Introduction
This case study pertains to the combination of two innovations in engineering education that have seen a rise in implementation over the last decade: (1) the use of online or modular lectures, and (2) the incorporation of sustainability concepts, in particular environmental lifecycle assessment. This research focuses on their combined use in a classroom setting. The intention is to aid in the rapid infusion of sustainability into the curriculum by using prerecorded modules on a sustainability topic available to any instructor, whether they will be used for special lectures or incorporated into a large portion of a course.
Sustainability is being introduced into engineering classes in support of the growing desire and need for additional knowledge in this area. There are many studies related to sustainability, and civil and environmental engineering, which is expected because this field has traditionally focused on the built environment and environmental issues (
Haselbach and Delatte 2011). On the basis of a national survey on outcome expectations of students for sustainability-related topics in civil and environmental engineering, it was found that introducing more sustainability issues might attract additional students (
Shealy et al. 2016). In another survey it was noted that lack of information is a major barrier to adopting sustainable design practices for structural engineers (
Rodriguez-Nikl et al. 2015).
Haselbach (
2014) discussed how sustainability is now an integral part of many engineering curricula. However, there are challenges to incorporating sustainability into an already crowded curriculum. This is true at both the undergraduate and graduate levels (
Martins et al. 2006). Some methods to effectively implement sustainability in engineering curricula were studied by Christ et al. (
2015) and Weatherton et al. (
2015). Each study presented and discussed how sustainability was added to an engineering program at their respective universities. In both cases, sustainability information was added to pre-existing courses, with Weatherton et al. (
2015) doing so by incorporating grab-and-go modules. Other activities, such as internships, new courses, or capstone projects also were used in those studies. Batterman et al. (
2011) noted the lack of common core competencies for graduate sustainability education (and developed some to fill the gap), without which there may not be clear direction for the development of graduate programs with a sustainability focus. In addition, sustainability transcends all engineering areas, such as research by Kumar et al. (
2005), which looked at the infusion of sustainability principles into manufacturing and mechanical engineering curricula.
One upcoming area of sustainability is environmental lifecycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a methodology for evaluating environmental and resource impacts of a product, process, or project through the entire lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials through disposal at the end of its intended life. Internationally, LCA is commonly performed on the basis of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards (
ISO 2006a,
b). There are many research and educational needs that might be addressed to further the adoption and effective implementation of this methodology (
Reap et al. 2008,
Hellweg and Canals 2014).
There is a need for providing introductory LCA concepts in undergraduate courses as this methodology becomes more commonplace, and to have more intense LCA-based courses at universities, particularly at the graduate level, for use by future engineers and decision-makers. However, as with most developing technologies, there is much flux in the LCA information available and a need for flexibility as the support software and data become available. Thus, formatting an LCA class on the basis of modules that readily can be updated seemed to be an appropriate approach for creating LCA educational materials. Therefore, the authors prepared LCA modules (termed the LCA module series) with the intent of flexibility and easy accessibility, to be used either as introductory modules in other undergraduate classes or with focused LCA projects at the graduate level. This was done by having both overview modules and detailed modules, with the detailed modules intended to be used for more intense application of the materials introduced in the overview modules. These modules are PowerPoint presentations, which provide automatically advancing slides and prerecorded narration, resulting in a video-like format.
Many books and other written documents exist that provide detailed information on lifecycle assessment (e.g.,
ISO 2006a,
b;
EPA 2006;
European Commission 2010;
Curran 2012;
Klöpffer and Grahl 2014;
Simonen 2014;
Matthews et al. 2015). The module series developed and evaluated in this paper provides many of the same topics as books and guidance documents, and delivers the content in a condensed multimedia format. Some other free multimedia presentations on LCA are available online, either as recorded lectures or as non-narrated slide presentations (e.g.,
Norris and Jolliet 2003;
Matthews 2016). At least one online course in lifecycle assessment, using recordings of a professor lecturing over a slide presentation, is under development (
Iowa State 2016); however, that course will be fee-based. The modules developed and examined in this paper are distinct from these other multimedia LCA learning resources because of their free availability to learners and educators, format as narrated presentations, and additional focus on transportation topics.
Online courses or similar modular instructional methods that can be used by a student without a teacher physically present are becoming popular. They also are used frequently in flipped classrooms in which lectures are done outside of the classroom, whereas discussions, exercises, or other activities are reserved for the classroom setting. Electronic modules offer potential advantages over traditional published materials in that they can be quickly and cheaply updated as new information is learned (
Davidson et al. 2016), which can be particularly useful in evolving fields, such as sustainability. However, a survey by Davidson et al. (
2016) found that instructors encounter various barriers to creating these types of materials, including lack of time, difficulty in creation/use, lack of funding, and concerns about how frequently modules would be used. This points to the potential benefit of freely available modular content that instructors can use without the need to create it themselves.
