Figure 1.
PENDER, Gareth, STEWART, William & WILLIAMS, Karl
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, http://www.civil.gla.ac.uk
Abstract: The paper describes changes to the M.Eng. degree in Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, and in particular the introduction of case study based teaching. The changes have been made in recognition of the SARTOR3 recommendations of the Engineering Council and in the light of personal experience with the existing degree programme. In the revised programme students in their final year will work on four major case studies with little or no formal teaching. Also, in the earlier years greater use will be made of problem and project-based learning exercises to prepare students for their final year work. The changes are designed to give students the opportunity to apply knowledge gained from traditional lecture courses to practical design problems, and to develop their transferable skills in communication, time management and information technology. The aim is to produce graduates who will be able to make a rapid transition from university to industry, and so quickly become a productive member of staff for their employer.
Keywords: problem-based learning, project-based learning, case studies
In the UK, civil engineering employers have traditionally invested heavily in the training of graduate civil engineers, where new graduates who are knowledgeable in the core analytical engineering subjects receive extensive on the job training to turn them into productive members of the design or site supervision team. In today's highly competitive world, however, employers have fewer resources to invest in training and are aiming for a faster return on their training investment. This has resulted in a call for universities to produce graduates with the skills necessary to ensure a swift transition from new recruit to productive employee.
Traditional teaching styles on engineering degree courses are designed to teach and assess the application of analytical techniques; they are less suited to providing the experience, confidence and self-reliance necessary to work successfully in an industrial context. In recognition of this, the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Glasgow has recently undertaken a major redesign of its undergraduate course content and method of delivery. The aim is to enhance student confidence and provide some limited experience of engineering problem solving applied to real-life design.
Central to this is the introduction of problem based learning through the use of industrial case studies, where students are given the opportunity to apply knowledge gained from traditional lecture courses to practical design problems. An additional benefit is that this approach will also develop transferable skills in communication (both written and oral), time management and information technology and provides the opportunity for innovation in developing design solutions.
The paper discusses changes made to the civil engineering courses taught at the University of Glasgow to include case studies and the role of industry in developing these. Examples will be given of case studies from the fields of water engineering, geotechnical engineering and construction management.
Most of the existing M.Eng. degrees in Civil Engineering offered by UK universities were set up following the publication of the Finniston Report (1980) on the competitiveness of engineering manufacturing, and were designed to produce a small number of highly qualified engineering graduates capable of operating as "captains of industry" within their respective engineering disciplines. In 1997, the Engineering Council (the registration body for professional engineers in the UK) revised the routes to registration with the publication of the document "Standards and Routes to Registration", 3rd edition, 1997 (SARTOR3). This redefined the purpose of the M.Eng. degree from the original Finniston concept in that, from October 1999, the M.Eng. degree will be the direct route to becoming a chartered engineer. Graduates with the currently more common degree of B.Eng who begin their studies after 1999 will be required to undertake additional training equivalent to one year of academic post-graduate study prior to becoming professionally qualified. It is considered that the M.Eng. route will be more attractive to able school leavers, and many of the UK universities, including Glasgow University, are revising their degree programmes to take account of this change in emphasis. The aims of the M.Eng. degree are to produce graduates who possess advanced problem solving skills, understand civil engineering management, communicate clearly and can continually develop their expertise to meet the changing demands of society.
The existing course at the University of Glasgow is based largely around the use of traditional teaching methods. Most information is delivered in lectures, assimilated by students through the solution of tutorial problems and tested in written examinations. The principal advantage of this style of teaching is that it is a cost-effective means of delivering and assessing the core analytical skills required by engineers. Cost-effectiveness is measured in terms of staff contact time and use of teaching accommodation.
A detailed review of the course, however, considered it to be deficient in the following ways:
These deficiencies combine to hinder new graduates from developing early productivity in the work place and the new course has been designed to rectify these.
The overall course structure is shown in Fig. 1. The revisions attempt to retain the advantages of traditional lecture courses, while introducing a coherent programme of problem based learning activities throughout the course.
Figure 1.
In the first four years, emphasis is placed on developing the students' analytical problem solving skills using predominately traditional teaching methods. However, this is now linked to a coherent programme of problem based learning activities running throughout all years. The aim is to couple the necessary analytical knowledge and skills to active learning, thereby enabling students to work independently on technically challenging case studies in Year 5.
Experience from problem based learning courses on the existing degree, Pender et al (1999), indicated that it was essential to encourage students to adopt an active attitude to learning from Year 1. A significant number of course credits have therefore been allocated to courses where success requires students to take initiative and actively apply their analytical skills. Design 1, for example, includes a substantial model building exercise where students are required to "design" and construct a model of a civil engineering structure, such as a bridge, grandstand or railway station. While no calculations are undertaken in the design process, useful lessons on the structural behaviour of ties, struts, columns and beams are learned. These examples are used to reinforce theoretical material taught in structural engineering lectures later in the course. In subsequent years the technical difficulty of the problem based learning exercises increases to match the students' level of analytical knowledge.
