Collaborative Research: Workshop Series on the Next Generation Learning-Centered Environment for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Education

This collaborative project aims to serve the national interest by calling for a conversation to create a shared vision of the next generation learning-centered environment for architecture engineering, and construction engineering (AEC) education. The potential of emerging technologies for creating new opportunities to improve AEC education is still under explored.

A systematic investigation into the relationship between humans, learning, and technology in varied social contexts is still in the exploratory stages with respect to engineering education, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic that has had tremendous impact on the status quo. Thus, this 2-workshop series will explore relevant questions, such as what does the next generation learning-centered environment look like for AEC education?

What is the role of emerging technologies in shaping the environment? The two workshops will be organized in collaboration with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The main expected outcome is a shared vision of the next generation learning-centered environment, including its characteristics, grand challenges and opportunities, and a roadmap for research and implementation.

The project will help create a pathway to timely reflect on new learning strategies, new technologies, industry and societal needs in AEC curricula, and thus producing a more adaptive AEC workforce.

The proposed activities will explore different aspects of the next generation learning-centered environment, in particular, seeking innovation in the following interrelated topics: 1) AEC curricula and industry practice, 2) technology-generated artifacts and learning, 3) disciplinary gap, and 4) digital inequity. Stakeholders of different backgrounds will be invited, such as AEC educators and researchers, curriculum designers, industry professionals, students, and representatives of accreditation organizations and professional societies.

The second two-day workshop will be organized as a social innovation lab focusing on a blueprint for the implementation of the vision for future learning environments. The primary outcome will be a research and implementation agenda focusing on the human-technology frontier in AEC education. The two workshops will be several months apart, during which the project team will disseminate the outcomes of the first workshop, acquire feedback from a larger stakeholder community, and plan for the second workshop.

In addition, the project team will actively recruit participants from community colleges, minority serving institutions, and Non-R1 institutions. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.