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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 102 (2013) 148 – 152

6th International Forum on Engineering Education (IFEE 2012)

Competition as an Innovative Student-Centered Learning Method

for Open-Ended Laboratory Work
Roszilah Hamida,*, Shahrizan Baharomb, Mohd Raihan Tahab and
Lily Khairiah Kadaruddinb
a
Center for Engineering Education Research,
b
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, 43600 UKM Bangi,
Malaysia

Abstract

One of the courses introduced to second year students of Civil and Structural Engineering program at the Department of Civil
and Structural Engineering is Civil Engineering Materials and Technology. One of the learning method components is the
laboratory work where students do practical work in designing and testing concrete. Improvements on method of handling the
laboratory work have been done to facilitate student-centered learning process. One such method is to give open ended
project. Meanwhile, a small number of the second year students are actively participating in sustainable concrete cube,
concrete canoe and concrete Frisbee competition held by American Concrete Institute (ACI) Malaysia Chapter, Department of
Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Petronas Malaysia. Analysis on the cognitive, psychomotor and
affective domain of learning achieved by these few students, the department decided to adopt this innovative student-centered
learning for Civil Engineering and Materials Technology course laboratory work.

© 2013
© 2013TheTheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier Ltd.access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Ltd. Open
Selectionand/or
Selection and/or peer-review
peer-review underunder responsibility
responsibility of Mohd
of Professor ZaidiZaidi
Dr Mohd. Omar, Ruhizan
Omar, Mohammad
Associate Professor DrYasin, Roszilah
Ruhizan MohammadHamid,
Yasin,
Norngainy
Dr Mohd.Dr
Roszilah Hamid, Tawil, Kamaruzaman
Norngainy Yusoff
Mohd. Tawil, , Mohamad
Associate Professor Sattar
Dr WanRasul
Kamal Mujani, Associate Professor Dr Effandi Zakaria.

Keywords: competition; student-centered learning; open-ended laboratory work.

* Corresponding Author. Tel.: +6-012-304-8462

E-mail address: roszilah@eng.ukm.my

1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Professor Dr Mohd. Zaidi Omar, Associate Professor Dr Ruhizan Mohammad Yasin,
Dr Roszilah Hamid, Dr Norngainy Mohd. Tawil, Associate Professor Dr Wan Kamal Mujani, Associate Professor Dr Effandi Zakaria.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.726
 Roszilah Hamid et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 102 (2013) 148 – 152 149

1. Introduction

Civil Engineering Materials and Technology (coded KKKH2164) course is a first semester second year course
taught at the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The
course deals with the introduction to construction materials, their manufacturing processes, their characteristics
and properties. This course consists of lectures, project, and laboratory work on the concrete mixing and testing.
The mix design method of concrete (the most widely used construction material) is emphasized. The
improvement on the delivery methods of the class instruction and the laboratory work were described previously
[1-3]. The assessment of the final examination questions was also analyzed elsewhere [4].
Meanwhile, the department accepts invitations by universities, government bodies and academic societies to
participate in competitions that relate to the matters studied in this course. The yearly participated competition is
the concrete Frisbee competition held by Universiti Teknologi Petronas Malaysia. Only two groups of students
consist of three members each take part in the competition. The concrete Frisbee is to be designed based on the
specification outlined by the organizers, but the students are free to choose the materials, which mean that the
solution is open-ended. The Department of Irrigation Malaysia organized a concrete canoe competition in 2009
and only one group consists of five students took part. The students also produced report of the competition. The
authors, as the students’ advisors had observed that the students had achieved the intended course outcomes of
the Civil Engineering Materials and Technology through these competitions.
This paper presents the supervisors observations on the students’ cognitive, affective and psychomotor
achievement at the time of pre-competition, during competition and post-competition. It is found that the same
method of handling laboratory works is desirable and affective in achieving the course outcomes.

