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In civil and construction engineering education research, a focus has been on using 3D models to support students' design comprehension. Despite this trend, the predominant mode of design communication in the industry relies on 2D plans and specifications, which typically supersede other modes of communication. Rather than focusing on the presentation of less common 3D content as an input to support students' understanding of a design, this paper explores more common 2D inputs, but compares different visualization formats of student output in two educational interventions. In the first intervention, students document a construction sequence for wood-framed elements in a 2D worksheet format. In the second, students work with the same wood-framed design, but document their sequence through an augmented reality (AR) format where their physical interactions move full-scale virtual elements as if they were physically constructing the wood frame. Student approaches and performance were analyzed using qualitative attribute coding of video, audio, and written documentation of the student experience. Overall, results showed that the 2D worksheet format was simple to implement and was not mentally demanding to complete, but often corresponded with a lack of critical checks and a lack of mistake recognition from the students. The AR approach challenged students more in terms of cognitive load and completion rates but showed the potential for facilitating mistake recognition and self-remediation through visualization. These results suggest that when students are tasked with conceptualizing construction sequences from 2D documentation, the cognitive challenges associated with documenting a sequence in AR may support their recognition of their own mistakes in ways that may not be effectively supported through 2D documentation as an output for documenting and planning a construction sequence. The results presented in this paper provide insights on student tendencies, behaviors, and perceptions related to defining construction sequences from 2D documentation in order for educators to make informed decisions regarding the use of similar learning activities to prepare their students for understanding the 2D design documents used in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the importance of the Professional Profile Map (PPM) in the context of architecture and civil engineering education. It acknowledges the dynamic nature of these fields due to technological advancements and evolving industry practices, emphasizing the need for professionals who possess practical skills in addition to academic knowledge. The PPM is introduced as a valuable tool that acts as a bridge between academia and industry by defining the essential knowledge, skills, and competencies (KSC) required for success in these professions. Furthermore, the paper discusses the role of the PPM in Erasmus+ projects, highlighting its ability to facilitate customization and adaptability in education. It encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, practical experience, and employability enhancement, aligning with the goals of Erasmus+ projects. A case study from the TAB4BUILDING project illustrates how the PPM was used to identify KSC related to the use of Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in construction. The PPM's role in harmonizing educational programs across different countries and promoting international collaboration is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-university cooperation has always been a desideratum of higher education institutions. It has developed at a slower or faster pace, for different reasons, depending on the era. Gradually, this cooperation has become more complex, giving rise to a new concept - the internationalisation of higher education. Supported by the development of technology and the increasing liberalisation of borders, cooperation in education has evolved from bilateral agreements to consortia of universities and eventually to European universities. Created at the initiative of the European Commission in 2017, European Universities are transnational alliances that over the last four years have brought about a paradigm shift in inter-university cooperation. This paper aims to discuss the participation of the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest (UTCB) in a European consortium, and its contribution to internationalisation at the institutional level. We will try to identify the advantages of being a member of this alliance, as well as the difficulties encountered throughout the cooperation and the means to overcome them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching Project Management module to undergraduate students is important and has been globally considered in multiple academic disciplines by many higher institutions. Students in undergraduate level encounter difficulty in understanding the topic of project management since there have no prior knowledge before the course. This paper aimed to determine the effectiveness of flipped teaching and active learning in Project Management module for undergraduate students in Civil Engineering. However, the paper discussed the effective practices in teaching and learning project management and their impacts into students' learning experience, and assessments development and marking. The Padlet and SurveyMonkey e-tools were used to collect students' feedback on the instructor practice; either by tagging comments or filling questionnaire. The results indicated that the use of multiple in-class activities and digital technology in a flipped classroom are important to enhance students' performance. It is also observed that the use of multiple assessments engaged students deeply with the course and provide deeper learning. Students' performance in summative assessments showed that there is a noticeable improve in student's scores in the current semester in contrast with previous semester where traditional teaching was practiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation engineering curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels are critical to the development of technical competency in future transportation engineering professionals--those who will be responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of safe and efficient transportation systems. This paper provides an analytic review of journal articles and refereed conference papers addressing how transportation engineering curricula have changed over time. The literature review found 51 articles for analysis, with an increased frequency of those publications over time. Curriculum issues described in these papers include how transportation fits broadly within engineering programs and, more specifically, within civil engineering programs, which topics are addressed in transportation courses, and how these courses attend to stakeholder needs. This analytic review of the literature provides a resource for transportation engineering educators, administrators, and researchers to consider how transportation curricular issues have been treated in the literature historically as the community continues to develop and implement the transportation engineering curricula of the future. The findings will inform transportation engineering educators of the state of the practice in transportation engineering curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning ability is one of the most distinctive characteristics that make humans social creatures. Numerous research has found that individuals learn in different ways, so every student has a different, individual learning style. The more instructors understand the learning differences of their students, the better their chances of success in civil engineering education. Therefore, determining the learning styles of civil engineering students is an important factor in their academic success. The research reported in this paper aims to explore the learning styles of civil engineering students in Turkey, and correlate their learning styles with success in construction management courses, gender, age, type of university, and year of engineering study. Data were collected using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory II, from civil engineering students in undergraduate programs at four different universities. The questionnaire was administered to students by direct contact, and 227 items of data were collected. At the end of the research reported in this paper, it was revealed that there is a correlation between learning styles and management success, age, year of civil engineering education, and type of university, but not gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the research reported in this paper is to design and systematically assess the effectiveness of a collaborative contextaware mobile augmented reality tool (CAM-ART) in construction and civil engineering curriculum. To achieve this goal, an augmented reality (AR)-based information delivery tool, CAM-ART, was implemented in classroom-scale experiments to enhance traditional lecture- based instruction and information delivery methods. In the research reported in this paper, the contents of an ordinary textbook were enhanced using computer-generated three-dimensional (3D) objects and other virtual multimedia (e.g., sound, video, and graphs), and delivered to students through an AR application running on their smartphones or tablet computers. The sample consisted of construction and civil engineering students, who were randomly assigned to Group A (control group) and Group B (test group). The designed learning tool was tested in a collaborative and interactive environment, preperformance and postperformance data was collected, and student perception of using the AR-based tool was elicited through a feedback questionnaire. Data analysis showed that CAM-ART had a measurable and positive impact on students' learning both in short-term and long-term. Moreover, results of the feedback questionnaire indicated that students found CAM-ART to be an interesting, helpful, and motivational approach in the classroom that helped them gain more in-depth and long-lasting knowledge beyond what is normally expected from traditional lecture-based teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the construction industry's digital transformation processes are challenging civil engineering education. In general, students and society underestimate the civil engineering field as an outdated and archaic knowledge area. Despite the defragmentation and heterogeneity of the sector, advances have been made on the path for Construction 4.0 and 5.0 scenarios. From this perspective, the CONSTRUCT-Gequaltec group of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto have been sponsoring research and technological development using hardware and software targeting construction management solutions. This paper presents the work in progress mainly connected to the curricular units regarding project management in the Construction Section of the Civil Engineering Department. It also targets assumptions of some expected results across the research and innovation priorities from ECTP Innovative Built Environment and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two fundamental elements of the teaching practices are presented as the Construction Sites of the Future (Laboratory-Based Education initiative) and Digital products catalogue targeting Digital Twins in Construction (Project Based Learning initiative). The learning outcomes address increasing knowledge of innovative solutions, delivering skills to deploy 5.0 actions, and targeting human-centred and sustainable attitudes and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: 1. A systematic review of literature was conducted concerning augmented reality (AR) in architectural and civil engineering education. 2. AR is discovered to possess a wide range of applications in general pedagogies and domain-specific learning. 3. The advantages and challenges of AR in this field are reported. 