The growth in the adoption of sensing technologies in the construction industry has triggered the need for graduating construction engineering students equipped with the necessary skills for deploying the technologies. For construction engineering students to acquire technical skills for implementing sensing technologies, it is pertinent to engage them in hands-on learning with the technologies. However, limited opportunities for hands-on learning experiences on construction sites and in some cases, high upfront costs of acquiring sensing technologies are encumbrances to equipping construction engineering students with the required technical skills. Inspired by opportunities offered by mixed reality, this study presents an interactive holographic learning environment that can afford learners an experiential opportunity to acquire competencies for implementing sensing systems on construction projects. Firstly, this study explores the required competencies for deploying sensing technologies on construction projects. The current state of sensing technologies in the industry and sensing technology education in construction engineering and management programs were investigated. The learning contents of the holographic learning environment were then driven by the identified competencies. Afterwards, a learnability study was conducted with industry practitioners already adopting sensing technologies to assess the learning environment. Feedback from the learnability study was implemented to further improve the learning environment after which a usability evaluation was conducted. To investigate the pedagogical value of the learning environment in construction education, a summative evaluation was conducted with construction engineering students. This research contributes to the definition of the domain-specific skills required of the future workforce for implementing sensing technologies in the construction industry and how such skills can be developed and enhanced within a mixed reality learning environment. Through concise outline and sequential design of the user interface, this study further revealed that knowledge scaffolding can improve task performance in a holographic learning environment. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by advancing immersive experiential learning discourses previously confined by technology. It opens a new avenue for both researchers and practitioners to further investigate the opportunities offered by mixed reality for future workforce development. / Doctor of Philosophy / The construction industry is getting technically advanced and adopting various sensing technologies for improving construction project performance, reducing cost, and mitigating health and safety hazards. As a result, there is a demand in the industry for graduates that can deploy these sensing technologies on construction projects. However, for construction engineering students to acquire the skills for deploying sensing technologies, it is necessary that they are trained through hands-on interactions with these technologies. It is also imperative to take these students to construction sites for experiential learning of sensing technologies. This is difficult because most institutions often experience barriers and hindrances like weather constraints, difficulty in accessing jobsites, and schedule constraints. Also, while some institutions can afford these sensing technologies, others cannot, making it difficult to train students adequately. Due to the benefits of virtual learning environments (such as mixed reality and virtual reality), this study investigates a mixed reality (holographic) environment that can allow learners an experiential opportunity to acquire competencies for implementing sensing systems on construction projects. To achieve this, this research first investigated the required competencies such as skills, knowledge, and abilities for implementing sensing technologies on construction projects. The current state of sensing technologies in the industry and sensing technology education in construction engineering and management programs were investigated. The results from the first study in this research informed the learning contents of the learning environment. Afterwards, a learnability study was conducted with industry practitioners already adopting sensing technologies to assess the learning environment. Feedback from the learnability study was implemented to further improve the learning environment after which a usability evaluation was conducted. To investigate the pedagogical value of the learning environment in construction education, a summative evaluation was conducted with construction engineering students. The research contributes to the definition of the domain-specific skills required of the future workforce for implementing sensing technologies in the construction industry and how such skills can be developed and enhanced within a mixed reality learning environment. The design features such as the concise outline and sequential design of the user interface, further revealed that knowledge scaffolding can improve task performance in a mixed reality environment. This research further contributes to the body of knowledge by promoting immersive hands-on learning discourses previously confined by technology. It opens a new avenue for both researchers and practitioners to further investigate the opportunities offered by mixed reality for future workforce development.

