


































Global Research in Higher Education 
ISSN 2576-196X (Print) ISSN 2576-1951 (Online) 

Vol. 8, No. 1, 2025 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe 

40 

 

Original Paper 

Research on Blended Teaching Mode of Engineering Economy 

Based On OBE Concept 

Xiaoyi Liu
1
, Yunjiao Zhuang

1
 & Qixiang Miao

1
  

1
 Qingdao City University, Qingdao, China 

 

Received: January 8, 2025     Accepted: January 17, 2025   Online Published: January 21, 2025 

doi:10.22158/grhe.v8n1p40            URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/grhe.v8n1p40 

 

Abstract 

The blended learning model focuses on the organic combination of online and offline teaching 

overcoming the drawbacks of traditional teaching models that only focus on teaching. This paper 

explains the blended learning models based on the goal of efficient classroom and student-centered 

teaching. Based on the OBE concept, this paper elaborates on the ideas and measures of curriculum 

construction from the aspects of setting teaching objectives, optimizing teaching content, innovating 

teaching modes, and improving evaluation methods. This research can be applied to other professional 

courses in universities, providing reference for university teachers to carry out blended teaching 

reform. 

Keywords 

Blended teaching mode, Outcome-Based Education (OBE) concept, Engineering economy 

 

1. Introduction 

Engineering economy is an interdisciplinary course that combines engineering technology and 

economics. It includes conducting economic analysis and evaluation of engineering construction or 

technical activities. Its main purpose is to correctly evaluate the effectiveness of engineering projects in 

order to seek the best combination of technology and economy. Its principles can be combined with 

various engineering disciplines to form various branches of engineering economics. This course is 

gradually formed with the development of science and technology and the construction engineering 

industry. It is a course that conducts economic evaluation and analysis of construction engineering 

policies and technical solutions, emphasizing the application of basic principles and methods in 

engineering economics to construction and management decision-making. It is closely related to 

national development strategies, economic and social development policies, and major project 

decision-making. There are many connotation elements related to value guidance and ideological and 



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moral education. Many engineering majors in universities offer this course, which is a core course for 

the Engineering Cost and Engineering Management majors at the School of Civil Engineering, 

Qingdao City University. The teaching mode of this course has mainly adopted offline methods since 

its establishment, but the offline teaching method mainly has the following shortcomings: 

1) Engineering economy is used to study the economic laws and problems in the field of engineering. 

However, due to the large number of theoretical formulas and close connection with mathematics, 

many students have difficulty to learning the course and feel bored in actively learning. 

2) The traditional indoctrination based teaching model generally consists of several steps such as 

lectures, example questions, assignments, and exams. The teacher’s lectures are the main focus instead 

of connecting with actual projects. The students passively receive knowledge and cannot deeply 

understand the entire process of engineering economic analysis problems, nor do they master the 

overall economic concepts of the project. 

3) The current teaching evaluation mainly focuses on the assessment of students’ academic 

performance, which is composed of final exam scores and regular grades. The main purpose is to test 

whether the knowledge taught is accepted by the students. Under this exam based system, most 

students review and memorize knowledge points before exams. This assessment method is not 

conducive to achieving the teaching objectives of the course and is not conducive to the systematic 

evaluation of teaching. 

With the trend of teaching mode transformation and the rapid development of Internet technology in 

recent years, the engineering economy teaching team of the School of Civil Engineering of Qingdao 

City University has carried out the reform and practice of the online and offline hybrid teaching mode 

based on the teaching concept of OBE and students-oriented teaching method. 

 

2. Course Objectives Based On OBE Concept 

Outcome based education (OBE) is an educational model based on learning outcomes, emphasizing 

reverse design. Its core philosophy is student-centered, output oriented, and continuous improvement, 

evaluating teaching design and objectives based on learning outcomes. Taking “learning” as the center 

and students as the main body, starting from the demand for talents in today’s society, schools and 

teachers are required to first clarify learning outcomes, cooperating with diverse and flexible 

personalized learning requirements, enabling students to achieve self-realization through the learning 

process, and then using feedback on the results to improve the original curriculum teaching. At present, 

the OBE concept has been widely recognized in the education sector and is also an inevitable trend for 

future curriculum reform in universities. 

The courses objectives are formulated based on the educational requirements and graduation 

requirements of professional innovation and entrepreneurship ability, as well as the ability to solve 

complex engineering problems, and based on the requirements of employers for talent knowledge 



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system and practical ability, and drawing on the same curriculum training objectives and 

teacher-student suggestions of similar universities. The course is required to support graduation 

requirements in three aspects: engineering knowledge, design solutions, and research. When the course 

is completed, the students should have a grasp of subject specific knowledge, subject teaching 

knowledge, and lifelong learning awareness. The teaching syllabus should further clarify specific 

teaching content, teaching requirements, teaching hours, achievement methods, etc., reflecting support 

for the course objectives and enhancing the high-level and challenging nature of the course (Table 1). 

 

Table 1. Relationship between Course Objectives and Graduation Requirements 

Graduation requirements Course objectives 

Engineering knowledge: the students 

should systematically understand the 

theoretical foundations of mathematics, 

natural sciences, computing, and 

engineering science and apply them to 

the formulation of engineering problems 

in this professional field 

Objective 1: By studying the overall framework of 

engineering economics, students are able to explain the 

overall content and basic ideas of engineering economics, and 

establish a thinking framework for engineering economy. 

Objective 2: By studying the basic concepts and indicators of 

engineering economics, students are able to describe the 

fundamental theories and methods of engineering economics 

and apply them to pre project decision-making. 

Design solutions: the students should 

compare and select solutions based on 

specific structural systems, management 

techniques, and methods, and complete 

the formation of solutions 

Objective 3: The students should understand basic economic 

and management knowledge, and possess comprehensive 

qualities and abilities for operating and managing in a market 

economy. 