4. Analysis was performed based on fundamental information, application domains, AR development tools, system types, teaching devices, teaching methods, learning strategies, and research methods. 5. Discussions and suggestions were made regarding the advantages in pedagogies and education, the challenges to systems and curriculums, the selection of suitable systems, and the emerging trends of AR and building information modeling (BIM) combined. 6. Collaboration should occur among different roles. The trends and research have become an integrated and collaboration issue, that should be conducted interactively with pedagogical findings and resources integrated across different parties. Architectural and civil engineering (ACE) education is inextricably connected to real-world practice. The application of augmented reality (AR) technology can help to establish a link between virtual and real-world information for students. Studies of applying AR in ACE education have increased annually, and numerous research have indicated that AR possesses immense application potential. To address and analyze pertinent research issues, published studies in the Scopus database were explored, and revealed that problems persist and are worthy of attention, such as the selection of system types and devices, the application of research methods, and appropriate learning strategies and teaching methods. Courses with objective grading standards should be given priority in AR experimental courses for a meticulous investigation of AR influence on students' learning outcomes and ultimately improvement of classroom quality. Suitable types of AR systems should be selected based on course content, prior to the design and development of the system. It is recommended to develop markerless systems for a larger application range to benefit students with additional convenience. Systems can also be accompanied by functions, such as instant online assessments, synchronized assessments, and exchange capabilities to assist learning what has been taught and develop critical thinking abilities. The combination of AR and building information modeling (BIM) in architectural and civil practice, which has immense application potential, has become an emerging research trend. Collaboration between academics and practice should be enhanced with roles and knowledge of instructors, engineers, designers, and computer experts integrated for an optimal connection between general pedagogy and domain-specific learning. Teaching methods that emphasize "locations", as well as "roles", can be adopted in order to create a superior reality learning environment with diversified learning methods. The trends and research have become an integration and collaboration issue that should be performed interactively with pedagogical findings, and resources integrated across roles, fields, and university departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that sustainability should be incorporated into engineering education. To prepare students with sustainability knowledge and techniques, engineering educators need to develop appropriate class contents and effective teaching techniques. Based on experience from developing and teaching a sustainability course within the construction management program in the civil engineering department, this paper discusses the process of identifying sustainability knowledge areas, course planning, and lessons learned from the class. The paper also includes main class topics as well as students’ feedbacks, both of which may serve as a starting point for continuous improvement of sustainability education in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through funding from the National Science Foundation to create a Research Experience for Teachers site at North Dakota State University, the authors provided summer research experiences to current secondary (6th to 12th grade) educators to improve their understanding of the civil engineering field and develop new curriculum modules for their classrooms. Reflection of the first summer program in 2021 highlighted several modifications that could be made to improve the quality of the program and curriculum developed, increase the accessibility to underserved and/or underrepresented populations and to better utilize the limited resources available. This paper summarizes the successes of the RET program and provides several concrete recommendations for future programs. Specifically, recruiting of both teachers and faculty could be more effective when personal communications through known contacts are used. Flexibility in the approach without compromising rigor and expectations allows for a more inclusive program that supports underserved and marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper includes the results of an online survey that was conducted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) task committee on computing education to assess the evolution of computing in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education in 2012. The committee aims to understand and measure the evolution of computing in civil engineering, architecture, and construction management curricula and evaluate the current state of computing within the AEC curricula. The paper contains an investigation of the levels and concentrations of computer-science knowledge versus computer skills in curricula. In addition, the committee seeks to recognize the similarities and differences between architecture, engineering, and construction management programs by comparing the data associated with these disciplines. The paper also includes a discussion of basic aspects of computing education including the prerequisites that are necessary for further learning. The survey results provide useful benchmarks for decision making regarding research, industry collaboration, and curricula. Findings of the study include: (1) the importance and coverage of computer skills and competence of graduates has increased over the past decade; (2) computing skills