, students can be imperceptibly encouraged to participate in classroom interaction effectively and improve their interest in learning the project management course, so as to better grasp the key knowledge.

Development of a capital expenditure model in the context of construction digitalization

Introduction. The purpose of this research project is to study the development of construction digitalization methods and means. Substantial discrepancies between the state digitalization policy and the practice of mastering digital instruments in the course of construction and investment activities hinder the high-quality implementation of certain tasks. Of particular interest is the problem of calculating capital expenditures at various stages of implementation of an investment project.
 Materials and methods. Methodological approaches to digitalization problems are based on the pricing subsystem extracted from the information model of a project. This subsystem is used to address the main pricing tasks pursued by the government authorities and construction industry contractors implementing their own digitalization options. Conflicting interests of different participants in construction and investment projects, as well as the variance in the informatisation stra­tegy, implemented at the previous stages, substantially complicate the search for a solution that equally satisfies the state and the business community.
 Results. The authors have identified the need to devise consistent state-level methodological approaches to developing information modelling architecture, taking into account the current practice of construction cost budgeting in the course of project management. Towards this end, the logical structure of the “Pricing” subsystem was developed using the information modelling technologies. Design companies, technical clients, project managers, and construction contractors must have equal rights to access and handle construction cost data.
 Conclusions. The authors have found a discrepancy between state approaches to construction project budgeting and cost management practices at the stages of construction project implementation. No large-scale transition to information mode­lling is feasible without the adoption of unified methodological solutions in terms of cost calculations.

Designing and Evaluating a Project Management Course for Increasing Students′ Self-Confidence

We have developed a syllabus to inspire proficiency in project management by assigning students multiple small projects of increasing difficulty. This enables them to practice the knowledge they have learned outside of the classroom. After completing this syllabus for second-year students at Kinki University in FY2019, questionnaire responses showed that about 80% of the students became more enthusiastic about project management and gained confidence in utilizing what they had learned in the class. Furthermore, when we conducted this course in FY2020 and FY2021, the results were equivalent to those of FY2019.

What factors contributes to success in an event project? A case study of the learning experiences of students in a Project Management course.

As part of the 2022 Norwegian Skiing Championship, the students at Harstad Business School, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, conducted a successful project event called ‘Sidetrack’ to provide fun and enjoyment for the public and the participants. Our study is based on qualitative interviews with eight students to reveal their learning experiences in relation to factors that contributes to the ‘Sidetrack’ project event being a success. The findings show that in the initial phase of the project it`s important to create support and commitment to the project idea. The implementation of well-planned idea and concept workshop and a report from the process, formed the basis for the activities to take place and are key factors for the success of the ‘Sidetrack’ project event. A further important success factor is the establishment of a clearly defined project organization with a project manager, deputy manager and group leaders for each area of work, where group members can choose tasks and roles based on their experience, knowledge, and skills. The results of the ‘Sidetrack’ project are dependent on factors like good infrastructure that enables effective information and communication flow and regular meetings for status reports, reflection, learning and further progress within and between project groups, related to a well thought out project plan. Common goals and good information, communication and interaction among the project members are factors that created committed, high-performing teams, which also contributed to the ‘Sidetrack’ project`s success.

Exploration of Teaching Mode of Software Project Management Based on Engineering Education Professional Certification

Software Project Management is a core professional course in software engineering major. Combined with engineering education professional certification, we deeply analyze some problems existing in the reform of software project management course teaching mode, and further put forward the teaching improvement strategies. A new teaching model of software project management course is explored based on the analysis of achievement of course teaching objectives, the establishment of all-channel teaching system, and the refinement of assessment and evaluation granularity. The further deepening of the teaching reform of this course can promote the achievement of the training goals of software engineering professionals, and at the same time guarantee the implementation effect of engineering education professional certification.

