Abstract
This paper focuses on the potential impact of student-centered feedback for enhancing the learning experience of civil engineering students that used a geographic information system (GIS) based tutorial in a transportation engineering course. the tutorial was implemented in a laboratory environment developed as a self-guided activity supported by a web-Based learning system. the formative research proposed in this study includes a series of four successive implementations of this laboratory. Students' performance, beliefs, and perceptions were monitored by using a mixed methods design approach and weaknesses identified from early implementations were addressed before the next implementation of the laboratory activity. the students' performance was found to improve when the GIS web-Based tutorial was complemented with an instructor-driven short introduction that anchored the laboratory activity in traffic safety. in addition, students' feedback in both quantitative and qualitative format indicated weaknesses related to the difficulty of the laboratory and usability factors such as speed and size of data uploading. as these weaknesses were addressed, students' positive input regarding the overall GIS laboratory experience significantly increased. This positive input was fully backed up by students' feedback indicating major strengths of the GIS laboratory for professional growth and future career development in civil and transportation engineering. Finally, students' inputs in the latest implementations provided valuable suggestions for future potential improvements regarding how to better integrate the GIS laboratory in course-related activities such as term projects. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Recommended Citation
G. H. Bham et al., "Longitudinal Evaluation of a GIS Laboratory in a Transportation Engineering Course," Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, vol. 137, no. 4, pp. 258 - 266, American Society of Civil Engineers, Oct 2011.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000064
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Crash data; Data analysis; Engineering education; Geographic information systems; Traffic accidents; Traffic safety; Training; Transportation education and training; Transportation engineering
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1052-3928
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Oct 2011