The state of the economy has brought changes in the construction industry creating a more competitive employment environment in the construction industry as well as an increase in project requirements due to complexity, duration of work, fewer employees to do the work, and the type of projects being undertaken.  These changes have created an increased need for managers to possess both technical skills and also emotional competencies.  Employers are now seeking to hire individuals who exhibit emotional competencies and other soft skills, such as empathy, verbal communication and relationship building. Soft skills improve the development and maintenance of relationships among the diverse group of professionals necessary to complete projects.  With the construction industry being nomadic in nature, the ability to develop and maintain relationships can be especially important. Employers are placing more emphasis on these soft skills when evaluating potential hires and starting salaries. With these changes comes the realization that students seeking to gain employment in the industry need to have a competitive edge.  While soft skills are critical for students graduating from construction focused programs, opportunities to learn and enhance these skills are not always available within the curriculum. The majority of students graduating from college programs today are part of a generation referred to as Millennials"a generation differing greatly from those that have come before them. For Millennials to gain a competitive edge and maximize employment opportunities, they must first have an understanding of what the industry perceives students need to be successful in the industry.  Program curriculums must also find a way to produce students that offer more than just technical knowledge to employers.  This is not always possible within existing programs trying to meet the demands of accreditation requirements within the credit hours required.  One option construction focused programs could consider to incorporate opportunities for students to gain a competitive edge would be through the mandatory participation of a structured internship experience. This research sought to address these issues and offer insight into what characteristics industry felt were necessary for student success.  The work also sought to establish whether students had an understanding of these characteristics and whether they felt they were strong or deficient in these areas.  The research also identified the role internships played in current accredited construction focused programs and whether student participation in internships had an impact on their understanding of the characteristics required to be successful in the construction industry. / Ph. D.

The average age of principal farm operators rose from 50.3 years in 1978, to 57.1 years in 2007, as farmers retire and new farmers do not enter farming (NASS, 2013).With declining numbers of entrants into farming, agricultural educators and service providers must better understand strategies for effectively preparing beginning farmers. On-farm apprenticeships in the U.S. show promise as a means to prepare farmers and are increasing in number (Niewolny and Lillard, 2010). Lave (1988) writes 'knowledge-in-practice, constituted in the settings of practice, is the locus of the most powerful knowledgeability of people in the lived-in world' (p. 14). Thus, farming, as a complex set of interwoven skills, is best learned in situ, as situated learning. On-farm apprenticeships therefore may allow learners to construct knowledge in context, and build identities as farmers. In this thesis, I share findings from a mixed methods study that explored what kinds of on-farm apprenticeships are available, and to whom; and important educational practices, structures, and institutions that support on-farm apprenticeship learning. This study comprises data from a survey (N=45) of Virginia farmers who host apprentices, and interviews (N=12) with farmers and on-farm apprentices. Findings describe who undertakes on-farm apprenticeships, and suggest that apprentices develop expert identities through situated learning with farmers. Findings describe how farmers participate as educators, and how farms function as sites of situated learning. This study also found that on-farm apprenticeships are embedded within alternative food movements, with social reproduction potentially occurring. I also explore broader implications for preparing beginning farmers. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

This interview study investigates the embodied experiences of adult educators, exploring how they perceive and utilize bodily knowledge in their instructional practice. Through interviews and observations with five adult educators, the study highlights challenges in articulating the role of physical experiences in teaching. The study reveals four major themes: (a) participants perceive or approach instruction as a performance, engaging with various performance tools like voice, sound, proximity, and posture to impact content delivery and classroom management; (b) bodily knowledge informs the educator's improvisational skills as they receive sensory input and adapt to student and environmental cues during teaching; (c) while recognizing the importance of bodily knowledge, participants struggle to articulate and connect their physical experiences to instructional practice despite training in embodied learning and pedagogy; and (d) participants often prioritize tasks and student needs over attending to their bodily sensations during instruction. The study challenges assumptions about educators' identities. It underscores the complexity of integrating bodily knowing into teaching practice, advocating for further research into the embodied experiences of adult educators across diverse contexts. Recommendations include developing healthy physical habits and recognizing the 'felt sense' to enhance instructional effectiveness. Methodological suggestions advocate prioritizing bodily knowledge observed through movement and action and exploring movement analysis techniques. This study contributes to the evolving field of embodied education research and emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and leveraging the embodied aspects of teaching practice.

