


































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

Vol. 8, No. 2, 2025 

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

35 

 

Original Paper 

Exploring the Teaching Reform of Civil Engineering 

Construction 

Song Ming-zhi
1*

, Zhao Yuan-yuan
2
 & Liu Yang

1
 

1
 Intelligent Construction Department, Qingdao City University, Qingdao, China 

2
 Department of Accounting and Finance, Qingdao City University, Qingdao, China 

*
 Song Ming-zhi, E-mail: 1207483490@qq.com  

 

Received: May 12, 2025        Accepted: May 21, 2025     Online Published: May 26, 2025 

doi:10.22158/grhe.v8n2p35              URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/grhe.v8n2p35 

 

Abstract 

In this paper, for the current “civil engineering construction” course teaching process exists in the 

theory from practice, knowledge fragmentation and insufficient student participation and other issues, 

from the perspective of teaching content, teaching methods, etc. put forward a few suggestions for peer 

reference. 

Keywords 

Civil engineering construction, teaching reform, practical skills 

 

Under the background of new engineering, the talent cultivation objectives of applied local universities 

are more specific and pay more attention to the ability to find problems, analyze problems and solve 

problems (Zhang, L., Zhang, W., & Gao, Banana, 2022, pp. 234-235, p. 243). As a core course of civil 

engineering, Civil Engineering Construction is the foundation for students to study subsequent 

specialized courses and to engage in design, construction and other related work in the civil 

construction industry after graduation (Li, J., Cai, K. K., & Wen, S. D., 2017, pp. 131-133). The 

knowledge structure of the course contains two major course modules: building construction 

technology and building construction organization. The former systematically analyzes the construction 

process and control elements of sub-part projects; the latter covers the basic principles of construction 

organization design, network planning technology and flow construction. Currently, there is a common 

problem of theory being detached from practice in teaching, which seriously restricts the cultivation of 

students' engineering practical ability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the teaching content and 

teaching methods of the Civil Engineering Construction course, to improve the quality of teachers’ 

teaching and students’ practical ability, and to help students to be competent in construction 



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management related work in the future. 

 

1. Problems in Teaching Civil Engineering Construction Courses 

The practice of students utilizing cell phones in college and university classrooms has been prevalent 

for quite some time. In the early days, cell phones mainly served the communication function and the 

entertainment function was relatively single, and the frequency of students using cell phones in the 

classroom was relatively low. As science and technology advance, smartphones have rapidly expanded 

their functionalities, including games, novels, short videos, and shopping, all accessible at a touch. 

While enhancing convenience and entertainment, this has posed a significant challenge to classroom 

instruction. 

1.1 Construction Process 

Construction technology refers to a variety of technical methods and operational steps used in the 

process of building construction. The current teaching mode presents multi-dimensional evolution 

characteristics: textbook level using text narrative combined with two-dimensional schematic static 

presentation, the introduction of BIM modeling, VR virtual simulation and other digital technologies to 

build three-dimensional visualization scenes, the teacher level to form a “traditional textbook + 

multimedia courseware + virtual reality technology” composite teaching path. Under this teaching 

framework, students are able to achieve instant mastery of construction technology in the classroom 

through model deconstruction, virtual operation and other figurative cognitive construction processes, 

and strengthen procedural memory through simulation practice. However, the cognitive load theory 

shows that there is a significant fading effect of this surface cognition, which is manifested in the lack 

of knowledge transfer ability, and it is difficult to cope with the variable management needs of the 

construction site. In essence, the teaching process favors the mechanical reproduction of operational 

representations and neglects the deep analysis of construction logic, resulting in students only obtaining 

discrete technical fragments and failing to build a transferable engineering thinking system. 

1.2 Control Elements 

The construction process control element system covers three dimensions of progress control, quality 

control and safety supervision. From the analysis of the course system structure, the progress 

management module is mainly integrated in the construction organization design course module, while 

the quality and safety control is throughout the construction technology professional course module. In 

the current teaching practice, teachers are in the main position of unidirectional knowledge 

transmission, relying on multimedia presentations and case studies and other teaching means to 

complete the knowledge transfer, and students are in a passive state of acceptance. It should be 

especially pointed out that, although this traditional didactic teaching can guarantee the efficiency of 

teaching information transfer, the lack of teacher-student interaction mechanism leads to insufficient 

participation in the classroom, which is manifested in the following way: learners are difficult to realize 



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knowledge transfer through active construction, which ultimately leads to poor internalization of 

knowledge, and it is difficult to form a systematic cognitive structure.  

1.3 Construction Organization 

After the systematic study of building construction technology course, students have initially mastered 

the construction process and control points of sub-parts of the project. However, due to the 

fragmentation of the course content, the lack of systematic connection between the knowledge modules, 

resulting in students have not yet formed a complete engineering logical framework. Specifically 

manifested as: difficult to establish the time logic relationship between the sub-projects, unable to 

accurately judge the starting and ending nodes of the sub-projects, and thus do not have the ability to 

prepare construction progress plans.  