Exploring the Teaching Reform of Industry-Education Integration in Engineering Ethics and Project Management Course

Engineering ethics and project management are the most extendable courses in the quality course group, which is the characteristic core curriculum system of measurement and control technology and instrument specialty. This course is divided into two parts: engineering ethics and engineering project management. In view of the society's increasing emphasis on engineering ethics and the key role of engineering project management in solving complex engineering problems, the traditional purely theoretical teaching method is no longer suitable for the new teaching needs in the contemporary context. Therefore, in order to improve the teaching quality and the students' learning effect of the extensible and open knowledge, the major of measurement and control technology and instrument of Changzhou Institute of Technology invited the technical directors of representative enterprises in the industry such as Changzhou Promise Management Consulting Co., Ltd. to analyze the classroom cases of relevant knowledge, so as to realize the teaching reform of industry education integration of joint teaching between schools and enterprises. Bring the latest industrial status and development trend of measurement and control technology and instrument technology into classroom teaching, effectively improve teaching quality, and deeply cultivate students' engineering ethics and project management awareness.

Research on Teaching Practice System Based on BIM

Building information modeling (BIM) course is a subject course integrating project management course and BIM Technology. BIM-based engineering project teaching is different from traditional engineering project management. It has many advantages such as information creation, information management, digital management of information sharing, and so on, which improves the integration of project management as a whole. Therefore, it is crucial to improve the curriculum system of colleges and universities by setting up BIM courses, and to integrate BIM knowledge into the curriculum system. Setting up BIM courses and integrating BIM knowledge into the curriculum system have also been the highlight for colleges and universities. The engineering management major of the university is combined with the BIM curriculum system to adjust the relevant talent training plan. Foreign countries have gradually integrated BIM technology into the classroom teaching system, and domestic curriculum teaching is undergoing a reform and is under development. Through a systematic link between theory and practical education, a targeted, accurate, and efficient characteristic curriculum system for engineering management specialty has been developed.

Podcasts: A generator of non-formal learning

The present study examines the relationship between the use of podcasts (mp3 files) as a non-formal learning tool. The study´s epistemological origins lie in Dewey's pragmatism and learning and reflection theory, including the learning approach at University College of Northern Denmark’s (UCN) “Reflective Practice-based Learning” (RPL). This paper focuses on how podcasts can increase students’ learning and reflection skills by using podcasts as a generator for non-formal learning. The study is based on two different classes that attend an extended course in digital technologies and project management at the Danish University of Applied Science (UCN). The study applies integrated mixed-method data collection: observations, a quantitative survey, and semi-structured interviews. The observations were carried out during four (project management) and seven (digital technologies) full-day lectures in two different classes. These offered an insight into the extent to which the students acquired knowledge by listening to podcasts between classes. The quantitative data consisted of a survey of 65 students, all of whom participated in the courses. The survey was performed as a part of the evaluation at the final course lectures. The semi-structured interviews (ten in all) were used to investigate how the use of podcasts affects students' reflective skills. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted. The data in this study finds that podcasts/podcasting can have a positive effect on students’ non-formal learning in higher education. Established on the findings, there is evidence indicating podcasts as a supplement in higher education can increase students´ motivation toward non-formal learning. The study reveals that podcasts hold the potential to stimulate the student's non-formal learning and increase the students’ reflective skills. Based on this evidence, further research is suggested e.g. studies that include an extended investigation on the benefits of students’ non-formal learning by using podcasts.