An important component of problem based learning submissions is that students are required to explain, through combinations of written, oral or graphical communication, how they have arrived at their chosen solution. To aid in developing the communication skills a 20 credit component of the first year is devoted to this topic, and includes an extensive research and presentation exercise which provides the opportunity for students to begin developing group working, organisational and oral presentation skills. The exercise is modelled on that described in Jennings and Ferguson (1996).
In Year 5, students will work in groups with the minimum of guidance on the analysis and design of real civil engineering problems, each of which will require the evaluation of a number of alternative solutions. To succeed, students will have to supplement the knowledge they have gained from the earlier years of the course through research and background reading. Case study submissions will be in the form of a detailed report evaluating the options considered and recommending a preferred solution. This type of report is very commonly required in the civil engineering industry.
By the end of Year 4 all students will have been exposed to the knowledge, know-how and skills necessary to undertake the case studies. The case study ethos is therefore one of involvement and action on the part of the students, with the academic staff involved acting as facilitators rather than instructors. The emphasis throughout is on students learning from experience rather than being taught.
As part of the upgrading of the A87 Invergary to Kyle of Lochalsh trunk road in the north west highlands of Scotland, the Dornie Bridge replaced the existing low capacity bridge at the head of Loch Long. The bridge comprises 10 x 26m spans of M8 pre-stressed pre-tensioned concrete beams spanning between 2 piled abutments and 9 piled piers, the latter consisting of a pre-stressed post-tensioned crosshead supported by 2 x 8m high octagonal columns supported by the pile cap.
Students are provided with a full set of construction drawings, together with copies of the contract Specification, the Conditions of Contract and an unpriced Bill of Quantities. Using these they are required to compile a method statement and construction plan for the bridge. This requires:
Each group of students is required to submit a comprehensive written report covering details of all calculations carried out in connection with temporary works design and in connection with the planning process. Additionally, the report should contain some cogent justification of the planning decisions made.
With a view to demonstrating their level of understanding of the technical aspects of the case study, together with their capacity for original, critical and systematic thought in the context of construction management, each group is require to undergo a comprehensive 2 hour 'viva' with the course supervisor. The 'viva' also provides the additional benefit of enabling the contribution from each group member to be assessed.
There is a growing need for a second road link across the River Forth in the East of Scotland near Edinburgh, and the Scottish Office recently prepared a report in conjunction with Maunsell-Carl Bro on the buildability of a Second Forth Road Bridge (July 1995). The case study is based on this report, together with site investigation material, geological maps and reports, Ordnance Survey maps and Admiralty charts.
The design brief given to the students consists of the following three parts:
Information is supplied to the students strictly on a need to know basis, in order to maintain the open-ended nature of the case study. This is possible because the plans for the bridge have not been finalised and construction is not likely to begin for a number of years. Obviously the three parts to the design brief cannot be considered separately and the students also have to be prepared to research aspects of the design with which they are relatively unfamiliar, such as deck bridge design. After an initial assessment of the overall project, the students assign specific tasks to individuals within the group, to allow investigation of a number of aspects of the design to take place simultaneously. A weekly meeting is held with their supervisor as the work progresses, to review the work to date and to discuss the work-plan for the following week. At these meetings it is up to the students to request any additional information they may require. They may, of course, have already obtained it by their own initiative. The final report must include a set of recommendations for the bridge location and form (towers, deck shape, side spans, etc) and a detailed design of the foundations for the recommended bridge. Overall, this is a very challenging case study, which could be expanded to include the structural design for the bridge as well as the geotechnical design, thus forming a major integrated design case study.
The object of this study is to investigate the flood risk for an area adjacent to the River Kelvin, which flows through the west-end of Glasgow. The site, which was previously a railway siding yard, has been developed as a car park for the Kelvinbridge Underground Station and a playground/amenity area which forms part of the River Kelvin Walkway. The concern for flood risk in this area arose from the extreme flood event that occurred on 11th/12th December 1994. A peak flow of 191 m3/s, corresponding to a 1 in 200 year flood, was recorded at a gauge just upstream of the study reach. This flow caused local overtopping at the upstream end of the site, where flooding of the Kelvinbridge underground station was narrowly avoided. Towards the downstream end flood levels rose above the river training wall on the left bank causing it to collapse. Water flowed across the recreational area and entered a disused railway tunnel causing considerable disruption and damage to the existing railway system.
Students are provided with a survey of the river from the upstream end of the study site to a weir some 1.4 Km downstream. Using this they are expected to:
The involvement of industrialists in the design of case studies is essential. Great benefit can be derived from their practical experience in setting up the study and ensuring its relevance to current practice. However, practising engineers are busy people requiring that their time be used effectively. Experience from running other similar courses (Pender et al, 1999) suggests that the most cost effective use of their time is to invite industrialists to occasional student presentations during the project period. This has the benefit that it enables the industrialist to identify gaps in the students' understanding and provide guidance specifically on that topic. It also affords the student the opportunity to ask direct questions of the industrial tutor. In addition, lectures from practising engineers can provide useful supplementary information to students.