Abstract:

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the emerging technologies being deployed throughout the construction project phases across disciplines in the areas of planning, design, construction and facility management. In Malaysia, the use of BIM is primarily driven by the private sectors and one of the major stakeholders in BIM implementation, as highlighted by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) in the formulation of the BIM roadmap (Ismail et al, 2014) is the academic entity, namely Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) and related professional bodies, with the main roles of using the technology to assist teaching and advancing knowledge in the subject area, assisting the industry by conducting BIM related research, equipping the graduates with BIM added value and supplying the industry with BIM competent personnel. This research explores the effectiveness of the teaching and learning methods adopted by IHLs offering BIM-related modules in Malaysia, within the four spheres of Introductory, Comprehension, Application and Collaboration stages. For each stage, the teaching and learning methods are identified, and their effectiveness measured from the perspective of students and instructors involved in BIM. The findings show that the effectiveness of the methods differs depending on whether the module is offered separately or across disciplines and also whether the module is offered as a stand-alone or embedded within other courses in the curriculum. As BIM is very much a collaborative platform that requires open communication and inter-connected exchange of information, the teaching of BIM is most effective when students from across disciplines study together within a common module, especially in the final year during the Collaboration stage.

Keywords:

Teaching and Learning, Building Information Modelling.