Teaching Engineering Surveying in a Civil Engineering Program: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment

As engineering surveying is highly concerned with its intensive involvement in the construction of roads and bridges, drainage systems, buildings, railways, and tunnels in civil engineering, the subject of engineering surveying is being offered by the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics to all undergraduate students who are taking the Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree Program in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Under the new outcome-based curriculum and work-integrated education requirements, the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment for the subject are described here by answering the questions of “what are the goals and objectives of the curriculum,” “what should students learn,” and “how should it be learned, taught, and assessed.”     

Construction Engineering and Management Undergraduate Education

Construction education is not new. It was a part of the practical aspects of many early civil engineering degree programs. As early as the 1920's, specializations in construction engineering were found in a few civil engineering programs, paralleling structural engineering and other areas. However, the gradual need for more specialization than could normally be integrated in the civil engineering degree eventually led to the formation of some construction specialty degree undergraduate programs, particularly after World War II. This paper documents the historical evolution of construction education, promotes construction as a stand-alone professional engineering discipline, provides information for schools that are interested in starting an undergraduate construction engineering and management (CEM) degree program, and discusses the engineering accreditation aspects of the CEM curriculum and the role of the construction industry in the CEM curriculum development.     

Educating Civil Engineers to Work in Space

This paper addresses the role of civil engineering in space operations and its impact on undergraduate education. The history of civil engineering and its role in society is discussed. The increasing complexity of the civil engineer's responsibilities from ancient times to the present is articulated. New civil engineering challenges fostered by man's quest to explore and inhabit the solar system and beyond are addressed. These challenges give rise to new requirements for the undergraduate education of tomorrow's civil engineers. The U.S. Air Force Academy's attempt to respond to these new undergraduate requirements is described. The civil engineering curriculum at the Air Force Academy emphasizes preparation for the unique challenges associated with space exploration and habitation. It is described and presented as a model for other undergraduate civil engineering programs that wish to focus on aerospace engineering activities into the 21st century.     

Teaching of Hydraulic Design at University of Newcastle upon Tyne

At the University of Newcastle, Hydraulic Engineering Design is part of the fourth (final) year curriculum of the (undergraduate) MEng course and of the 1-year (postgraduate) MSc course. The prerequisites are a good foundation in basic civil engineering subjects and a working knowledge of hydrology, hydraulic structures, and advanced hydraulics as covered in the previous 3 years of the undergraduate BSc course. Hydraulic Engineering Design is taught as a subject in its own right in two modules with 36 h contact each and 64 h private study requirement each. Module A is oriented toward computer-aided design. Module B has three major components: advanced topics in dam and reservoir hydraulics, hydraulic design of highway and irrigation structures, and structural design aspects of hydraulic structures. The structure of the course is continuously updated and further details together with one example of set coursework from each module are included in the paper. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of and ability in design; the lecturers involved in the teaching of the modules should preferably have experience in hydraulic engineering design. The emphasis in teaching, apart from explanations of the factual background to the various topics, is on the demonstration of alternative solutions to the design problems, bearing in mind environmental, economic, and sociological aspect. It is important that students, in dealing with their open-ended assignments, show the ability of independent thinking. Hydraulic problems are part of integrated civil engineering design assignments in the Newcastle undergraduate BEng course (e.g., drainage and water supply), but the Hydraulic Engineering Design course discussed in this paper is needed for a deeper understanding of various problems and for a mature design philosophy in a specialized area of civil engineering. Civil engineering courses at U.K. universities are (in addition to teaching and research assessments) subjected to a rigorous professional assessment by the Institution of Civil Engineers, as their degree qualifications are a basic part of the requirements for the status of a chartered engineer. The design courses are a vital component in the institution assessment procedure.     

Failure of Constructed Facilities in Civil Engineering Curricula

The responses to a survey of engineering course contents are summarized. In 1998 a questionnaire was sent to 238 Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) -accredited universities and 62 ABET-accredited civil engineering (CE) technical colleges across the United States. The questionnaire focused on the inclusion of failure awareness of constructed facilities in the CE education curriculum. Of the 300 questionnaires sent, 112 were returned. Survey results reveal that, although a majority of colleges recognize the importance and need of providing failure analysis topics in CE courses, they also feel the undergraduate curriculum to be already crowded. In addition, the respondents say that ABET should not establish an accreditation requirement regarding the subject. However, 37% of the colleges say that three or more lectures should be given on failure analysis, either integrated throughout the course or given in series all at once. And, more than half of the respondents think that condition assessment and maintenance of constructed facilities is a topic that should be included in the CE undergraduate curricula.     

Failure Analysis Case Study Information Disseminator

Since 1989, the American Society of Civil Engineers Technical Council on Forensic Engineering has conducted two surveys to gauge the need for teaching failure analysis topics in the civil engineering curriculum. Although the surveys addressed different topics, the limited availability of instructional materials in failure analysis was a recurring theme. The purpose of this paper is to respond to each of the questionnaires by reporting on the ongoing development of a preliminary Internet web site whereby consultants can contribute failure case studies. These case studies will then be readily available for professors and instructors to use in stand-alone failure analysis courses. The case studies can also be used as supplemental material and can be integrated into existing general civil engineering curriculum courses as well.     

