Online construction site visit: Studying construction students’ collaborative problem-solving behaviors

Online site visits are becoming an increasingly viable educational tool for construction educators, particularly when traditional site visits face logistical challenges, are inaccessible, or pose safety hazards to students. Given the multidisciplinary nature of construction, successful project execution requires collaboration and problem-solving among experts from diverse fields. Recent research has begun to explore integrating collaboration and communication tools into virtual reality (VR) site visits to simulate the real-world interactions students would experience on physical site visits. However, there remains a limited understanding of how students perform and engage in collaborative problem-solving within these virtual environments. This gap in knowledge may affect the design of learning content that effectively integrates collaborative communication tools, potentially hindering the development of students' problem-solving skills in a virtual setting. This study investigated how construction students engage in collaborative problem-solving during an online site visit delivered through an online VR collaborative platform. The online site visit focused on building mechanical systems and an observational experiment was conducted with student pairs completing collaborative tasks. A mixed-method approach was used, combining behavioral observations, instructor assessment based on the PISA framework, and post surveys. The result indicated the critical importance of integrating collaborative communication tools, such as real-time voice chat, virtual pointers, and text-based chat, within online site visits. Instructor scaffolding was also found to be essential for supporting collaborative learning and addressing technical challenges. Key collaborative behaviors, including building shared understanding and enacting plans, were positively correlated with learning outcomes. Survey results further revealed high levels of student engagement, self-efficacy, and system usability. The finding from this research has the potential to advance understanding of the effectiveness of online site visits in developing students’ collaborative problem-solving abilities, a critical component of construction education.