Leveraging Role-Play and Podcasting: Innovative Student-Centred Pedagogies in Construction Education

This paper presents the result of an assessment of the use of innovative student-centred approaches to teaching and assessing ethics and professionalism in construction education. This was done to improve students' understanding of diverse ethical dilemmas and professionalism issues they might face while working within the construction industry. Through observations, review of documentary evidence and feedback evaluation, the study revealed that role-play can help improve students' understanding of ethics as they are immersed in diverse construction scenarios. It offers students critical thinking, a better understanding of ethical issues, improved communication skills and collaboration with peers. On the other hand, using student-generated podcasts (SGP) as an assessment tool in construction modules can be highly beneficial to students' performance when compared to other assessment tools. SGP offers improved visual and audio presentation skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, and technological skills that construction students require to survive within the construction industry in the 21^st century. The value of the study lies in the absence of similar studies exploring the use of role-play and SGP as student-centred pedagogical approaches to teaching construction students. The study offers direction for curriculum design and evaluation of expected learning outcomes within construction programmes to improve student's learning experiences.