Problem-Based Learning in Structural Engineering Education

Structural engineering education has been based historically on specialization within the framework of a four-year undergraduate degree in civil engineering. Many practitioners, however, are concerned that modern civil engineering curricula are not meeting the needs of the structural engineering profession. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the conversation about undergraduate education and the increased technical skills requested by the structural engineering profession. Problem-based learning is presented as a strategy for expanding the civil engineering curriculum to include concentrated study and a problem-solving experience, as well as engaging students in the process of learning how to learn. The paper reports on our experience in incorporating problem-based learning within a senior-year project. The conclusions discuss the challenges of extending this learning format to additional students.     

Teaching Lessons Learned

This is a continuing series of quarterly articles on lessons learned and best practices in civil engineering education. The intent of the series is to reinforce good practices, describe new or developing practices, and provide a forum for what works well and what does not. It is hoped that this series will be an important quarterly read for all civil engineering educators and all those interested in what’s going on in civil engineering education today. Authors and topics will vary from issue to issue. Contact the associate editor, Mark Evans, if you wish to contribute to an upcoming issue.     

Tenure and Teaching

This is a continuing series of quarterly articles on lessons learned and best practices in civil engineering education. The intent of the series is to reinforce good practices, describe new or developing practices, and provide a forum for what works well and what does not. It is hoped that this series will be an important quarterly read for all civil engineering educators and all those interested in what’s going on in civil engineering education today. Authors and topics will vary from issue to issue. Contact the associate editor, Mark Evans, at mark.evans@usma.edu if you wish to contribute to an upcoming issue.     

Educating Students to be Creative Problem Solvers as 21st Century Engineers

This is a continuing series of quarterly articles on lessons learned and best practices in civil engineering education. The intent of the series is to reinforce good practices, describe new or developing practices, and provide a forum for what works well and what does not. It is hoped that this series will be an important quarterly read for all civil engineering educators and all those interested in what’s going on in civil engineering education today. Authors and topics will vary from issue to issue. Contact the associate editor, Mark Evans, at mark.evans@usma.edu if you wish to contribute to an upcoming issue.     

Forensics and Case Studies in Civil Engineering Education: State of the Art

This paper reviews the state of the art in the use of forensic engineering and failure case studies in civil engineering education. The study of engineering failures can offer students valuable insights into associated technical, ethical, and professional issues. Lessons learned from failures have substantially affected civil engineering practice. For the student, study of these cases can help place design and analysis procedures into historical context and reinforce the necessity of lifelong learning. Three approaches for bringing forensics and failure case studies into the civil engineering curriculum are discussed in this paper. These are stand-alone forensic engineering or failure case study courses, capstone design projects, and integration of case studies into the curriculum. Some of the cases have been developed and used in courses at the United States Military Academy and the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as at other institutions. Finally, the writers have tried to assemble many of the known sources of material, including books, technical papers, and magazine articles, videos, Web sites, prepared PowerPoint presentations, and television programs.     

Developing and Teaching a Course in “Applied Sustainability and Public Health in Civil Engineering Design” at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

This paper presents the writer’s pedagogical development and delivery of a new undergraduate course in applied sustainability and public health in civil engineering design in the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. This innovative course introduces undergraduate civil engineering students to methods in sustainability indicators, life-cycle analysis, environmental input-output analysis, and risk analysis to evaluate the environmental impacts and public health impacts of civil engineering design. The paper discusses the learning objectives and course themes of preventive design, multicriteria decision making, and systems-level analysis. The course syllabus and the design project in which students were asked to design a water transmission pipeline and evaluate its environmental impacts are discussed in detail. An overview of the pedagogical methods and student evaluation tools employed in the course is given. An evaluation of learning outcomes and student impressions of the course suggest that topics on design for environment, sustainable development in an international context, and the interface between sustainability, engineering, and policy development should be included in future editions of the course.     

Managing Changing Classroom Expectations

This is a continuing series of quarterly articles on lessons learned and best practices in civil engineering education. The intent of the series is to reinforce good practices, describe new or developing practices, and provide a forum for what works well and what does not. It is hoped that this series will be an important quarterly read for all civil engineering educators and all those interested in what’s going on in civil engineering education today. Authors and topics will vary from issue to issue. Contact the associate editor, Mark Evans, at mark.evans @usma.edu if you wish to contribute to an upcoming issue. Managing Changing Classroom Expectations     

Improving Student Confidence through Metacognative Learning

This is a continuing series of quarterly articles on lessons learned and best practices in civil engineering education. The intent of the series is to reinforce good practices, describe new or developing practices, and provide a forum for what works well and what does not. It is hoped that this series will be an important quarterly read for all civil engineering educators and all those interested in what’s going on in civil engineering education today. Writers and topics will vary from issue to issue. Contact the Associate Editor, Mark Evans, at mark.evans@usma.edu if you wish to contribute to an upcoming issue. Improving Student Confidence through Metacognative Learning     

Course in Professional Practice Issues

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and practitioners recognize professional practice issues as important in undergraduate civil engineering education. This paper describes a creative approach for incorporating professional practice issues into the civil engineering curriculum through a course entitled “Civil Engineering Practice.” This course has the following advantages: (1) It encourages active learning via activities as opposed to a traditional seminar; (2) forms long-term teaching partnerships with engineering professionals; (3) offers a venue where important yet distinct topics can be presented systematically; (4) provides the local engineering community with the opportunity to share its accomplishments and to further continuing education credits; (5) reinforces the professional practice elements of the capstone design project; and (6) supplies structured time where students can interact with potential employers and vice-versa. The course feedback from students, faculty, engineering professionals, and ABET evaluators has been overwhelmingly positive.     

