Leveraging BIM technology in vocational education: an Information-Driven teaching reform for prefabricated buildings

The integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology in prefabricated buildings (PBs) can fully leverage its advantages of accuracy, industrialization, and informatization. This technology has the potential to accelerate the development of PBs, greatly enhance work efficiency, achieve high engineering returns, and facilitate the sustainable advancement of the construction sector. However, the promotion and implementation of BIM technology in the PB design and construction still face many challenges, in terms of vocational education, a significant reason is mainly due to the lack of a comprehensive curriculum teaching system. Therefore, this paper proposes a teaching reform mode for cultivating relevant professional and technical personnel based on BIM technology for the PB course. The reform focuses on four dimensions: teaching system, teaching content, teaching methods, and teaching assessment. In the teaching reform, the development concept and key technologies of PBs are imparted to students, cultivating their sustainable thinking and behavior, and promoting their awareness of sustainable development across social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Finally, taking the course 'Building Structure' as an example, a two-year teaching experiment was conducted with a group of 78 students specializing in engineering management. Questionnaire research is implemented, and the effectiveness of the teaching reform model is assessed by comparing it with the results from the previous teaching year. Based on the research findings, improvement plans are put forward to further enhance the teaching approach. By implementing these reforms in the engineering management professional PB course, this study aims to provide an effective teaching model for talent cultivation in the sustainable growth of the construction industry.