Alexandria Engineering Journal (2018) 57, 3899–3905

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Alexandria University

Alexandria Engineering Journal

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Blended learning methods as an approach to

teaching project management to architecture
students
Laila M. Khodeir

Dept. of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

Received 6 May 2018; revised 6 September 2018; accepted 30 October 2018

Available online 3 December 2018

KEYWORDS Abstract Project management education at university level faces a number of challenges. As
Project management; coined by several researchers, it neither meets the actual needs of the industry, nor attracts the inter-
Education; est of architecture students. A number of methods have been discussed through recent researches
Blended learning; that are capable of enhancing the teaching experience of PM. This paper aims to investigate the
Architecture students application of one of those methods, ‘‘blended learning” to support knowledge delivery to architec-
ture students. A literature review has been presented, in addition to qualitative analysis of methods
applied in PM course in two different programs, along 8 years, main-stream senior students in Ain
Shams University, and year 3 students at the British university in Egypt. Findings of this paper took
the form of a matrix of blended teaching methods that were examined in case studies, this matrix is
of value to instructors involved in teaching PM courses.
Ó 2018 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction university level and the actual skills of Architecture students.

The nature of project management is quite unique, where each
project is composed of several components, includes wide
range of resources and thus requires controlling complexity
of components and resources interaction. However, Project
management education faces a number of challenges. As
coined by several researchers, project management education
does not meet the actual needs of the industry. Additionally,
there is a gap between Project management education on
E-mail addresses: Leila.mohammed@eng.asu.edu.eg, drlailakhodeir80@
gmail.com, Laila.khodeir@bue.edu.eg
Peer review under responsibility of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria
University.
Students have to pass through the experience of acting like real
project managers, practicing through real-life situations that
elaborate the role of PM, understanding complexity, and team
work.
Among the current approaches for teaching project man-
agement is the blended teaching method, which was defined
by different researchers, who agreed that it represents a mix-
ture of teaching methods with no definite number. These meth-
ods are aligned around the same aim of allowing students to
learn and gain experience in the meanwhile. In addition to
blended learning or as part of it, game-based learning is an
emerging teaching method that has been proved to support
the readiness of PM students for current market needs and
equip them with the so-called 21st century employability skills.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2018.10.004
1110-0168 Ó 2018 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
3900 L.M. Khodeir

Coping with such manifestations in teaching PM, this paper
investigates the application of blended learning approach as a
method to support knowledge delivery, in addition to boosting
architecture students interest. The discussed approach was
applied on teaching PM on the university level, where the
impact of such methods was assessed to check whether these
methods could provide an environment in which students are
well prepared for their future challenges as project managers.
2. Literature review
The literature review of this paper is the first step towards
achieving the objective of the paper. It explains how different
literature sources dealt with the topics related to the nature of
project management, challenges of teaching project manage-
ment, and current approaches to teaching project
management.
2.1. Nature of project management
Project management has become a growing area, either in
practice or in research, according to a survey conducted by
Whittington et al. [3]. This growing nature is accompanied
with the need to provide project management specialists who
are equipped with core competencies that enable them to cope
with different types of project complexities. In general, the nat-
ure of project management is quite unique, where each project
is composed of several components, including a wide range of
resources and thus requires controlling complexity of compo-
nents and resources interaction. In addition, project manage-
ment has to deal with different project attributes, such as
urgency, ambiguity and uncertainty [4].
2.2. Challenges of teaching project management
2.3. Blended learning approaches to teaching project
management
Different approaches have been discussed in literature sources
related to methods of teaching that could be implemented in
teaching Project management in general. Table 2 shows how
these methods have been discussed in literature, and offers
analysis of each author towards explaining these methods.
The teaching methods that have been adopted and imple-
mented in teaching PM in this paper are considered more of
blended learning methods, where, according to previously dis-
cussed literature, they tackle the objective of increasing the
readiness of students to Industrial challenges, Kilkelly [1],
Tews [13].
3. Qualitative analysis of case studies
In this part of the paper, two main case studies were qualita-
tively analyzed. The first one is a course taught to senior archi-
tecture students in a governmental university in Egypt. The
course has been taught by the author for 8 successive years,
which enabled the experimenting and improvement of tradi-
tional teaching methods versus blended ones. The other course
is a management course taught to year 3 Architecture students
at the British University in Egypt for 4 successive years. In this
course blended learning methods were applied from the first
stance.
3.1. Teaching methods
The teaching methods applied in the first course have changed
along the 8 years of its lifetime. Fig. 1 shows the changes in
teaching method of the PM course, showing an increase in
game-based methods in favor of the in-class theoretical lecture.

