Debate Activity as an Effective Interactive Learning Approach for Civil Engineering Students

Fatahi, B; Khabbaz, H; Ho, L

Debate Activity as an Effective Interactive Learning Approach for Civil Engineering Students

Fatahi, B

Khabbaz, H

Ho, L

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Publisher:: Deakin University Press
Publication Type:: Conference Proceeding
Citation:: 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2015), 2015, 1 (1), pp. 980 - 990 (11)
Issue Date:: 2015-12-06

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fatahi, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7920-6946	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Khabbaz, H https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6637-4601	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ho, L	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Littlefair, G	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Oo, A	en_US
dc.date	2015-12-06	en_US
dc.date.available	2015-09-29	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-12-06	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2015), 2015, 1 (1), pp. 980 - 990 (11)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/40893
dc.description.abstract	The research team has attempted to improve the learning experience of Civil Engineering students by introducing debate activities in engineering subjects. This could encourage the students to be active learners (against passive learner or lecture receivers) and we consider this process as an activity (what students actually do) and not a task (the work prescribed by the teacher). In this project, a main stream civil engineering subject, namely Soil Behaviour has been targeted. Feedback received from the students has indicated that the developed in-class debate activity has been effective in improving communication and critical-thinking skills of students. Availability of new collaborative theatres and collaborative learning spaces could add great advantages to enhancing the efficiency of collaborative group work, in terms of planning and preparation for the debates. In addition, available online discussion boards and online subject website would provide flexibility for students to access digital resources and prepare their arguments. The professional training sessions, on the other hand, could equip participants with important tips to improve the argument presentation skills while were trained to overcome the panic and fear of making mistakes during the speech. International students, whose English is not their first language, were particularly encouraged to attend the training sessions helping them to obtain profound presentation skills not only for Soil Behaviour debate but also for their future career.	en_US
dc.publisher	Deakin University Press	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE 2015)	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	AAEE - Annual Conference of Australasian Association for Engineering Education	en_US
dc.title	Debate Activity as an Effective Interactive Learning Approach for Civil Engineering Students	en_US
dc.type	Conference Proceeding
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.location	Australia	en_US
utslib.location.activity	Geelong, Australia	en_US
utslib.for	0905 Civil Engineering	en_US
utslib.for	090501 Civil Geotechnical Engineering	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CBI - Centre for Built Infrastructure
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.finish-date	2015-12-09	en_US
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.place-of-publication	Australia	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.start-date	2015-12-06	en_US
pubs.volume	1	en_US

Abstract:

The research team has attempted to improve the learning experience of Civil Engineering students by introducing debate activities in engineering subjects. This could encourage the students to be active learners (against passive learner or lecture receivers) and we consider this process as an activity (what students actually do) and not a task (the work prescribed by the teacher). In this project, a main stream civil engineering subject, namely Soil Behaviour has been targeted. Feedback received from the students has indicated that the developed in-class debate activity has been effective in improving communication and critical-thinking skills of students. Availability of new collaborative theatres and collaborative learning spaces could add great advantages to enhancing the efficiency of collaborative group work, in terms of planning and preparation for the debates. In addition, available online discussion boards and online subject website would provide flexibility for students to access digital resources and prepare their arguments. The professional training sessions, on the other hand, could equip participants with important tips to improve the argument presentation skills while were trained to overcome the panic and fear of making mistakes during the speech. International students, whose English is not their first language, were particularly encouraged to attend the training sessions helping them to obtain profound presentation skills not only for Soil Behaviour debate but also for their future career.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/40893