2. Competition as Innovative Student-Centered Learning Method

Each year, for the past five years, the second year students from the Department of Civil and Structural
Engineering were invited to participate in competitions related to their offered subject, Civil Engineering
Materials and Technology (coded KKKH2164). Table 1 shows the list of competitions and organisers where the
students had participated. The objective of the Intervarsity Concrete Frisbee Competition is to produce a
lightweight, stable and impact resistance concrete Frisbee that abides to the rules and regulations set out by the
organiser. This competition is seen as an opportunity for the participants to explore the potential that lies in
concrete through Frisbee. The participants are involved from designing the Frisbees, constructing them, and
presenting their products to the judges. The presentation includes details of the design and materials used. The
Frisbees are judged based on the design and easthetic value; physical and performance tests such as weight, the
extent of the thrown Frisbee, the precision from the target and the impact resistance and scores are accumulated
from each category. The objective of the Concrete Canoe Competition is to produce a lightweight, durable and
aerodynamic concrete canoe. Lastly, the Sustainable Concrete Competition aimed at producing the targeted
strength concrete utilising sustainable materials.
150 Roszilah Hamid et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 102 (2013) 148 – 152

Table 1. List of competitions and the level of achievement

Name of Competition and year held Organiser Level of achievement

Department of Irrigation and
Concrete Canoe Competition 2007 Participant
Drainage Malaysia
Intervarsity Concrete Frisbee Competition Civil Engineering Student Society of
Participant
(ICFC) 2009 UTP (UCITY)
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Intervarsity Concrete Frisbee Competition
Civil Engineering Students’ Society First Runner-up
(ICFC) 2011
(UCITY).
American Concrete Institute (ACI)
Sustainable Concrete Competition 2011 Participant
Malaysia Chapter
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Intervarsity Concrete Frisbee Competition
Civil Engineering Students’ Society Participant
(ICFC) 2012
(UCITY).

The domains of learning as described by Bloom’s Taxonomy are the cognitive, affective and psychomotor [5].
Table 2 shows the observed learning domain achieved through the students participation in the competition by
the supervisors. There are 8 levels in the psychomotor domain [6], and the highest level attained by the student
through this competition are Mechanism (Level 4) and Complex Overt Response (Level 4) through the action
verb `construct’.

Table 2. The learning domains achieved by participants

Cognitive Affective Psychomotor

a) Ability to construct the
a) Ability to applying basic concepts of a) Ability to manage the allocated
concrete frisbee using
engineering in designing the Frisbee such budget
Portland cement
as aerodynamics properties
b) Ability to throw the
b) Ability to designing the Frisbee to the b) Ability to work in a team and
Frisbee the furthest
required strength ability to collaborate with team
distance and accurately hit
member
the target
c) Ability to communicate
c) Ability to evaluate the most appropriate
effectively with the team members
materials to produce the concrete frisbee to
and to the judges
suit the requirements of the competition
d) Ability to be creative and possess
lifelong learning

The course outcomes for Civil Engineering Materials and Technology course are as shown in Table 3.
 Roszilah Hamid et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 102 (2013) 148 – 152 151

Table 3. Course outcomes for Civil Engineering Materials and Technology course

Course Outcome Assessment Method Learning Domain

1) Able to understand/explain/discuss the
physical and engineering properties of Civil Final Exam,
cognitive
Engineering materials

2) Able to understand/explain/discuss
physical and engineering properties of
concrete components (coarse and fine Final Exam, Laboratory Report
cognitive
aggregates, cement, admixtures) and fresh
and hardened concrete

3) Able to design concrete mix proportion Final exam, Assignment, Laboratory

using DoE or ACI method Report cognitive

4) Able to understand/ explain/ discuss Final exam, Assignment

testing of fresh and hardened concrete cognitive

5) Able to communicate verbally the

physical and engineering properties of Civil
Engineering materials;, physical and
Affective
engineering properties of concrete
Project presentation
components (coarse and fine aggregates,
cement, admixtures); physical and
engineering properties of fresh and
hardened concrete and testing of fresh and
hardened concrete to members in class

6) Able to apply testing methods to

determine the properties of fresh and
Laboratory Work
hardened concrete under minimum Psychomotor
supervision

7) Able to analyse the different types of

concrete depending on intended application
Laboratory Report cognitive
and requirement to strength and
environment

Table 3 shows that the course outcomes no. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 are delivered and assessed through laboratory
work. Laboratory works are synonym with copied works, boring and free riders. By opting innovative method
such as organizing a competition, the laboratory work can be made fun and at the same time the outcomes are
achieved. The laboratory work is to be designed based on the problem specified by the instructor, but the students
are free to choose the materials, which mean that the solution is open-ended.

3. Conclusion

Competition as a method of handling the laboratory work is a student-learning and collaborative method
where students can achieved the intended course outcomes besides having some fun. The laboratory project can
also be made open-ended as the solutions can be varied as long as the students are following the rules and
regulations provided, which will include the standard test methods and selection of materials.
152 Roszilah Hamid et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 102 (2013) 148 – 152

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia through grant project PTS-
2012-005.

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