The purpose of this study was to determine how the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech can best focus their outreach efforts to benefit the local public school community. The study assessed the needs of local science teachers and how their needs can be met through educational outreach programs. A self-administered online survey was used to inquire about the use of experiential teaching methods using school gardens and other outdoor environments. The survey was also intended to determine interest in incorporating supplemental programs into the K-5 Montgomery County Public School curriculum to enhance the Virginia Standards of Learning related to plants and environmental science. The survey was sent to 273 K-5 teachers in the Montgomery County Public School System in Virginia. Because of the small number of responses, the results from the survey were not representative of the population, but were satisfactory to gain practical information for this study. Data analysis indicated existing programs, the need for programs, and how programs can best be implemented. Existing programs consisted of hands-on activities in the classroom including growing plants from seeds and dissecting and observing plant parts. Experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom included school gardening, observations on the school grounds, and outdoor field trips. Survey respondents indicated a need for supplemental programs related to plants and environmental science. Teachers reported interest in a school gardening program, having a guest speaker in the classroom, receiving curriculum support, and taking their class on a field trip to the Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech. Most teachers also showed interest in receiving in-service training to strengthen their knowledge of plants and environmental science. Based on the results of the study, there is a need for supplemental programs related to plants and environmental science. Engaging lessons should be developed to assist teachers with school gardening programs. Experiential learning opportunities such as meaningful field trips should also be developed. Other methods to supplement school curriculum include providing teachers with curriculum materials and lesson kits. All programs developed should correlate to the state-mandated standards. / Master of Science

Sustainability professionals often lack the intercultural competencies needed to effectively engage in the cooperative, collaborative work that must be accomplished to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Higher education institutions are well-positioned to help meet this need. However, challenges related to buy-in, time, expertise, and diverse and conflicting priorities can create barriers to developing and integrating curriculum for intercultural learning into disciplinary courses. This dissertation presents a case study that describes how graduate program faculty at Virginia Tech, where the author works, overcame these challenges to design intercultural curriculum into an online, asynchronous graduate course in global sustainability. We began with an in-depth literature review to identify the intercultural competencies that sustainability professionals need and the pedagogical practices that support their development. The literature review indicated that sustainability professionals would be well served by having the ability to behave and communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations. This competence relies on the development of certain cognitive, behavioral, and affective skills that can be developed through increased self-awareness and other-awareness and practicing mindful engagement. Educators can support students in this by designing curriculum that moves students through the experiential learning cycle and leads to transformed meaning perspectives. We then engaged in a curriculum redesign process to integrate these competencies and pedagogies into our graduate curriculum using a backward design approach. We empowered faculty through backward design to first articulate intercultural learning outcomes prioritized the development of related learning experiences. In addition, we organized two off-site retreats that provided participants with unstructured time together, which fostered the supportive, trusting relationships necessary for ongoing, successful collaboration and led to enthusiasm for and connection to the intercultural content that was developed. Finally, we involved faculty with expertise in intercultural competence development in the redesign process to help define intercultural concepts and develop pedagogically appropriate curriculum. Collaborative backward design enabled us to successfully develop and integrate intercultural learning into our course. This process highlighted the likely need for ongoing institutional commitment to encourage, maintain, and evaluate these efforts. It also revealed that financial constraints, institutional capacity, and an online, asynchronous format present additional barriers and challenges to the development of intercultural curriculum using a collaborative backward design approach. / Doctor of Philosophy / Intercultural competence, the ability to behave and communicate appropriately and effectively with people from different cultures, is important for professionals who work in the environmental field and must address problems that cross local, regional, and national boundaries. Although graduate programs can help aspiring environmental professionals develop intercultural competence, university faculty face challenges related to buy-in, time, expertise, and diverse and conflicting priorities that inhibit the development of relevant curriculum. This dissertation presents a case study that describes how faculty at Virginia Tech, where the author works, overcame these challenges to design curriculum for intercultural competence development into an online, asynchronous graduate course in global sustainability. We began with an in-depth literature review of intercultural learning theory, competencies, models to understand how intercultural competence is developed and to identify intercultural competencies and instructional approaches that are the most appropriate for a graduate course in global environmental sustainability. We then engaged in a curriculum redesign effort that coupled a proven approach to curriculum with strategies to promote collaboration. We empowered faculty to first articulate intercultural competence outcomes, which prioritized the development of related learning experiences. In addition, we organized two off-site retreats that provided participants with unstructured time together, which fostered the supportive, trusting relationships necessary for ongoing, successful collaboration and led to enthusiasm for and connection to the intercultural curriculum that was developed. Finally, we involved faculty with expertise in intercultural competence development in the process to help define intercultural concepts and develop appropriate curriculum. Using a proven curriculum design process enabled us to successfully develop and integrate intercultural learning into our course. Our collaborative curriculum design process highlighted the likely need for ongoing institutional commitment to encourage, maintain, and evaluate these efforts. It also revealed that financial constraints, institutional capacity, and an online, asynchronous format present additional barriers and challenges to development of intercultural curriculum using a collaborative curriculum design approach.