Objective 4: The students should objective the indicators and 

methods of project economic evaluation, project funding, 

project feasibility study, etc., and be able to conduct fair, 

objective, reasonable, and accurate analysis and evaluation of 

the project. 

Research: the students should investigate 

and analyze solutions to complex 

engineering problems based on scientific 

principles, through literature research or 

related methods 

Objective 5: This course is to cultivate students’ economic 

awareness, so that they can possess economic literacy and 

awareness. The students should be able to use qualitative and 

quantitative methods to analyze the economic value of 

engineering projects. 

 

 

 

 



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3. Construction of the Blended Online and Offline Teaching Mode 

3.1 Optimizing Teaching Content 

This course adopts the case (or question) approach for teaching design, selecting teaching methods and 

designing teaching activities based on teaching objectives and content. The course is mainly divided 

into three stages: self-study before class; discussion and exploration during class; and deepening and 

expanding after class. Before class, the teacher releases a learning task list, and students complete 

online learning and testing. In class, the teacher uses a flipped classroom to understand the students’ 

mastery of knowledge, further answers difficult questions, and then enters the new lesson learning, 

discussion, and interactive activities. After class, the teacher summarizes the course and uses a learning 

task list to encourage students to expand their learning. In order to enhance their practical and 

innovative abilities, the teacher can also guide students to write project proposals.  

3.2 Reforming Teaching Methods 

To truly utilize the blended learning model, the first step is to build a suitable teaching platform. The 

“Xuexi Tong” smart platform has been popularized due to its comprehensive functions. Under the 

conditions of uneven class learning conditions and limited teaching hours, traditional offline teaching 

cannot enable each student to complete personalized pre class preparation. By Uploading the talent 

training plan and curriculum outline of the major to the learning platform in advance, the students can 

understand the content they are learning. Before each class, the principle, operation process, and 

cutting-edge development of the engineering economy will be released in a task driven form, providing 

a comprehensive introduction to the operation, operation, and mixed use of the technology with other 

technologies. Students can verify their preview results through pre class testing and group discussions. 

In the classroom, as teachers have already understood students’ preview situation through online 

teaching, they can consolidate the knowledge points they have already mastered through flipped 

classroom format.  

For difficult knowledge points, case study and situational game methods are used to explain, and 

functions such as barrage, voting, submission, and word cloud are synchronously activated. After the 

explanation is completed, students are grouped to start brainstorming. After class, students can connect 

online and offline at will. While completing resource push, students can independently conduct post 

class checks, complete assignments pre assigned by teachers, or design a section to upload relevant 

data or videos. Using online platforms as learning platforms, students can learn independently without 

being limited by time and location, and can listen to teachers’ lectures anytime and anywhere. 

3.3 Multivariate Assessment and Evaluation System 

The assessment and evaluation system of a course is the most concerned point for students, and it is 

also an aspect that teachers should focus on planning and designing. This course adopts a diversified 

assessment and evaluation system. The total grade of the course consists of class performance, group 

tasks, periodic tests, and final assessment (Table 2). 



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Table 2. Student Performance Assessment 

NO. 
Assessment 

Task 
Description 

Course 

objectives 
Percentage（%） 

1 
Class 

performance 

Organizing student grades based on the 

interaction and communication with teachers 

in the classroom, as well as the interaction 

data on the “Xuexi Tong” platform 

1、2、3、

4 
10 

2 Group tasks 

Students are divided into groups to analyze 

various engineering economy cases, and 

their grades are evaluated based on the 

completion of group achievements and 

individual performance 

2、3、4、

5 
10 

3 
Daily 

assignments 

After each chapter, appropriate Thinking and 

calculation questions are assigned, and 

grades are evaluated based on the 

completion and accuracy of the assignments 

1、2、3、

4、5 
10 

4 Periodic tests 

Two stage tests will be conducted in total, 

with a score of 100 points each time. The 

final average score will be taken 

1、2、3、

4 
20 

5 
Final 

assessment 

Conducting a comprehensive assessment of 

the learned content in the form of a test, and 

evaluating the grades based on completion 

and quality 

1、2、3、

4、5 
50 

 

4. The Outcome of the Blended Online and Offline Teaching Mode 

Following the principles of OBE, we practice a “learning centered” approach in all aspects of teaching 

and construct a blended learning model (Figure 1), achieving an organic combination of teaching and 

learning. Through the teaching reform of engineering economics courses, a hybrid teaching mode of 

online and offline has been basically constructed and applied in practical teaching. Most students 

believe that after implementing the curriculum teaching reform, students’ participation has greatly 

increased, and their focus during class has significantly improved. As the main body of teaching, they 

participate in the teaching process and organically integrate the comprehensive application ability of 

engineering economics into the teaching evaluation of the course. As a result, students’ ability to solve 

complex problems has significantly improved. 

 

 



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5. Conclusion 

OBE, as an advanced educational concept, is the direction of higher education reform. In order to 

improve the quality of teaching, teachers of engineering economics courses should actively promote 

educational reform under the guidance of OBE education philosophy, clarify course objectives, put 

students at the center, adhere to the combination of knowledge imparting and value guidance, integrate 

multiple teaching methods, construct a blended online and offline teaching mode, expand the time and 

space of teaching and learning, enhance the depth of student learning, and continuously improve the 

quality of talent cultivation. The case course is student-centered, goal oriented, and guided. The 

thematic discussion section encourages students to think divergently, actively search for literature, 

increase their sense of participation, engage in exploratory learning, exercise innovative thinking, and 

facilitate deep learning and improve learning outcomes. This teaching activity design has certain 

reference value for the teaching design of other blended courses, and has certain promotability and 

replicability. 

 

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