Practical Summer Training in Civil and Construction Engineering for Cultivation of Professional Ability

The cultivation of professional ability for undergraduate civil and construction engineering students is very important to help them meet the challenges that await them in the fast changing world. This paper presents a thorough study of practical training in the field of civil and construction engineering. Based upon an extensive literature review of the practical training curriculum worldwide, questionnaires were provided to contractors, educators and students in Taiwan to assess problems in traditional summer practical training courses for civil and construction engineering in Taiwan. At the outset of the study, it was thought that the lack of available jobs for students might be related solely to the economy but the findings indicated that the reasons were more complex ranging from concerns about liability for students working in construction sites to traditional cultural concerns about whether apprentices should be paid. The Delphi method was used to study the problems that were identified, relating to planning, execution, evaluation, and development of the existing practical training programs. A refined and improved summer practical training curriculum is proposed for civil and construction engineering education in Taiwan based upon the findings. Although the survey related to practical training programs for engineering students was conducted in Taiwan, the results might vary in other countries. The procedures used, and results obtained may be valuable resources and have a potential use for other countries. What is certain is that practical training can play an important role in readying engineering students for the work place in any location and making the practical training as effective and as safe as possible should be a universal goal.     

Determining the Content of the First Course in Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineering constitutes a required portion of the civil engineering curriculum at over three-fourths of undergraduate civil engineering programs in the United States. The input of practicing transportation engineers is a critical source of information in determining the content of the first course in transportation engineering. A new survey was conducted in which respondents ranked 31 potential course topics by importance. The results are compared to a similar survey conducted 20?years before to determine which topics have increased in importance, which have become less critical to cover, and which continue to remain of high priority. Topics such as traffic safety and traffic flow characteristics are of considerably higher priority today than 20?years ago, while topics such as geometric design of highways and highway capacity studies continue to be of great importance. Preparation for follow-up and graduate coursework, for the Fundamentals of Engineering and Professional Engineer examinations, and issues of local setting are also considerations in determining the content of the first course in transportation engineering.     

Training Faculty to Teach Civil Engineering

Adoption of ASCE’s Policy Statement 465 and subsequent discussion of the what, how, and who of teaching the body of knowledge (BOK) that will be required for professional civil engineering practice has heightened the need for continued improvement in civil engineering education. ASCE has explicitly said the role of educators and practitioners in teaching the body of knowledge is critical and has listed faculty-related success factors for teaching the BOK. A key success factor is statement 465’s call for faculty and practitioners to properly prepare to “effectively engage students in the learning process.” This paper considers this challenge and discusses an instructor training program that effectively prepares faculty and practitioners to actively engage students in the learning process as envisioned by Policy Statement 465. We will show quantifiable evidence of the positive results gained by using this instructor training program through student and instructor feedback. Additionally, alternative shorter courses based on this program of preparation are highlighted that may be attended by the faculty of multiple engineering programs and by practitioners.     

Integrated Civil Engineering Curriculum: Five-Year Review

An integrated curriculum, which draws material from different areas to teach students about design and problem-solving, offers civil engineering educators an option for accommodating new topics without increasing the number of courses. Freshman engineering and the senior capstone course are two examples of integrated courses, and the writers present a 5-year perspective on an approach that extends the concept of integration to six additional courses, comprised of an 8-course, integrated civil engineering core curriculum. Drawing on their combined experiences with the courses and assessment in a review by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the writers conclude that the curriculum offers a useful vehicle by which to add material to the 4-year program without increasing the number of credit hours, and offers flexible courses to meet goals of professional groups. The paper describes lessons learned, challenges that remain, and current approaches to improvement.     

Undergraduate Research Mentoring Model in Construction Engineering and Management

The construction industry is a major player in the nation’s economy. The complex nature of the construction industry, coupled with the challenges of global competitiveness and changing regulatory requirements, has created the need for providing higher levels of education, experience, and training for construction professionals. An essential and integral component of the required education and training must be the research training of undergraduate civil and construction students, encouraging them to pursue advanced education and research careers in this area. With this in mind, the writer developed a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) summer program at Western Michigan University that focuses on construction engineering and management issues and problems. This construction-oriented undergraduate research training program is the first REU site in the United States to be funded by the National Science Foundation. This paper will describe the structure of the REU program, the types of activities undertaken by the REU participants, and the results of the program evaluation and assessment.