Groundwater related courses are offered through several colleges at Virginia Tech. These classes enroll a diverse group of students with varied academic backgrounds and educational levels. Though these classes emphasize different aspects of groundwater resources, they lack a unified approach in instructional materials and learning methodologies for knowledge they do share. The goals of this research are to lessen the impact of variable student backgrounds and to better integrate the courses to improve teaching and learning, through the development of a multi-tiered, interdisciplinary website, Groundwater Interactive (GWI). GWI, as an educational technology, employs a variety of interactive multimedia. The primary educational components of the website include interactive and graphical models and quizzes, and a student-authored primer. An implementation strategy based on experiential and cooperative learning models is developed for application of the GWI tool in the classroom. An assessment methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of these new learning methods and techniques was also developed, but was not implemented as part of this work. / Master of Science

Chapter 1 examines alternative specifications of futures-based forecasting models to improve upon existing approaches constrained by restrictive assumptions and limited information sets. We replace historical averages with rolling regressions and incorporate current market information through the deviation of the current basis from its historical average. To address potential non-stationarity and structural changes in the cash-futures price relationship, we employ a five-year rolling estimation window. Our findings indicate that the rolling regression approach yields significant improvements in both accuracy and information content of cotton season-average price forecasts, primarily at short forecast horizons. Chapter 2 addresses challenges in vulnerability assessment for semi-arid regions dependent on rainfed agriculture, where extreme weather events pose significant risks to household livelihoods. Despite advancements in remotely sensed technology, accurately estimating weather variability's impact on household livelihoods remains challenging. This study evaluates the effects of weather anomaly measures, spatial resolutions (i.e., geographic level at which the weather anomaly measures are evaluated), and household characteristics on household likelihood of falling into poverty (i.e., vulnerability) estimates. Combining household consumption data for Niger with remotely sensed agro-environmental measures, we find significant variations in vulnerability estimates based on the use of various weather condition measures (3 percentage points, equivalent to 600,000 households), spatial resolutions (8 percentage points, totalling 1.6 million households), and household characteristics (10 percentage points, equivalent to approximately 2 million households). Chapter 3 evaluates student learning outcomes from student involvement in hands-on learning settings, specifically focusing on student-managed investment funds. To assess the changes in the obtained technical and practical skills, we combine knowledge tests with grading rubrics. As part of practical skills, we consider commodity market analysis, critical thinking, informed decision-making, and insightful interpretation of market analysis results. We evaluate our students' understanding of commodity markets and their practical trading skills before and after joining the student-managed investment fund program. We find significant improvements in student learning outcomes, with students showing an average increase of 28% in disciplinary or technical knowledge and 38% in practical skills. Our findings highlight the importance of hands-on learning experiences to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application and in developing the well-rounded skill set demanded by the job market. / Doctor of Philosophy / Chapter 1 explores several alternative specifications of futures-based forecasting models to improve existing approaches constrained by restrictive assumptions and limited information sets. Accurate prediction of cotton prices is vital for the agricultural sector, significantly impacting decisions made by farmers, traders, and policymakers. Reliable forecasts enable farmers to optimize their planting and harvesting strategies, allow traders to manage risk more effectively, and guide policymakers in developing informed agricultural policies. However, the inherent volatility of commodity markets, particularly cotton, presents substantial challenges to price forecasting. Traditional forecasting methods often struggle to capture rapid market changes, resulting in less reliable predictions. Our proposed more responsive forecasting approaches lead to a significant gain in accuracy and information content of cotton price projection and provide valuable insights that can enhance decision-making processes throughout the cotton industry. Chapter 2 explores how extreme weather events, like droughts, affect households in semi-arid regions where people's livelihood largely depends on rain-fed farming. While satellite technology helps monitor environmental changes, it is still challenging to accurately measure how weather changes impact people's lives. Our study focuses on Niger and uses household survey data to assess how various factors influence our understanding of the risk of falling into poverty (i.e., household vulnerability) due to adverse weather events. We found that the methods we use to measure weather conditions, the geographic scale at which we measure them, and the household information we include can all significantly alter our estimates of how many households are at risk of becoming poor. For example, different methods for measuring weather impacts can change estimates of household vulnerability by about 3 percentage points, affecting around 600,000 households. The geographic level (administrative unit level or within a 20 km buffer around an enumeration area) at which we assess weather conditions can shift our estimates by 8 percentage points, which is equivalent to 1.6 million households. Additionally, considering different household characteristics can change our estimates by 10 percentage points, impacting around 2 million households. Our findings are crucial for policymakers who aim to better understand and address the effects of weather on vulnerable communities. Chapter 3 evaluates student learning outcomes from participation in the Commodity Investing by Students program, a student-managed investment fund within the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech. Our study focuses on students from the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, assessing both their technical knowledge and practical skills gained during a year-long involvement in the program. To measure changes in technical skills, we administered knowledge-testing quizzes before and after the training class. Practical skills, such as commodity market analysis, critical thinking, informed decision-making, and insightful interpretation of market analysis results, we evaluated through trading projects submitted during and at the end of the training class. We grade these student submissions using a specific practical skill evaluation rubric. We find significant improvements in student learning outcomes. On average, students demonstrated a 28% increase in disciplinary knowledge and a 38% improvement in practical skills. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of hands-on learning in improving both technical knowledge and practical skills that are highly valued in today's job market.

