A Study of Using BIM as an Innovated Teaching Tool in an Estimating Class - A Preliminary Report

The construction process involves using two dimensional drawings to construct three dimensional objects. Teaching the reading and interpreting of these drawings and using the drawings in estimating is done in class by verbal explanation and demonstration with minimal use of three dimensional drawings for illustration. Existing research shows that visual illustrations significantly contribute to teaching construction topics by improving the demonstration of complicated concepts such as building components. To provide a greater coverage of building information modeling (BIM) in the curriculum of an ACCE accredited construction program, and to test the effectiveness of an innovative approach to teaching plan reading and estimating, faculty members of this program integrated BIM into an estimating class by having the students first create a BIM model of a portion of a selected building project, then perform the quantity take-off for that portion. Outcomes of the integration are measured by a comparison of quiz grades from the trial class with those of previous semesters, and by students’ responses to a questionnaire. This paper presents the development and implementation of this innovated construction estimating course. It also reports preliminary finding of the effectiveness of using BIM as a teaching tool in this course.