Project management education faces a number of challenges. 3.1.1. In-class activities

As coined by several researchers, project management educa-
tion does not meet the actual needs of the industry. Table 1
summarizes the basic challenges as discussed in extant litera-
ture sources, in addition to critical analyses of suggested meth-
ods for overcoming such challenges.
In-class student-led activities took several forms and targeted
practicing both management and 21st century skills. Fig. 2
shows an in-class team activity where teams had to design a
problem-solving situation, either a real or fantasy one.
Another in-class activity is shown in Fig. 3, where students

Table 1 Generic challenges facing PM education, author, based on extant literature.

Author Date Challenge Methods for overcoming the challenge
Hussein and 2002 Inefficient learning methods Suggested using multiple learning methods
Rolstadås [9]
Cicmil et al. [6] 2006 Inefficient content regarding knowledge, skills and Recommended focusing on HR and organizational
Winter et al. [7] attitudes interaction
Geist et al. [8] 2007 Ineffective Tools to be used and approaches to deliver Recommended Including integrating practical activities
content including traditional theory based class with theory-based teaching
Berggren and 2008 To offer PM educational programs that are rigorous Did not offer clear strategy to overcome the challenge
Söderlund [5] and relevant
Wearne [2] 2008 Students dissatisfaction, and demotivation about the Recommended to assess the courses from stakeholders’
course point of view, including post graduate, experts and others
Ojiako et al. [10] 2011 Inefficient learning practice. Lack of interaction Recommended the engagement of students in content
between students and instructors development
Hussein [9] 2015 Students Pre-made perceptions and pre-made Recommended giving instant feedback and debriefing
assumptions about project work sessions to students
Blended Learning Methods as an Approach to Teaching Project Management to Architecture Students 3901

Table 2 Approaches to teaching PM, author, based on extant literature.

Author Date Approach Analysis
Garrison and 2004 Blended learning Definition: Integration of classroom teaching methods and technology based methods
Kanuka [11]
Picciano [12] 2009 Blended learning Definition: Mixture of teaching methods that aim at satisfying students’ needs and challenge
them to experience and learn in the meantime
Kilkelly [1] 2008 Blended learning Contribution: Proved that the blended learning method is among the methods that enhance the
process of creating effective project managers
Tews and 2017 Gamification Contribution: The Benefits of Gamification in Educating Project Managers. The study explored
Langston [13] the impact of gamification on teaching university project management; how it affects the
readiness of students for future challenges as project managers. The study applied a
questionnaire that proved the positive effects of gamification
Tews and 2017 Gamification The benefits of game-based methods on teaching PM included:
Langston [13] - Higher engagement of students
- Experiencing project complexity
- Enhancing confidence of application on real-world scenarios
Hussein [9] 2015 Game-based Contribution: Experimented the application of a game-based student response system, Kahoot
learning system in PM
Based on the students’ evaluation, the author found that the three learning methods that were
particularly significant in relation to students’ learning experience were: lectures, in-class gaming
exercises and using the game-based student response system Kahoot
Hussein [9] 2015 Game-based Benefits of game-based learning in PM:
learning system - Gaming exercises can be used to provoke students’ insights and pre-made assumptions
about project work
They help create students engagement and provoke motivation
Hussein [9] 2015 Game-based Conditions for efficient application of game-based learning:
learning system 1. Feedback: Giving Individual on-time feedback to the students, where the real learning expe-
rience can nurture
Giving group feedback and comment on the performance of each group
2. Debriefing: Planning for quizzing sessions for students
3. Design of games: Games should be designed in a way as to demonstrate how the presence of
PM Knowledge, skills, and attitudes can affect the performance of the project
4. Size of group: the size of the group of students should be limited. Feedback will be difficult
in case of large groups

in class lecture Analysis of Case Studies

game based Audiovisual
Open Discussion Guest lectures

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Fig. 1 Teaching methods applied in the case studies, Author.

used their architecture and visual design skills to design a pos-
ter that represents one of the management pioneers. Fig. 4
shows different samples from the exercise of designing a logo
from materials available in class, where all members should
reflect their personal features in a unified logo.
3.1.2. Outdoor team work activities
Students were asked to work as a team to make an interview
with the managers/architects and HR in a number of reputable
Fig. 2 Sample of group discussion through the design of the
decision-making situation.
architecture design organizations. This activity aimed at both
enhancing their perception and knowledge about the nature
of management in real world projects and practicing skills like
interviewing. The output the students had from interviews was
to be documented into an info graphic poster, which merges
the existing skills of architecture students together with other
presentation skills, Fig. 5.
3902 L.M. Khodeir

Fig. 3 Sample of the self-leaning posters activity (timeline for

pioneers of management).