are judged to be more important than computer-science knowledge in AEC curricula; (3) the links between computer-science concepts and AEC applications of computing are not yet fully recognized; (4) computing education is not sufficient to meet the demands of the AEC industry and the share of computing courses is less than what educators desire; and (5) scientific concepts of computing are important for preparing architects and engineers for unknown future developments in information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks a fundamental question: what is happening inside the mind of the undergraduate during teaching and learning experiences, and how should curricula be designed to support it? A number of concepts lend themselves to providing an answer, principle among which is the relatively recent idea of Threshold Concepts. In this paper we attempt to critically evaluate both the 'product' and 'process' of Threshold Concepts and subject the idea to a stress test by comparing it to the longer established Schema Theory of Learning. This mapping enabled a novel empirical study involving undergraduate civil engineering students to be performed. The methods derived from Schema Theories of learning provide a set of findings that compliment and strengthen certain key areas of Threshold Concepts, as well as leading to the development of some interesting principles of curriculum design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the benefits of using an irrigation canal scale model as a main tool for introducing systems dynamics and control to postgraduate civil engineers. The canal is used as an educational resource for teaching the master course Real-Time Control of Irrigation Canals. The prime educational objective of this course is that graduate students interested in building a professional career in water management, are trained to acquire skills that are essential in the development of automation projects for real irrigation canals. As supported by students' answers to an evaluation survey, using the experimental flume allows them to not only experience the involved hydraulics concepts, but also to be introduced in a hands-on manner to the necessary steps required to face any control system design process: modeling the system, designing the controller, testing the control system by simulation, and implementing them in real time. The theoretical background on dynamics and control supporting all these steps is not usually included in a civil engineering curriculum, and thus using the canal as a teaching resource is a better way of introducing future professional civil engineers to new technologies, making a perfect bridge between the classroom and practical activities on real canal facilities. The experience presented in this paper can be easily extrapolated to other disciplines complementing a classical civil engineering curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a brief overview of the changes made during our department level reform (DLR) process (Grant Title: A Systems Approach for Civil and Environmental Engineering Education: Integrating Systems Thinking, Inquiry-Based Learning and Catamount Community Service-Learning Projects) and some of the effects of these changes on our students and ourselves. The overall goal of the reform has been to have students learn and apply a systems approach to engineering problem solving such that when they become practicing engineers they will develop more sustainable engineering solutions. We have integrated systems thinking into our programs in the following ways; 1) new material has been included in key courses (e.g., the first-year introductory and senior design courses), 2) a sequence of three related environmental and transportation systems courses have been included within the curricula (i.e., Introduction to Systems, Decision Making, and Modeling), and 3) service-learning (SL) projects have been integrated into key required courses as a way of practicing a systems approach. A variety of assessment methods were implemented as part of the reform including student surveys, student focus groups, faculty interviews, and assessment of student work. Student work in five classes demonstrate that students are learning the systems approach, applying it to engineering problem solving, and that this approach helps meet ABET outcomes. Initial student resistance to changing the curriculum has decreased post implementation (e.g., graduating class 2010), and many students are able to define and apply the concept of sustainability in senior design project. Student self-assessments show support of SL projects and that the program is influencing student understanding of the roles and responsibilities of engineers in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASCE’s body of knowledge for the 21st century and vision for civil engineering in 2025 outline skills and capabilities necessary for civil engineers to create a sustainable world. An undergraduate course at Georgia Institute of Technology introduces undergraduates to a systems-sustainability approach to civil and environmental engineering, applying systems methods to analyze decisions over the life cycle of large-scale civil-engineered facilities. This paper discusses voluntary and systematic improvements introduced in the course over a 2-year period to develop research and information skills in the students. A workshop on information sources and skills was developed, offered and assessed over multiple semesters using a team-based course project. The term project requires students to select one or two large-scale civil-engineered facilities, evaluate them using the integrated systems-sustainability framework presented in the course, and develop a written report and oral presentation to present their work to their peers at the end of the semester. The paper discusses integration of the information and library skills workshops with the course and presents results that underscore the importance of formally cultivating research and information skills in