An Exploratory Study of the ODL Course in Structural Engineering

Stella M. Mlasi, R. Naidoo

2018

Abstract

The study was conducted on a structural steel design module taught via distance learning mode at the University of South Africa, UNISA. Structural steel design is part of structural engineering under the broad field of civil engineering. It is very challenging for students to learn or study structural steel design in an open distance learning (ODL) environment; because students struggle to put concepts in the correct perspective without any assistance. This lead to few but major challenges such as poor pass rates, graduates with low confidence and lack of quality skills and decision-making. In addressing these challenges, few interventions were introduced including improving communication and teaching methods, redesigning study materials and prescribing up to date books. The interventions were implemented progressively from the year 2013 up to date, and the outcomes measure was the examinations. The examination results showed that the pass rates has been improving annually after 2013, with the overall pass percentages increasing and the number of distinctions increasing from 0 to 6. This implies that the intervention that were implemented are effective but needs to be applied strategically.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Mlasi S. and Naidoo R. (2018). An Exploratory Study of the ODL Course in Structural Engineering.In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU, ISBN 978-989-758-291-2, pages 246-251. DOI: 10.5220/0006751302460251

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu18,
author={Stella M. Mlasi and R. Naidoo},
title={An Exploratory Study of the ODL Course in Structural Engineering},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU,},
year={2018},
pages={246-251},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0006751302460251},
isbn={978-989-758-291-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 2: CSEDU,
TI - An Exploratory Study of the ODL Course in Structural Engineering
SN - 978-989-758-291-2
AU - Mlasi S.
AU - Naidoo R.
PY - 2018
SP - 246
EP - 251
DO - 10.5220/0006751302460251