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An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Teaching Approach for Engineering, in Conjunction with Architecture and Construction with Solar Decathlon Project

Abstract

The delivery of knowledge at the university level, especially in colleges/schools of engineering, architecture and construction, has generally been confined to the standard classroom setting wherein subjects are taught in various courses confined to polarized areas of study in fields such as “architecture,” “civil engineering,” “mechanical engineering,” “construction management,” and so on. These individual disciplines, in turn, are then confined to segregated academic units, the “departments.” In effect, this leads to the segregated development of design and construction professionals who will eventually, however, be required to work together as a team in the workplace. With the Solar Decathlon project at Florida International University (FIU) we demonstrated a fresh interdisciplinary approach to higher education, allowing students from these various departments to work together on a design/construction project, just as would be the case in the “real world.” The project called for the design, construction and transportation of a 800-ft2, modular, solar powered house to compete at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA, from September 27 to October 19, 2005. In a two-year period, we formed a special course in which students participated in the various phases of the project, while earning their educational credits. Assignments were based on distinct project goals, including conceptual research, design, construction (both on campus and on the National Mall), coordination, planning and scheduling, which addressed the project as a whole within its integrated parts. The outcome of this course could not be better demonstrated than the successful showcase of the house to the public on the mall, and the winning of one of the contests. Students gained a multi-disciplinary learning and hands-on experience through the successful completion of project goals during the competion while developing teamwork skills through the integrated design, construction, transportation and validation of a functional residential structure. This approach is beneficial in producing graduates better prepared for the 21st century challenges of building a sustainable energy infrastructure, with the unique, multi-disciplinary and team work experience taught by a group of multi-disciplinary faculty. This paper documents in detail the teaching approach, project milestones, student achievements and evaluation of the project.

Keywords Pedagogical Teaching Approach, Solar Decathlon, Interdisciplinary, Teamwork

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Baier, R., & Tao, Y. (2007, June), An Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Teaching Approach For Engineering, In Conjunction With Architecture And Construction With Solar Decathlon Project Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2921