Applying Project-based Learning Method to Teaching Subway Project Management Course

Applying Project-based Learning Method to Teaching Subway Project Management Course

Impact of project management courses offered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on public and private project management sector in Malawi

Impact of project management courses offered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on public and private project management sector in Malawi

E-learning: Working-adult Performances


 
 
 This paper’s objective is to examine how the working-adult students' attitudes influence their e-learning performances. This research study involved two cohorts of students in the Principle of Project Management course at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). The research methods comprised a questionnaire survey and analysis of their learning assessments. In the first study, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Pearson Correlation were used to determine the factors and their items that influenced the students’ e-learning attitudes. The second study involved determining the students’ familiarities with technology as used in teaching and learning. Students indicated their usage frequency for daily, weekly and monthly accesses. In the third study, the repeated measures ANOVA (ANalysis Of VAriance) and comparison of average scores were used to compare the students' performances in four different assessments. Subsequently, the results were used to compare the students’ performances in the traditional face-to-face learning and the online virtual classes. Conclusions were made on the students’ e-learning attitudes, their familiarities with technology and comparison in the learning performances between the traditional classroom learning and virtual learning. Results from this study will contribute to the e-learning strategic development in the SUSS.
 
 

Research and Exploration of Blended Learning Based on Flipped Classroom and PAD Class

This paper combines two teaching methods – flipped classroom and PAD class – and applies it to the teaching reform of the Construction Project Management course. Passive learning has been replaced by autonomous learning, the dominant position of students in classroom learning is highlighted, and students are liberated from the traditional passive acceptance-type learning. This improves the effectiveness of teacher-student interaction and student mutual aid, enhances students’ enthusiasm to participate in the classroom, and ultimately improves the effect of classroom teaching as well as realizes the personalized development of students.

Using Blended Project-Based Learning to Teach Project Management to Software Engineering Students

Project-based learning (PBL) approaches are common in software engineering (SE) and project management education. However, the blended learning modality is still little explored in this context. The application of PBL in blended learning environments is called blended project-based learning (BPBL). In order to fill in this research gap, this study analyzed the implementation of an undergraduate SE project management course carried out in a Brazilian private university using the BPBL method. In order to evaluate the outcomes of the adoption of this method, a questionnaire was administered to students who were also invited to identify some lessons learned, assessed using content analysis. In terms of student performance and satisfaction, the results of this survey showed that student opinions are mixed. However, the students considered more “blended-ready” are said to be very satisfied with the experience and looking forward to another one. The outcomes of this study can be used to better prepare teachers and students to adopt BPBL in software project management courses.

Students’ Workplace Readiness: Assessment and Skill-Building for Graduate Employability

This study introduces a new approach for the competence development of the socio-technical aspect. The curriculum of the Project Management (PM) course taught in degree programs concentrates largely on imparting technical knowledge. Current research seeks to direct the attention of the PM curriculum towards Personal Competencies as well. PM studies not only require a project to be carried out successfully but also expect students to demonstrate certain personal competencies, behaviors, and traits to effectively lead the project team. This research seeks to inform action and yield pertinent knowledge and instructional material around the desired personal competence. This study adopts an exploratory and (educational) action research approach with a quantitative mode of inquiry. The first of the four phases of this study comprises an action-based approach to find out which Personal Competence is essential for PM students. The second phase is of further follow-ups with the research subjects that indicate their lack of understanding of the PM personal competencies. The next phase employs a second survey showing that the Communication Skills of research subjects need work. The last phase offers a comprehensive training plan around the required competence, a training evaluation tool, a competence assessment exam, and tools for training and trainer feedback. The findings of this research bear immense implications for PM competence building and curriculum. The practical contribution of the study offers a way to prepare the graduates for ready employability.

Designing a Serious Game for Scrum Learning

Scrum approach is now an important component of project management courses in universities. Experiential learning approaches as serious games seem to be more effective for Scrum learning since they have the advantage of providing students with an opportunity of encountering complex, realistic project situations. However, these educational games often lack clear specifications as to how they are to be incorporated within an experiential learning approach following a systematic instructional design. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework that shapes serious games design, providing guidelines that allow integrating mechanisms of transfer aligned with the nature of knowledge. These transfer mechanisms rely on a “boundary perspective” with the use of boundary objects and boundary actors as a means to fostering social exchange during the game. Our framework is tested through the design of a LEGO serious game, MindScrum, to strengthen Scrum learning. We present the design principles of the game and discuss its effectiveness in the learning process.