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Comparing Measures of Student Sustainable Design Skills Using a Project-Level Rubric and Surveys

Author

Listed:
  • Mary Katherine Watson

    (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Citadel, Charleston, SC 29409, USA)

  • Elise Barrella

    (DfX Consulting LLC, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA)

  • Thomas Wall

    (Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA)

  • Caroline Noyes

    (Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations, the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70718, USA)

  • Michael Rodgers

    (School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA)

Abstract

Civil engineers are poised to impact sustainable development. Consequently, there is a need for curricular materials to scaffold students in developing sustainable design skills. Previously, a sustainability module, based on Kolb’s learning cycle, was integrated into a civil engineering capstone course in the United States. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which students engaging in the module (intervention cohort) were able to improve their sustainable design skills, as compared to a group of capstone students not participating in the module (control cohort). A Sustainable Design Rubric was used to assess students’ sustainable design performance, as captured in capstone reports. In addition, students reflected on their confidence related to several sustainable design competencies via a survey. Based on an evaluation of capstone design reports, improvement in the intervention teams’ consideration of sustainable design criteria was somewhat limited, as they more extensively addressed only 2 of the 16 sustainable design criteria compared to control teams. Intervention students reported improved confidence in more sustainable design competencies than control students (10 of 12 for intervention students; 1 of 12 for control students). For future implementations, clearer and more extensive sustainable design expectations need to be set by instructors and project sponsors to increase the execution of sustainable design and close the gap between students’ perceptions of improved skills and teams’ actual application of sustainable design criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Katherine Watson & Elise Barrella & Thomas Wall & Caroline Noyes & Michael Rodgers, 2020. "Comparing Measures of Student Sustainable Design Skills Using a Project-Level Rubric and Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7308-:d:409686
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mary Katherine Watson & Joshua Pelkey & Caroline Noyes & Michael O. Rodgers, 2019. "Using Kolb’s Learning Cycle to Improve Student Sustainability Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-19, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Julie Milovanovic & Tripp Shealy & Andrew Katz, 2021. "Higher Perceived Design Thinking Traits and Active Learning in Design Courses Motivate Engineering Students to Tackle Energy Sustainability in Their Careers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.

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