The potential for e-learning technologies to facilitate work based learning for construction management students: researching the nexus between theory and practice

This project originates from a recent ALTC discipline based initiative which investigated issues and opportunities currently facing Construction Education in Australia (see http://www.altc.edu.au/resource-identification-teaching-construction-uon-2009). It addresses one of the report’s recommendations, this being that university education at times does not support the professional requirements of Construction Management (CM). CM and Nursing students engage in practical placements and other Work Integrated Learning (WIL). These disciplines require “work ready” graduates who understand and can operate in “real world” contexts. Still in its initial stages, this project proposes to develop robust frameworks for the CM and Nursing disciplines that facilitate and encourage reflective learning during student industry/clinical placements. These frameworks will showcase to students how their university courses relate to each other and how the skills and competencies they acquire on campus and during their work based experiences meld together so they can graduate as CM and Nursing professionals. This paper highlights the preliminary findings and issues from this research project, including competency frameworks, student motivation and the logistics of managing and assessing students’ industry experiences within e-portfolio platforms. It also reports on the resources and curriculum management still to be developed. This paper further shows how seemingly unrelated disciplines (e.g. construction management and nursing) can engage in dialogue about their curricula and the use of e-learning technologies in managing and linking practical experiences.