Different Perspectives on Teaching Lean Construction

There has been limited documentation in the literature on the structure of Lean Construction (LC) teaching. This may be due to the existence of multiple theoretical interpretations of LC and how its concepts may be adapted and applied in different project life cycle phases by using various tools, systems, and processes. To contribute to the discussion on teaching LC, this paper describes three distinct perspectives based on the authors’ experiences teaching in universities in the U.S. and Brazil. Specifically, we discuss how our teaching approaches involve readings, lectures, discussions, simulation exercises, team projects and assignments, field trips, and guest speakers to mix theory with action. This paper seeks to (1) document experiences and lessons learned from multiple LC course offerings and (2) promote the exchange of ideas between those teaching LC. Leveraging our unique teaching approaches and lessons learned, we develop basic recommendations for teaching an introductory course on LC in universities. While this paper’s primary audience will be those who teach university students, we hope those who teach practitioners will also benefit from the proposed instruction structure, participate in the conversation on teaching LC, and offer new ideas for providing “proof of concept” to students.