Koehler and Jahren (
2013) explored using online modules outside of class with in-class discussions and activities in construction engineering. These modules also can be used in other types of hybrid courses that use both traditional in-class lecture and outside-the-classroom types of instruction. Young (
2002) found that there are many pros and cons of traditional and online courses, and using aspects of both might be beneficial. It has been noted in a comparison between a traditional and a flipped classroom that quiz results were similar (
Hotle and Garrow 2016). However, it was found that students were less likely to ask questions on lecture material in the flipped situation (i.e., the material consumed by students outside the classroom), and these students seemed to attend office hours more than the traditionally taught students (
Hotle and Garrow 2016). The authors postulate that a lower initial mastery because of an inability to ask questions on lecture concepts in the flipped classroom might have been responsible for students requiring more help outside of class.
Because there are both advantages and disadvantages to using premade modules outside of a classroom, there is the option of using them in a classroom with associated discussions and assignments. One possible advantage of this is having the material fresh in the students’ and instructor’s mind for the discussion period. Another advantage might be in keeping the feel of a traditional lecture class for incorporation of additional material that an instructor might not be as familiar with, without copious amounts of preparation by the instructor or having to invite outside experts. Finally, even if the instructor may be familiar with the material, having him or her view and listen to the material in a concise manner during class also allows time for further reflection that may enhance the subsequent discussions.
This research is focused on using prerecorded online modules for putting sustainability into curricula (specifically LCA learning in this case), and in providing alternate opportunities for learning these new concepts. Prerecorded modules may facilitate the implementation by putting less demand on the instructor in having to prepare lectures. In this way, the modules can serve as a substitute for part of a lecture. What is being investigated in the remainder of this paper is a nontraditional type of hybrid course. In this course style, one plays online or downloaded narrated modules as part of a class period followed by discussion or exercises, with the modules available for pre- or postclass viewing for deeper understanding and with many exercises still done outside the classroom. The research questions ask how this format is received by the students, and what improvements might be made to effect better implementation in future offerings.
Study Limitations
The course was taken by a relatively small number of students; therefore, the sample size for the WSU survey was similarly small (15 students), of which one was an undergraduate and the others graduates. Although the results generated do provide insight on the use of these LCA modules, they might not be representative of a larger population of students or of their effectiveness for undergraduate education. Future applications of these modules might allow for evaluations from a larger group of students and should be considered once available.
The experimental design used in this case did not include any direct or controlled comparisons to traditionally taught courses. Accordingly, the results and conclusions reached only state how well received the modules and course styles were by the students, and not whether they found them more or less beneficial than a traditional lecture-style class. However, it could be assumed that students answering the survey questions would base their midpoints and expectations around traditional classroom instructional styles (of which they are well exposed to from other courses) and explain advantages and disadvantages in the context of improvements or disimprovements over those styles.
This study was on the basis of a course focused only on LCA. Other sustainability topics might vary in the degree and complexity of numerical calculations, abstract concepts, and practical applications. Therefore, it should not be assumed necessarily that effectiveness of the teaching approach and modules used for the LCA course would translate to other topics or disciplines.
Conclusions and Further Research
Overwhelmingly, the response to the format of narrated modules with class discussion was positive. Students stated that the modules were concise, organized, complete, and available outside of class. Further, they found the discussion to be useful in clarifying concepts and keeping the course interesting. Negative aspects of the modules included that many students found them to be boring when played in full, and some believed they were too fast-paced and did not allow for questions until after the presentation was finished. Therefore, this seems to be an effective teaching format, but revisions to the format should be considered to ensure students are fully engaged.
As a result of this evaluation, the next iteration of this class will include stopping each module one or more times for intermediate discussion. The intention is that this will break up some of the monotony, provide additional discussion time, and give students an opportunity to clear up questions on one part of the module before watching the next section. In addition, the instructor will encourage the students to raise their hands to pause a presentation during any slide to answer questions or clarify a concept. The modules are made so that slides can be paused and restarted easily at any time. The instructor also will mention that students may wish to print handout copies of the module slides to take notes of verbally-presented information to keep those who learn best in that manner more engaged.
Finally, it is the hope of the developers of these modules that the prerecorded format with associated activities will facilitate their implementation by other instructors, and that future applications will aid in improving and expanding these types of educational materials. For instance, as inclusion of sustainability becomes more prevalent in undergraduate science and engineering curricula, there may be a need to consider if these narrated modules could be useful for undergraduate courses. It is likely that some of the overview modules will be used for a freshman-level engineering course at WSU in 2016, and this may provide such an avenue for assessment. That format is expected to have the modules viewed outside of class, with discussion and other related activities in class, as the in-class course content already is very constrained. This type of flipped classroom format is possible with the LCA module series and could be a favorable option for courses that have highly constrained class time.