Development of Department Writing Guide for Civil Engineering

This paper describes the development of a writing guide for a civil engineering department. Motivation for developing a writing guide came from several sources. Freshmen enrolled in an introduction to civil engineering course turned in writing assignments demonstrating a need for improvement. The introductory course is frequently taken concurrently with a required freshman level writing class and well before a required discipline specific advanced writing class, so this was generally expected. Continued issues in junior and senior level classes, however, have clarified the need for additional program focus on written communication. Students have continually expressed frustration at having to adapt to varying lab report expectations from different faculty members and, most importantly, capstone design reports have demonstrated that student writing is not at industry expectations. The writing guide was a collaborative effort between civil engineering faculty and writing studies faculty. The initial phase focused on defining the content of the writing guide: reports (lab, project, etc.), memos, homework submittals, figures, tables, equations, professional e-mails, and references. The second phase was to develop an outline for the rubrics; the goal was for the rubrics to be general enough to be adapted by each faculty member for a given assignment, but still provide students with a consistent outline to assess their writing prior to submitting it for grade. Finally, in the third phase, the level of detail in the writing guide was discussed. In order to be useful, the writing guide was made specific enough for the students to use it to successfully complete writing assignments but general enough to allow individual faculty to adapt assignments toward the specific outcomes in each course. Above all else, the main goal of the writing guide is to prepare students for real world written communication. Therefore, it must not leave students with the impression that there is a template that can be applied regardless of audience. These concerns were considered during the development of the writing guide and will be part of in-class writing instruction within both civil engineering and writing courses. Written work will be assessed using both university and ABET assessment processes. Example work collected as part of the ABET process from the Fall 2012 semester will be retroactively assessed using the newly developed rubrics. In addition, Fall 2014 work will be assessed as it is submitted. Spring 2015 work will represent the first semester using the department writing guide. Pre-writing guide assessments will be compared to assessments of writing after the department guide is introduced. By comparing work over the next several years, senior year writing submittals will be used to determine if a greater level of competency was achieved by students exposed to the writing guide for their entire undergraduate experience as compared to students who received the writing guide late in their undergraduate career

Celebrating 20 Years of the ExCEEd Teaching Workshop

In response to the clear need for faculty training, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) developed and funded Project ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) which is celebrating its twentieth year of existence. For the past two decades, 38 ExCEEd Teaching Workshops (ETW) have been held at six different universities. The program has 910 graduates from over 267 different U.S. and international colleges and universities. The ExCEEd effort has transformed from one that relied on the grass roots support of its participants to one that is supported and embraced by department heads and deans. This paper summarizes the history of Project ExCEEd, describes the content of the ETW, assesses its effectiveness, highlights changes in the program as a result of the assessment, and outlines the future direction of the program

Time-Dependent Strength Gain in Recently Disturbed Granular Materials.

Prior to construction of building foundations, dams, roads, and other infrastructure components, soil improvement is often required to improve the strength and/or liquefaction resistance of sand deposits. After improvement, initial tests can show low strength, seemingly indicating inadequate improvement. However, after manifestation of time-dependent strength gain in recently improved, and therefore disturbed granular materials, commonly called sand aging, low initial test results are shown to be not indicative of long term behaviors. The motivation for this research is to predict sand aging effects on penetration resistance in order to prevent construction delays due to initial failure to meet quality assurance metrics. Three field experiments and a laboratory experimentation program were conducted as part of this study. Loose sand layers in Griffin, Indiana and New Madrid, Missouri were disturbed using explosive densification, vibroseis shaking, and impact pier installation. Different methods of disturbance were used in order to study the effects of varying energy inputs and aeration of the pore fluid. In situ geotechnical tests, including the cone penetration test (CPT), dilatometer test (DMT), vision CPT (VisCPT), and shear wave velocity (Vs) measurements, were conducted at each experiment site to quantify sand aging. Time-dependent strength gain was recorded following explosive compaction and impact pier installation. Additionally, cyclic triaxial testing on reconstituted samples of Griffin sand showed an increase in liquefaction resistance with time following sample preparation. The effects of factors proposed to influence sand aging behavior were investigated using a larger database of sand aging case histories, including the three experiments performed as part of this research project. A method of predicting sand aging based on disturbance method, effective vertical stress, and time is presented. This prediction method represents an improvement over previously proposed prediction methods due to its ease of application at new sites requiring soil improvement. The long term impact of this research is to improve current methods of predicting sand aging effects, reducing the risk of construction delays and unnecessary additional soil improvement.Ph.D.Civil EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86506/1/dsaftner_1.pd

