SCANLON, Andrew1, HILTUNEN, Dennis R.2 & MARRA, Rose M.3
College of Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA 16802
1 axs21@psu.edu
2 drh5@psu.edu
3 rmarra@psu.edu
Abstract: Coursework in the Civil Engineering curriculum tends to be compartmentalized with the result that students often find it difficult to understand the relationships among concepts covered in different courses. For example in structural engineering, analysis and design are often covered in different courses. Even within individual courses students often find it difficult to tie together the material from different parts of the course. This paper describes a project being undertaken at the Pennsylvania State University to integrate coursework in the areas of engineering materials, structural analysis and design, and geotechnical engineering through the use of a theme project. This project will be touched upon in a sequence of courses ranging from introductory core courses through basic design courses and eventually technical elective project design courses.
The basic concept has already been implemented in the reinforced concrete design course and the elements of the theme demonstration project are in place. The theme project is used in class to demonstrate basic concepts and to tie various parts of the work together in a single integrated design example that provides a thread through the entire 15-week course. In parallel with material covered in class, students work in teams a similar project assigned at the beginning of the semester by the instructor. Various active learning strategies are incorporated throughout the semester. To achieve vertical integration within the curriculum, the concept will be extended to related courses taken by students both before and after the reinforced concrete design course. Appropriate material is being developed to cover portions of the theme project in these courses, and the faculty are working with members of the engineering profession to develop suitable material for student design projects.
Evaluation of coursework modifications is an important component of curriculum development. The paper includes a brief discussion of the evaluation methodologies being implemented to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum modifications.
Keywords: civil engineering, curriculum, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, engineering materials, evaluation, integration
This paper describes a project underway in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University to integrate coursework in the areas of structural analysis, structural design, geotechnical engineering, and engineering materials. The objective is not only to address improvements in the treatment of technical content but also to introduce aspects of teamwork, active learning, and communication skills and address new accreditation criteria.
Design in civil engineering usually means developing a scheme from the conceptual phase through the detailing phase to produce a set of drawings and specifications that can be used by a general contractor to actualize the final product in the construction phase. In addition to the drawings and specifications, the work product of the design engineer will include an extensive set of design calculations that will be subject to close scrutiny in the future should a problem develop with the end product. In all likelihood, a report outlining the basis for the design including cost information will also be required.
Because civil engineering designs involve large scale products such as bridges, building structures, dams and the like it is difficult to develop realistic student design projects where the students can actually construct a prototype based on their design, particularly when class sizes are relatively large. This introduces somewhat different challenges to the teaching of civil engineering design compared to say mechanical or electrical engineering design. Visits to local construction sites are helpful in providing students with exposure to construction projects. While students can be exposed to the practicalities of the construction process through construction and testing of small scale structural members or structural models in the laboratory, the primary objective of a structural design course is to provide the students with an experience that will enable them to enter a design office and have an understanding of the process by which a complete set of design calculations, drawings and specifications is produced. In addition, because the design process in large projects involves a team effort with input from experts in different fields, students need to understand how the design process works in the broad sense.
The approach being used to integrate these various facets of the design process is to use a theme project in related courses at various stages of the curriculum. The initial effort has been to develop the theme project in the introductory reinforced concrete design course. A detailed design example has been developed for a five-story reinforced concrete office building. At various stages of the course this design example is used to demonstrate the concepts developed in class, for example calculation of design loads, or shear design of floor beams. The students are not provided with the complete design example. In the version provided to the students some of the material is blanked out to be completed in class. This forces the students to remain actively involved in the development of the design example. The detailed design example provides a template for their own semester-long design projects that are worked on in parallel as we work through the example in class. Because this course is usually the first course in which the students are introduced to the design process in some detail, assigned projects are less open-ended than the design projects conducted in the senior elective design course for which this course is a prerequisite. Students work in pairs on different but similar projects. This ensures that all students address all the design issues that need to be tackled. However, working in pairs allows some active learning processes to take place, such as teaching each other by explaining how they arrived at their designs using formal in-class exercises. They are also required to check each other's work, an extremely important part of design office practice often overlooked in design courses. At the end of the course each student has a complete set of design calculations and sketches illustrating their designs.
The theme project will be incorporated into the steel design course. The same building structure will designed using steel framing systems and will be incorporated into the steel design course in much the same way as presently done in the reinforced concrete design course.
The experience gained by the students in these and related courses will provide considerable flexibility in the degree of open-endedness that can be incorporated in future technical elective project design-based courses.
The next phase of the planned curriculum development is to incorporate the analysis portion of the theme project into the structural analysis course that is a prerequisite to the design course. Many of the concepts of structural analysis can be demonstrated by application to the theme building project including the significance of certain simplifications that are introduced in design. The intent is to clearly tie the significance of analysis to the design process to offset the tendency of students to see analysis as a theoretical exercise with little relevance to practice.
The theme project will be further developed to illustrate the application of concepts developed in geotechnical engineering courses. In the foundation engineering course the loads generated through the superstructure will be used to develop alternative foundation designs. The foundation designs will in turn be based on soil properties determined from site investigation data developed in the geotechnical engineering course. In the laboratory portion of this course, students will investigate the site proposed for construction of the theme project structure. Representative soil will be obtained from the site and appropriate laboratory tests will be conducted to characterize the soil with respect to the loading carrying ability. The laboratory test results will then be used
in the lecture portion of the course to evaluate foundation design alternatives for the proposed structure.
The theme project will be used to develop specification requirements for materials to be used in the structural design. In the engineering materials course, concrete mix designs will be developed to met the specification requirements for the structure and laboratory tests will be performed to determine whether the material specification requirements are met. Similar activities will be developed for other materials.
The outcomes of the planned curricular changes will be assessed using a three-step process. In the first step a clear statement of the goals and objectives is being developed. These will address not only course content, but also such items as teamwork, problem solving, communication, and computer skills as outlined in the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology) 2000 Criteria. Suitable instruments will then be identified to measure the outcomes related to the goals and objectives. These may include pre- and post-tests on pilot sections of the revised courses and control groups in the traditional course sections, and surveys for student self-assessment of attitudes and abilities particularly as related to the non-content aspects of coursework. Finally the results of the assessment will be used to make adjustments to the revised courses.
The result of implementing the theme project in the reinforced concrete design has so far been promising. Expanding the concept to a series of courses will require considerable effort by a team of faculty members. However expectations are that these efforts will be helpful in preparing engineering students for the increasingly complex demands being placed on professional engineers in their careers.
Financial support provided through the Leonhard Center at The Pennsylvania State University is gratefully acknowledged.