civil engineering undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite tremendous advances by women in the natural and applied sciences, where in selective fields women have surpassed men in the earning of doctoral degrees for more nearly 20 years, female enrollment levels in engineering continue to be a fraction of male enrollment. Gender disparities of more than 60% persist in undergraduate engineering enrollments and have recently worsened. As American female civil engineering enrollment has been flat for over 25 years, efforts must be taken to understand this stasis. This paper focuses primarily on secondary education preparation in terms of both attitudes toward and enrollment levels in preengineering courses such as calculus, chemistry, and physics. Additional consideration is given to enrollment and achievement in advanced placement courses, as reflected in national examination rates. This paper concludes that secondary school participation and achievement in physics courses is a critical differential factor as one explanatory element of female engineering enrollment levels and provides specific recommendations as to how to increase interest, enrollment, and achievement in physics, including the segregation of entry-level engineering courses based on previous experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the organization and conduct of a 4th year capstone project for civil engineering students at the University of Calgary that embodied a very significant international component and the difficulties inherent to that component. The project design education process results in numerous contributions to university, industry, and society by permitting students to develop innovative design solutions that reflect multicultural influences, while also recognizing that Civil Engineering design is universal. This paper explains the novel approach adopted for the final-year civil engineering design course in 2002–2003 using the largest urban renewal project currently underway in Europe, for which the students had the opportunity to develop designs. The concept, structure, challenges, and contributions as well as the successful outcome of the civil engineering design course are also explained in the paper. Overall, this design project provided the students with valuable experience in communication, design, professional practice, and organizational skills that will be useful in their future careers, in addition to the challenges of dealing with a real and international client of a complex project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASCE Body of Knowledge and the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission have emphasized a broad set of competencies required by 21st century civil engineers. In addition to competencies that are traditionally technical, these organizations recognize that professional competencies such as leadership, the ability to design sustainable systems, effective communication, and interdisciplinary teamwork are among the many skills required by engineers of the future. To develop and enhance all of these proficiencies within the undergraduate curriculum, there is a need to take an approach that interconnects all of these outcomes throughout the curriculum, or a "networked" approach. This paper discusses service learning as a potential approach for facilitating the broad set of foundational, technical, and professional learning outcomes cited by ASCE and ABET, by investigating two case studies within the Engineering Projects in Community Service program at Purdue University. The case studies are two service-learning projects from one large, multidisciplinary, vertically integrated student design team. One project focuses on sustainable and energy efficient housing for Habitat for Humanity (HFH) in Indiana, whereas the other project focuses on affordable houses for HFH in Haiti. The current analysis of these cases suggest that service-learning projects can provide a unique learning experience for the students to develop and synthesize the broad set of foundational, technical, and professional skills by integrating learning outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If any engineering courses are unlikely to be transferable between Australasian and overseas universities, one could argue that civil engineering capstone design courses with a strong practical engineering focus would be the least likely. This analysis considers two capstone design courses in the US and New Zealand. The analysis examines the approaches each university has taken to improve design education through simulating professional practice. The two approaches are superficially very different with different course structure and course requirements. In addition the emphasis on site and project, and the consequent dependence on country-specific matters related to regulation and codes, would lead one to expect low transferability. Closer analysis shows that the learning objectives of the courses are relatively similar and that the relationship between site and design are key for both. The challenges faced by the two approaches have much in common, reflecting similar student experiences, and so high transferability. The paper provides details on learning objectives and challenges faced at the two programs to aid others who wish to analyse capstone design experiences across multiple universities. The conclusion is that transferability between these two design experiences is high. The implication is that, through similar forces for educational change in both countries, internationalisation of engineering education is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate (UG) civil engineering students should graduate from university with knowledge that links their computational competence in structural engineering and mechanics to construction technology principles, processes and practice. However, there appears to be a paucity of evidence to suggest that UG civil engineering students receive sufficient instruction in construction technology