DEVELOPING A COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT BETWEEN STUDENTS IN CROSS DISCIPLINES TO MEET THE NEW COLLEGE STRUCTURE

This paper examines a collaborative project between the department of Construction Management and Technology and the department of Quantity Surveying at Dublin Institute of Technology. The term “collaborative learning” refers to an instruction method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal. The students are responsible for one another’s learning as well as their own (Dillenbourg, 1999).

The objectives of this collaborative project are:
1. Promote interaction between students from different but related courses.
2. Enhance student’s ability to think creatively, solve problems, and make decisions as a team.
3. Evaluate the benefits of using blogs as a virtual learning environment.
4. Examine the benefits of BIM as a tool in feedback.
There a number of benefits to this project with an emphasis being given to the interaction of the students. The collaborative learning approach provides a format for the students to interact including giving and receiving help, exchanging information and resources and information, giving and receiving feedback, challenging and encouraging each other, and jointly reflecting on progress. The other perceived benefit will be in the use of a virtual learning environment and information communication tools.

According to Vygotsky (1978), students are capable of performing at higher intellectual levels when asked to work collaborative situations. This was one of the primary encouragements for completing this project. It is thought within both the Construction Management programme and the Quantity Surveying programme that collaboration projects will have a positive effect on the students learning. It should also be notes that on graduation the students will be required to work alongside many other professions. If we can create a project that brings students together to work in an interactive manner.

The research will be evaluated in two methods; the first will be through the examination of the results of all the students. These results will be compared to the results from last year’s cohort of students. This will compare students working collaboratively and students working individually. This will allow any collaborative benefits to be seen through the results of the students.
The second method of evaluation will be an examination of the student perception of the process. An anonymous evaluation of the process will be conducted. It will include nine questions adapted from the SEEQ instrument (Marsh and Roche, 1994) and a series of open questions relating to the collaborative learning experience. Students will be asked to identify perceived advantages and disadvantages and to indicate whether they found the experience valuable.