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents a multi-method investigation of first-year engineering students’ extracurricular and co-curricular (extra-/co-curricular) participation, examining its impact on their professional development and well-being. Through three interrelated studies, this dissertation aims to broaden conceptualizations of extracurricular participation and to develop a holistic framework capturing the ways in which these activities and experiences influence students.</p><p dir="ltr">The first study analyzed survey data from 710 first-year engineering students to characterize what about participation in a given extra-/co-curricular experience is impactful to students and to identify patterns in how students choose to participate in one or more extra-/co-curricular activities. Exploratory factor analysis identified seven dimensions of participation that characterize students’ participation experiences in a given activity, spanning social and career-related aspects: career-related experiences, professional development and networking, community engagement and leadership, financial support, social integration, peer-influenced exploration, and mentorship and peer relationships. Cluster analysis identified five profiles of participation in specific extra-/co-curricular activities: social-focused, career-preparation, comprehensive, interest-driven, and paid work. Findings show that many students seek a balance of experiences, with few activities characterized solely by engineering-specific elements and many students participating in combinations of recreational and career-preparation activities.</p><p dir="ltr">The second study analyzed 860 short-text, open-ended survey responses, investigating how students perceived the benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation in relation to dimensions of wellness. This analysis identified four themes in how students perceived the benefits of their participation: fostering a sense of community and belonging, offering peer mentorship and support networks, facilitating authentic experiences and career exploration, and supporting stress management and overall well-being through interest-driven participation. These themes spanned multiple wellness dimensions, including social, emotional, occupational, and intellectual wellness, with patterns in the benefits students perceived by type of extra-/co-curricular activity.</p><p dir="ltr">The third study examined the use of natural language processing (NLP) approaches to facilitate the analysis of the short-text, open-response survey datasets. This study compared NLP-facilitated results to the manual analysis of the open-response survey data, demonstrating consistency between these approaches. Findings also demonstrate areas where integrating NLP-facilitated results with manual analysis helped improve the codebook and resulting analysis.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation characterizes key dimensions and perceived benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation that support students’ professional development and well-being. By investigating how first-year engineering students participate in and benefit from extra-/co-curricular activities in complement to the curriculum, this research contributes to broader efforts in engineering education to create more inclusive and engaging learning environments.</p>

Over the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of adults enrolling in institutions of higher education across America. Adult students presently constitute nearly one-half of all undergraduate enrollment. This influx of adults has generated interest in nontraditional programs, including external degree programs, degree completion programs, and prior learning assessment programs. The purpose of this study was to determine if an association existed between membership in the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and quality in prior learning assessment services as provided by senior level institutions in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting region. CAEL has been a pioneer in developing adult degree programs and commissioned Urban Whitaker in 1989 to define the standards for quality in such programs. A survey instrument utilizing these standards, principles, and procedures as the criteria for quality prior learning assessment services was mailed to a random sample of CAEL member and non-member institutions in the Southern Association accrediting region. Member and non-member responses were compared utilizing the Chi-square statistical analysis to determine any differences.