throughout their degree studies. This paper presents evidence from a study employing the weekly New Civil Engineer (NCE) publication as a vehicle for introducing construction technology to first year students. The results reveal that students found this publication interesting and inspirational. Whilst this innovative approach to teaching construction technology would be best 'blended' throughout the UG course, its introduction, application and success arguably requires a multi-disciplinary and carefully 'engineered' approach. Given the diversity of academic staff, individual motivation and the professional demands of a contemporary mass higher education system, the prospective benefits from 'blended' learning in UG construction technology studies will in all probability remain unfulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation is a psychological construct shown to influence an individual's success. Researchers have focused on factors affecting student motivation but have neglected to address the temporal changes in student motivation and the effects of these changes on academic performance. The purpose of this paper is to answer three main questions: What variables motivate students? Do the motivational variables change over time? And is there a relationship between the motivational variables that influence students and their academic performance as measured in grade point average (GPA)? Using a questionnaire survey approach, this study explores self-determinacy theory to evaluate students' progression over a three-year enrollment in an undergraduate civil and environmental engineering degree. The evaluation showed that internal factors are the primary motivators of students with high GPA. Also, students' quality and the quantity of motivation decreased with time in pursuit of a constant goal. Gender differences highlighted that females had superior self-regulatory practices to males. By setting intermediate report deadlines with performance feedback, educators would improve male students' self-regulatory practices through an improvement of their organization and goal setting skills. These findings provide a better understanding of student attrition than previously acknowledged in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the scientific outputs and co-authorship patterns of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in the fields of electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering, based on Web of Science (2000-2019). The paper relied on both quantitative and scientometric methods. 1870 and 291 records were retrieved respectively for "Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University" and "the fields of electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering". The questions and assumptions were answered through descriptive and inferential statistics. VOSviewer and SPSS were used respectively for mapping and testing assumptions. The findings showed that the total scientific outputs of electrical engineering in the world, indexed by the Web of Science (2000-2019) were 2,973,902, of which 44,768 records (1.6%) belonged to Iran (rank 16). During the same period, the total civil engineering records was 395,649, of which 11,876 records (3%) belong to Iran (rank 10). In addition, the total scientific outputs of mechanical engineering were 941,586, of which 25,263 records (2.7%) belonged to Iran (rank 12). The findings showed that in Iran Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in electrical engineering is ranked 36th (2000-2019). The findings showed that Ajami with 43 (17%), Hoveidae with 5 (23%), Gharraei and Mohammad pourfard, each with 10 records (17%), were the top authors in the fields of electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering (2000- 2019), respectively. Also, Ajami with 43 (1000 citations), Najafi with 42 (564 citations), Banaei with 41 records (473 citations), and Oskuee with 16 records (305 citations) have high co-authorship densities (37, 31, 22, and 29, respectively). Moreover, there was no meaningful difference between men and women in electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering in scientific outputs (Sig=0.0927). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in scientific outputs among electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering researchers in departments and university ranks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, water utilities have relied on tried-and-true practices in the design and operation of their infrastructure, tapping new resources and expanding networks as needed. However, as the effects of climate change and/or urbanization increasingly impact both water supply and demand, utilities need new, holistic planning and management approaches. Integrated planning approaches must account for changing policies, technological progress, and unique, setting-specific operating conditions. Based on this notion, an international web seminar with faculty, researchers, and students from nine universities across five continents was conducted. In the 3-month seminar, participants were split into groups and tasked with developing future-proof, sustainable water management solutions for fictitious settings with unique resource availability, climate change predictions, demographic, and socioeconomic constraints. The goal of the seminar was to combine participants' unique perspectives to tackle challenges in developing future water infrastructure, while forming lasting relationships. Water management concepts became more daring or "out-of-the-box" as the seminar progressed. Most groups opted for a holistic approach, optimizing existing infrastructure, integrating decentralized water management, furthering digitization, and fostering the adoption of innovative policy and planning strategies. To gauge their impact on the evolution of ideas, group dynamics and communication were observed throughout the seminar. As a result, the findings serve not only as a compendium of ideas and concepts for holistic design in the