A holistic approach to delivering sustainable design education in civil engineering
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 2 January 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present pedagogical approaches developed and implemented to deliver sustainable design education (SDE) to second-year undergraduate students on civil engineering programmes in the (then) School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Newcastle University. In doing so, the work presented offers an example of how to help students understand the contested and contingent nature of sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presented takes an action-based approach to the development of a teaching and assessment model centered on problem- and project-based learning in a real-world context.
Findings
Because of the use of a design brief, which addresses a practical infrastructure problem encountered by regional communities, the academic team were able to make arguments related to the three pillars of sustainability more accessible to the students. This suggests that pedagogical instruments based on problem- and project-based learning strategies are effective in delivering SDE.
Practical implications
The successful delivery of SDE requires commitment from the senior management teams leading individual departments as well as commitments embedded in the high-level strategies of Higher Education institutions. It was also found that some students need extra support from the teaching staff if their engagement through SDE is to be successful. This has practical implications for the amount of contact time built into undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.
Originality/value
The teaching and assessment model presented in this paper addresses various substantive and normative issues associated with SDE making it relevant and transferable to courses other than civil engineering.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Oliver Heidrich’s contribution to this article is supported by UK EPSRC iBUILD: Infrastructure Business models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery (Ref.: EP/K012398/1) and EU-FP7 RAMSES: Reconciling Adaptation, Mitigation and Sustainable Development for Cities (contract Ref.: 308497). The authors would like to express their deepest gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and helpful critique which has helped to improve the content and understanding of the paper.
Citation
Vemury, C.M., Heidrich, O., Thorpe, N. and Crosbie, T. (2018), "A holistic approach to delivering sustainable design education in civil engineering", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 197-216. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-04-2017-0049
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited