The 5 W Construction Challenge

To encourage Secondary School Students to become more actively involved during their Educational Site Tours, Robertson introduced an activity called the 5 W Construction Challenge.

It was apparent from previous site tours that some of the students were much more confident that others in asking questions. To resolve this, Robertson wanted to provide an experience that engaged all students and gave them the opportunity to feel empowered in being able to ask questions during the visit.

The 5 W Construction Challenge is where each student receives a laminated card which has a picture of a piece of equipment or a material that can be found on a construction site. They are given the card just before the tour and asked to see if they can spot this whilst the tour is being conducted.

The Site Manager will give the students a set of instructions beforehand informing them to let him/her know when they have found the item on the card. The Students will then be prompted to ask one, two or possibly all the questions on the card depending on how confident they feel. They will also be encouraged to ask a question of their own, if they have one.

Benefits

The challenge has been well received by all the schools involved and Robertson have seen more students becoming engaged during visits. In fact, Robertson have noticed an overall improvement in student’s knowledge of construction processes. By effectively educating students, this initiative has proven to be beneficial for promoting construction to the next generation of workers.