Case study and apprenticeship pedagogy for training construction engineering students

The guide to professional development via apprenticeship promotes the following initiatives: improved delivery of educational material and alternate methods for evaluation of the learning objectives. The research herein will focus on utilizing the industry professional based apprenticeship with case study instruments in the classroom improving student motivation, the professional development and critical thinking skills of the student. A byproduct of the research will include providing the instructor with scholarly reflection to meet the aforementioned objectives. Objectives considered in this study are answering to the questions such as, how should we prepare construction engineering students for professional practice? How can we link technical skills together with applied (experiential learning) and professional skills (soft skills) to produce the best construction engineering professional possible? Can we train students to develop the skill sets to determine cause-effect with supporting claims and have the imagination to develop solutions with impact in mind? The results offer the baseline insight that was sought relative to the student critical thinking related to the case study pedagogy. The research provides an opportunity for the researcher to self-evaluate the manner in which the instruction is developed and delivered.