Use of the utexas vibroseis in the neesr sand aging field experiment

The objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms and implications of time-dependent changes in the state and properties of recently disturbed sands (i.e., sand aging ). Particular emphasis is placed on the use of the UTexas NEES vibroseis in this study. Aging effects in sand, such as increases in penetration resistance with time after deposition, densification, and/or liquefaction, are known to occur in-situ, but the causes of these effects are not fully understood. As part of this study, two separate regions of a saturated sand deposit site in Griffin, IN were disturbed using explosives and the UTexas NEES vibroseis (T-Rex). Subsequent to the disturbances, in-situ tests were performed, to include cone penetration tests (CPT) and shear wave velocity measurements, at varying time intervals (weeks, months, and years) to monitor for aging effects. The reason for using the two methods to disturb the deposits is because each method induces different levels of strains, affects the soil state differently, and/or introduces foreign elements into the soil (e.g., blast gases from explosives). Consequently, further insights into the underlying mechanisms of sand aging can be gained. In the area where explosives were used to disturb the soil, increases in CPT tip resistances were observed as a function of time after disturbance. However, in the area where the vibroseis was used, no increase in CPT tip resistance was observed as a function of time after disturbance. This is thought to be due to the relatively low level of strain induced in the soil during the vibroseis shaking

Assessing the Impact of Educational Factors on Conceptual Understanding of Geotechnical Engineering Topics

A study on student understanding of geotechnical engineering topics was conducted at several private and public institutions with civil engineering programs. The institutions vary significantly with respect to their size, student population, location, and Carnegie classification. A background knowledge probe (“pre-test”) and course knowledge survey (“post-test”) were developed based on fundamental concepts in geotechnical engineering to assess the knowledge gained in an introductory undergraduate geotechnical engineering course. The pre-and post-tests were administered over a span of several semesters at these institutions to measure the students’ prior geotechnical engineering knowledge, and the knowledge gained as a result of the course experience, respectively. The purpose of this study is to examine several variables that may correlate with the amount of knowledge gained in the conceptual understanding of geotechnical engineering topics. The educational factors of interest include class size, class meeting time (e.g., morning, mid-day, or afternoon), class length and format (e.g., three times a week for 50 minutes vs. twice a week for 75 minutes), laboratory format (e.g., attached to the course vs. separate from the course), institution type (e.g., public vs. private; Carnegie classification), and faculty attributes (e.g., rank and obtainment of P.E. license). Through detailed statistical analyses, preliminary results show that correlation exists between the amount of knowledge gained in conceptual understanding and a few independent variables (most predominantly, the type of institution). This paper presents the institutional context, geotechnical engineering curricula, educational factors considered, results of statistical analyses, conclusions, suggestions for future research and discusses conditions for optimizing student learning in undergraduate geotechnical engineering courses

I think we should break up - class, that is

Class time, whether in a physical or virtual setting, is a valuable component of the learning process. However, time in class does not always equate to time on task. Class periods can vary in length from 50 minutes to 3 hours or more, but how much of that time are students paying full attention, thinking critically about the material, and engaging with course concepts? Additionally, how might these differing time periods equate to a difference in student engagement, and what can be done to ensure that class time is effective? One potentially effective tool is to provide class breaks at regular intervals. A number of different methods have been used in K-12 education, such as “brain breaks,” to exhaust excess energy, break up classes, and allow students to refocus while in an extended class period. In college classrooms, however, any type of break seems to be far less common, and the effectiveness of breaks and acceptance among engineering students has not been evaluated extensively. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of using class breaks as a pedagogical tool and determine how commonly breaks are deployed. Coauthors at five different universities included a variety of break types and lengths in different engineering courses. The courses varied from first year to graduate level and were offered in-person and hybrid during the Fall 2021 semester. Students were asked to complete a voluntary survey to determine whether breaks helped them stay engaged in the course and what manner of breaks they preferred. The results indicate that about 50% of students have never had a formal break in an engineering class until the one administering the survey, but about 80% of students surveyed said a break somewhat or greatly increased their ability to focus and learn. Only 6% percent reported a reduction in their ability to focus, and 4% reported a reduction in their ability to learn as a result of the break. Recommendations are provided on what types of breaks work in different classroom settings as judged by the faculty and students, the students\u27 perceived ability to focus in classes with breaks, and the students\u27 perception of learning when accompanied by a class break