3.2. Assessment practices and feedback

The applied methods of assessment in the two case studies

included assessing the skills that have been integrated through
blended learning methods. The assessment took the form of
both in-class feedback and outdoor one, in order to compre-
hensively assess students. The outdoor methods included
allowing students to experience learning opportunities.
Fig. 6 Sample final feedback generic at the end of the course.
The feedback for outdoor activities was conducted to both
posters and verbal presentation. A template was used to eval-
uate the presentation; it was designed by the author and it

Fig. 4 Team building activity, logo design, Author.

Fig. 5 Outdoor team work activity, Author.

Blended Learning Methods as an Approach to Teaching Project Management to Architecture Students 3903

30.0 included clear criteria for effective presentation. Student teams

At. As. PP. were involved in the evaluation and had to give instant feed-
25.0
back to their colleagues from other groups. This method dele-
20.0 gated the responsibility of evaluation and grading to students
15.0 themselves, where they had to use their critical thinking skills,
guided by the evaluation criteria. This method also enhances
10.0 the persuasion skills of the presenting groups, where they
5.0 had to use them to convince other students to give them high
grades. The feedback and grading of posters were done by the
0.0
teaching assistants who participated in teaching the course,
G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12 G13 G14
either in the specified year or in previous years, thus to enhance
Fig. 7 Qualitative generic feedback on students’ performance. their engagement with the course. They had to give score to

Table 3 Findings of applied blended methods matrix and their assessment.

(continued on next page)

3904
Table 3 (continued)
specific criteria in the poster, as prescribed in the course work
brief.
3.2.1. Generic team work feedback
The generic feedback is generally produced at the end of the
course, Fig. 6. It generally offers student teams an overview
on their performance, either descriptively or qualitatively.
Descriptive type of feedback summarizes the basic potentials
and drawbacks of groups along the course. All instructing
teams shared in documenting this feedback and added to it,
based on their observation and on the weekly performance
reports of each group to avoid bias. Qualitative feedback ana-
lyzes the performance of teams based on three basic factors,
Fig. 7. Firstly, students’ attendance in teamwork in class
reflected the commitment and discipline of the group. Sec-
ondly, the assignments’ grades included the academic perfor-
mance and the team work efficiency throughout the course.
Finally, the group final presentation assessed the performance
of the group as a team at the end of the course and after they
had been through the ‘‘performing” stage of team work.
4. Conclusions
This paper aimed at investigating the application of blended
learning approach as a method to support both knowledge
delivery and interest of students of Architecture towards learn-
ing Project management. The aim of the paper was achieved
through the analysis of blended teaching method through liter-
ature review and through the qualitative analysis of the applied
L.M. Khodeir
blended teaching methods in teaching the two different man-
agement courses. Table 3 demonstrates the key findings of this
paper in the form of a matrix of blended teaching methods that
were examined in case studies.
The matrix includes both blended teaching methods and the
methods of assessment of each. It sets basis for the exact
method of assessment or feedback and delegates the evaluation
to either the instructor or to the students themselves. This
matrix is of value to instructors involved in teaching PM
courses in the university level. Among the advantages that
was observed as a result of applying such methods were, an
improvement in the PM courses delivery and higher students’
performance along the years. In addition to achieving higher
engagement levels in the course and producing higher quality
course work products. Finally, the research recommends fur-
ther investigation to blended learning methods, either in the
process of their implantation or in examining their impact
on students’ satisfaction.
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learning of project management, Int. J. Proj. Manage. 26 (3)
(2008) 326–328.
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Change and complementarities in the new competitive
landscape: a European panel study, 1992–1996, Organ. Sci. 10
(1999) 583–600.
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[4] M.T. Pich, C.H. Loch, A. De Meyer, On uncertainty, ambiguity,
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Further reading
[14] Bassam A. Hussein, A blended learning approach to teaching
project management: a model for active participation and
involvement: insights from Norway, Educ. Sci. 5 (2015) 104–
125.