A BIM-Enabled Learning Environment: a Conceptual Framework

Purpose – Creating a BIM-enabled learning space that spans both higher education and industry offers the possibility of immersive and integrated learning on the basis of real, up-to-date project data for a new generation of students who will be “BIM natives” and can “think in BIM”. This paper aims to elaborate the concept of BIM as a learning environment so that it can be produced for Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) educational purposes.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The complementary theoretical lenses of Experiential Learning, Structuration Theory and Systems Theory are adopted for conceptualising a BIM-enabled Learning Environment (BLE).
Findings – The BLE is proposed in the form of a social system embedded within both the education system and the industry system. The BLE is described in terms of its structures and component subsystems, inputs, outputs and flows at different scales.
Research Limitations/Implications – In this initial paper, the BLE is merely outlined and its constituent structures alluded to. Further investigation is required to fully detail the BLE.
Practical Implications – By describing the identified structures in still more detail, the BLE can be understood to the extent that it can be reproduced in practice for actual learning. This is the goal and expectation going forward.
Originality/Value – The derived BLE is described in social terms and this reflects the centrality of social activity to both building and learning. Technology, processes and traditional industry roles are subordinated into supporting functions. This potentially offers opportunities for learners to reflect on all of these and to consider ways of improving them.