 

2. Some Suggestions for Teaching Reform in Civil Engineering Construction Courses 

2.1 For the Construction Process-Thinking Backwards 

It is recommended to use reverse thinking teaching method in the teaching of construction process, and 

reverse the process from the engineering results. Taking the teaching module of reinforcing steel 

engineering as an example, it can be implemented according to the following steps: (1) Results display 

stage: present the results of the reinforcing steel skeleton before concrete pouring, including 

beam-column nodes, reinforcement spacing and other physical samples. (2) Problem-guiding stage: 

Through the question of “how to realize the structural form”, students are guided to think 

systematically about the pre-process of reinforcing steel engineering. (3) Process deconstruction stage: 

analyze the technical chain of processing (material calculation) - installation (positioning control) - 

acceptance (testing standards). (4) Knowledge construction stage: Combine with BIM model to 

dynamically demonstrate key construction links such as tying sequence and connection process. This 

method effectively cultivates students’ systematic engineering thinking through the teaching path of 

“result-oriented - process tracing”. It is recommended to use construction simulation animation and 

process decomposition atlas to help students establish three-dimensional process logic and deepen their 

understanding of the correlation between specification provisions and construction programs. 

2.2 For Control Elements-Switching Roles 

Realize the role transformation from “observer’s perspective” to “stakeholder’s perspective”. Based on 

the theory of situational cognition, we have constructed a “three-dimensional role immersion and 

four-dimensional process analysis” training system: in the main dimension, students are required to 

simulate the multiple role cognitive modes of the construction unit’s technical director, the construction 

unit's project director, and the supervisory unit’s professional engineers; in the process dimension, we 

have set up practical scenarios, such as the value engineering analysis of the construction preparation 

stage, the conflict coordination mechanism of the construction management and control, and the quality 

traceability system of the finished product protection period. In the process dimension, value 



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engineering analysis in the construction preparation stage, conflict coordination mechanism in the 

process control, quality traceability system in the finished product protection period and other practical 

scenarios are set up; in the element dimension, multi-dimensional control indexes such as technical 

feasibility validation, economic rationality assessment and regulatory compliance review are integrated. 

Through role-playing driven dynamic decision-making, students are prompted to master the 

construction process control elements in depth. This “holographic engineering situation simulation” 

teaching method breaks through the limitations of traditional flat knowledge transfer, transforms 

abstract control elements into perceivable engineering decision-making constraints, and effectively 

cultivates the engineering system thinking of students to grasp the essence of craftsmanship in the 

balance of multiple objectives. 

2.3 For Construction Organization-Control the Whole Situation 

The course should focus on the system engineering attributes of engineering projects, and its teaching 

should break through the traditional fragmented cognitive mode and build a three-dimensional teaching 

system of “holistic view - interface management - dynamic coupling”. Based on the theory of system 

dynamics, the implementation path of this course includes: firstly, constructing “double-base 

reinforcement” cognition - deconstructing the course module of building construction technology 

through the process logic network diagram, and using memory coding strategy (e.g., building 

construction limerick) to reinforce the memory of the process parameters of the sub-projects; and then 

carrying out the “virtual-reality mapping” engineering experiments. --Relying on the BIM collaborative 

platform to build a digital twin model, synchronize the implementation of the construction projection of 

the physical scale-down model, focusing on the analysis of the temporal and spatial coupling 

mechanism for the division of construction segments and the principle of dynamic balance of resource 

flow. In this process, students need to complete the “micro-process → meso-process → macro-system” 

of the third-order cognitive leap, through the simulation of the preparation of the construction schedule 

covering construction, construction layout, the main construction program and other elements of the 

“construction organization design” documents, and ultimately form the whole life cycle perspective of 

the engineering coordination capabilities. This dual-track teaching mode of “figurative-abstract” 

effectively solves the cognitive fault problem of “local cognition and global control” in traditional 

teaching, and enables students not only to master the logical arrangement of construction time sequence, 

but also to understand the non-linear interaction between process interfaces. The students can not only 

master the logical arrangement of construction time sequence, but also understand the non-linear 

interaction between process interfaces.  

 

 

 

 



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3. Conclusion 

This paper focuses on the teaching reform of the Civil Engineering Construction course, and builds a 

theoretical framework of reverse thinking teaching, role-immersion simulation, and system dynamics to 

address the problems of theory divorced from practice, fragmentation of knowledge, and insufficient 

student participation in the current teaching. It should be noted that this study still has certain 

limitations: (1) the reform program has not yet been empirically tested in multiple rounds of teaching 

cycles, and its long-term effects need to be further tracked and evaluated; (2) the application of 

technological tools, such as BIM and VR, is dependent on the institution’s hardware resources, and its 

promotion in resource-limited environments may face challenges. In summary, this study provides a 

systematic solution through innovative teaching methods and integration of digital technologies. It is 

expected that subsequent studies will further broaden the dimensions of engineering education reform 

and deliver technical and managerial talents with more practical and innovative capabilities for the 

high-quality development of the construction industry. 

 

References 

Li, J., Cai, K. K., & Wen, S. D. (2017). Reform and exploration of practical teaching of civil 

engineering construction course based on OBE concept. Education Teaching Forum, 2017(52), 

131-133. 

Zhang, L., Zhang, W., & Gao, Banana. (2022). Research on the effectiveness of teaching reform of 

civil engineering construction course. Sichuan Building Materials, 48(12), 234-235, 243. 

 

Note(s) 

Note 1. First in line is Ichisaku, and so on. 

 