water sector, but also facilitate international collaboration, improve communication in cross-cultural teams or guide the development of training programs in water management for researchers, professional engineers, or water utilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the creation and evolution of an undergraduate dynamics and vibrations course for civil engineering students. Incorporating vibrations into the course allows students to see and study real civil engineering applications of the course content. This connection of academic principles to real life situations is in itself a critical learning stage for the students, and addressing the creation of these connections led to the incorporation of active demonstrations into the course. The course also focuses on developing skills through various active learning strategies that can be transferred to other non-structural engineering courses, such as problem solving and critical thinking, as well as ABET skills such as teamwork and the utilization of computer tools. This paper presents how designing a course structure and implementation with the explicit consideration of developing these critical skills aids students in mastering both course content and in enhancing their educational development. Results of increased student performance due to the synthesis of strategies incorporated into the course are presented, including performance in a later course as well as in the dynamics portion of the Fundamentals of Engineering exam [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics is a key point for engineers in general and since the early ages of higher education in civil engineering it had a fundamental position in the admission exams and in the basic education of future engineers. Romanian civil engineers, led by eng. Ion Ionescu, understanding the need of a good basic education in mathematics of the candidates for technical sciences in general and especially for civil engineering, initiated in 1895 the "Mathematics Gazette" (Gazeta Matematica). The paper presents the subjects of mathematics proposed to the candidates for the civil engineering studies in 1900 (published in the Mathematics Gazette), and as a temporal bridge, the subjects from the admission exam at Faculty of Civil Engineering Bucharest in 2000. The paper also contains a brief introduction of the early years of "Mathematics Gazette". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need arises to equip engineering students with a wider horizon of concepts in terms of environmental, economic, and social attributes, for decision making of sensitive to sustainability issues. Pedagogic frameworks have to address a multidisciplinary analysis of sustainability. This paper addresses the rationale behind the recent integration of sustainability concepts into an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum in Hong Kong. Incentives and barriers for implementation of the curriculum are addressed. A team-based design project with a problem-based learning approach is highlighted. The initial results of stakeholder evaluations suggested that multidisciplinary skills developed during the learning process might contribute significantly to pertinent knowledge on sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In October of 1998, the ASCE Board of Direction adopted Policy Statement 465 supporting the concept of the master’s degree or equivalent as a prerequisite for licensure and practice of civil engineering at the professional level. Citing globalization, an intricate and complex infrastructure, and new engineering and information technologies, in October of 2001, the board unanimously voted to move forward with a revised Policy Statement 465, entitled “Academic Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice.” This paper examines the ethical dimensions surrounding the call for additional education. To this end, the ASCE Code of Ethics will be discussed as a living document that governs the practice of safe, effective, and professional civil engineering, and will be brought to bear on the issues surrounding the implementation of ASCE Policy Statement 465. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the construction industry has introduced fundamental changes for integration of functions during the different project phases. The design/build approach that integrates design and construction is a prominent example of such changes. Consequently, modifications are necessary in civil engineering education to prepare students to deal with the demands of the new environment. This paper documents a graduate project offering students the opportunity to study planning, design, procurement, and construction on a real-life project, and to deal with the problems of integrating these functions. The project is a steel footbridge of 10-m span and 1.5-m width. The bridge is located on the campus of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt. The project was accomplished by a group of five students with the participation of an industrial sponsor who provided the necessary funds to construct the bridge and the required expertise for fabrication and erection. The nature and scope of the project provided a good balance between the task scope and the constrained time and effort of students. To a large extent, the students dealt with a real project and experienced real situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In New Zealand, civil engineering classes are getting larger every year, which means that innovative ways must be sought to enable an increasing number of students to fulfill the laboratory requirements of the degree. With respect to water quality laboratories in introductory environmental engineering courses, it is advocated that it is more important that a civil engineering student be able to interpret water quality data, rather than to be acquainted in detail with the actual mechanics of water quality tests. As such, this paper describes a water quality laboratory that allows the student to gain an appreciation of a