| Summary: | Traditional methods of teaching (i.e., didactic reading and lecture) remain the primary way instruction is delivered in construction management (CM) classrooms. This is true despite a growing body of literature promoting more contemporary, student-centered pedagogies that offer improvements over traditional teaching models. One of these is object-based learning (OBL), a student-centered approach that uses digital learning objects (LOs), such as videos, images, animations, mobile apps, and educational games, to facilitate deep and engaging learning experiences. One of the most common types of LO is instructional videos. Over the past quarter century, abundant research has been conducted in the field of computer science to advance the quality and reach of instructional video LOs. In contrast, a relatively small amount of research has been dedicated to understanding them in terms of their pedagogical efficacy. This is especially true for the field of CM. Very little empirical research currently exists at the intersection of CM and OBL.
This dissertation examines the ability of supplemental instructional videos (SIVs) — a specific type of instructional video that complements other forms of instruction, including in-person teaching, readings, and group work, to deliver a full learning experience — to improve both the performance and the quality of the learning experience for undergraduate CM students. The first chapter of the dissertation is introductory, providing information about the major themes of the dissertation including construction management education, OBL, SIVs, and flipped classrooms. The second chapter explores the foundational learning theories that support OBL in a flipped CM classroom. A theoretical framework is proposed that can be used by teachers to guide them as they tailor their own approach for using instructional videos. The third chapter presents an interdisciplinary synthesis of best practices for the design and development of SIVs. Using these best practices, I document the production process of SIVs for an undergraduate CM course called Residential Construction Technologies. The fourth and fifth chapters cover a study in which the SIVs I developed were used as teaching aids for pre-class readings in Residential Construction Technologies. Chapter Four centers on a repeated measures experiment that was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SIVs at improving student performance. Chapter Five uses surveys and interviews to understand student perceptions of the SIVs. Overall, I found that the SIVs had little measurable effect on improving the student's grades. However, overwhelmingly, the students reported that they valued having the videos, and felt that they helped with their understanding of unfamiliar or complicated course topics. Chapter Six concludes the dissertation with a short synthesis of all chapters and summary of their major themes and findings. === Doctor of Philosophy === Increasingly, teacher-made instructional videos are being used as educational tools in university classrooms. Unfortunately, not much guidance is available to help teachers with this task, and many of the videos being produced today are both low quality and ineffective. This dissertation's purpose is to help teachers find an efficient way to produce effective and appealing instructional videos for their specific learning audiences. Although this work was executed in a construction management (CM) context, teachers in many fields can benefit from the research. The first major accomplishment of the dissertation is an educational framework that teachers can use to incorporate instructional videos in their own curriculums. Next, a collection of the current best-practice guidelines for the design and development of instructional videos was assembled and explained. Using the guidelines for ourselves, I produced twelve short videos on various construction topics to be used in an undergraduate CM course called Residential Construction Technologies. The videos were designed to accompany readings that the students were assigned to complete before coming to class. To understand if the videos were effective teaching aids, I conducted an experiment to measure whether the videos made a difference to the students' grades. Additionally, I asked the students with a survey and interviews to describe how they felt about the videos. Overall, I found that the videos had little impact in improving the student's scores. However, overwhelmingly, the students reported that they valued and appreciated having the videos and they felt that they helped with the reading topics.
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