Award Date

12-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction

First Committee Member

Jin O. Choi

Second Committee Member

Jeehee Lee

Third Committee Member

Neil Opfer

Fourth Committee Member

Steffen Lehmann

Abstract

Modular construction shows promise as a viable alternative to stick-built construction. A major challenge with the widespread adoption of modular construction is the construction industry’s focus on minimizing risk and defaulting to the comfort and familiarity of stick-built construction. This pattern can be broken through an educational paradigm shift in the way architecture, engineering, and construction are taught in school. Integrating modular construction education into higher education is presented to increase the future adoption of modular construction and expand the comfort zones of future industry leaders. This thesis proposes that current curriculum be augmented to teach the modular approach in addition to the stick-built approach and it be delivered in the form of games, simulations, and/or activities exploiting higher levels of learning on the Bloom’s taxonomy scale. To this effect, a new team-based education module utilizing LEGOs was created that allows participants to experience a playful hands-on simulation of modular construction and stick-built construction. The goal is to allow participants to experience the same limitations and frustrations of both construction systems first-hand, and naturally conclude the advantages and disadvantages in each. Initial testing of this new education model was completed in November 2021 with a group of construction management students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Refinements were made based on the feedback and secondary testing was completed in June 2022 as part of the ICCEPM 2022 post conference workshop series. Overall, the survey results showed that the LEGO education module was successful at achieving the main research goals: (1) create an engaging hands-on educational opportunity for participants to compare modular construction to stick-built construction, and (2) allow participants to understand the benefits of using 3D design with 4D scheduling over the use of 2D drawings.

Keywords

Construction Management; Education; LEGO; Off-Site Construction; Prefabrication

Disciplines

Engineering

File Format

pdf

File Size

8500 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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