I think we should break up - class, that is

Class time, whether in a physical or virtual setting, is a valuable component of the learning process. However, time in class does not always equate to time on task. Class periods can vary in length from 50 minutes to 3 hours or more, but how much of that time are students paying full attention, thinking critically about the material, and engaging with course concepts? Additionally, how might these differing time periods equate to a difference in student engagement, and what can be done to ensure that class time is effective? One potentially effective tool is to provide class breaks at regular intervals. A number of different methods have been used in K-12 education, such as “brain breaks,” to exhaust excess energy, break up classes, and allow students to refocus while in an extended class period. In college classrooms, however, any type of break seems to be far less common, and the effectiveness of breaks and acceptance among engineering students has not been evaluated extensively. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of using class breaks as a pedagogical tool and determine how commonly breaks are deployed. Coauthors at five different universities included a variety of break types and lengths in different engineering courses. The courses varied from first year to graduate level and were offered in-person and hybrid during the Fall 2021 semester. Students were asked to complete a voluntary survey to determine whether breaks helped them stay engaged in the course and what manner of breaks they preferred. The results indicate that about 50% of students have never had a formal break in an engineering class until the one administering the survey, but about 80% of students surveyed said a break somewhat or greatly increased their ability to focus and learn. Only 6% percent reported a reduction in their ability to focus, and 4% reported a reduction in their ability to learn as a result of the break. Recommendations are provided on what types of breaks work in different classroom settings as judged by the faculty and students, the students\u27 perceived ability to focus in classes with breaks, and the students\u27 perception of learning when accompanied by a class break

Lessons Learned from a Game-Based Learning Intervention in Civil Engineering

The aim of our project is to create a scalable and sustainable educational model of mixed reality gaming in civil engineering education that provides practical experiences, develops engineering judgment competency, and engages a diverse student audience. Specifically, we have been building a game-based learning module focused on experiencing the field testing technique cone-penetration testing (CPT). As part of the module, students start a virtual internship at a fictional engineering company. After being briefed through a lecture on CPT, they enter a 3D (game) environment where they conduct CPTs. Students analyze CPT data extracted from the environment and submit a report. To assess student experience of this module, we collected pre/post surveys, game data (including in-game assessments), and student/faculty interviews. In this paper, we report the findings of implementing this CPT module in the initial three years of the project (2016-2019) at five institutions. Overall, we find that students are engaged, especially women and students from historically marginalized communities, increase their knowledge and confidence in the subject matter, and find the module valuable to gain much-needed (field) experience. More recently, we find that the game-based learning intervention seems resilient and, in fact, a solid solution to the disturbances caused by the pandemic, with many students providing positive remarks about being able to experience hands-on learning, which is key to quality engineering education and difficult to achieve through online education. Opportunities for improvement exist regarding access to technology, as well as the instructional design. While we demonstrate the scalability of this approach across multiple institutions and classrooms, open questions remain on how to transform institutions to embed game-based learning not as an intervention but as a key part of the curriculum.This presentation is published as Harteveld, C., & Bennett, V., & Zastavker, Y. V., & El Shamy,, U., & Tiwari, B., & De,, A., & Wirth, X., & Wen, K., & Saftner, D. A., & Ajmera, B., & Brandenberg, S., & Kennicutt, A. R., & Congress, S. S. C., & Tessari, A., & Omidvar, M., & Cabas, A. (2023, June), Lessons Learned from a Game-Based Learning Intervention in Civil Engineering Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. https://strategy.asee.org/43423. Posted with permission. © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference.<br