water quality data set without necessarily becoming fully conversant with the routine water quality tests. The laboratory’s emphasis on data interpretation instructs students on the importance of examining data sets for patterns, correlations and/or potential errors, while at the same time providing a stimulating and active hands-on learning environment for both students and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate civil engineering education is a professional education which demands its interaction with industry vis-a-vis the society. The present paper first presents a concise description of the history of development of the higher technical education in India mainly to highlight the different salient features in the context of the objective of the paper. It also gives a presentation of the existing scenario of the effective industry-interface system in the undergraduate civil engineering education in South Africa based on author's direct experience in order to emphasize the need and relevance of such a system in the context of the national development in the field of physical infrastructure etc. Finally, the author, in his concluding remark, proposes an industry-interface scheme for adoption and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of civil engineering course education on civil engineers is profound and crucial. Due to the hierarchical and ambiguous nature of quality assessment for flipped classroom teaching, there is an urgent demand for a rational and effective approach to conduct such assessments. This would enable the targeted formulation of instructional improvement methods based on assessment outcomes, ultimately elevating the quality of pedagogy. This study combines the analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy evaluation method. The fuzzy evaluation method is utilized to identify four primary evaluation factor sets, fourteen secondary judgment factor sets, and five evaluation outcome sets, with subsequent quantification of the assessment results. The analytic hierarchy process is employed to ascertain the weight coefficients of the evaluation factors. The comprehensive assessment model for flipped classroom teaching quality is established. The assessment results indicate that the overall quality of flipped classroom teaching in the civil engineering major at Anhui University of Science and Technology, conducted through the platform of Superstar Learning Hub, falls within the ‘Good’ category. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation score for extracurricular learning quality is the lowest, and the weight proportion attributed to flipped classroom infrastructure is the highest. Consequently, several targeted improvement measures are proposed to enhance the quality of flipped classroom teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the introduction of building information modeling (BIM) to curricula, applications for BIM in civil engineering and construction management education, and legal issues related to BIM in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.

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Cooperative education (co-op) is a program in which participating students typically alternate between full-time study and paid full-time employment. Choosing to participate in a co-op program usually delays the student's graduation by up to one year, but may increase the student's job market prospects. This paper attempts to estimate the response of co-op participation to the engineering field-specific average wage for recent graduates. A relationship between wage growth, student ability, and co-op participation is investigated. Predictive modeling was performed using data obtained from the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD), as well as the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) Annual Report of Engineering Salaries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry co-op representatives to address supply and demand related questions. The authors found that a $10,000 real increase in the average initial wage causes a 5.4% decrease in co-op program participation. In addition, there is hetero- geneity in the response by student ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tiny house movement represents a unique building initiative that aims to reduce the environmental and financial impacts of modern living. This paper introduces the integration of a tiny house competition project into an undergraduate construction management curriculum, and investigates the role of building information modeling (BIM) in facilitating sustainable living design and construction as well as student learning using an experiential and project-based pedagogy. As BIM is prevailing across the global design and construction industry, higher education has been striving on developing effective pedagogy to cultivate students’ competency in BIM. Most recently, the emphasis of BIM education has been transforming from software training to problem-solving in the context of project execution and management. Therefore, experiential and project-based learning seems to be a promising option for BIM education. This paper highlights the synergistic BIM usage in the tiny solar house project with broad student participation and comprehensive inclusion of both lower and upper division undergraduate construction management courses. The tiny solar house project provides the desired pedagogical construct that fosters active student learning engagement in attaining BIM knowledge and developing problem-solving skills with BIM at multiple phases that span from the inception of design, to construction and eventually the occupancy and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flipped classroom is becoming increasingly popular at universities because of its perceived benefits in promoting active learning and decreasing educational costs. Studies have found positive benefits associated with flipped classrooms; however, many have failed to control for confounding factors. Examples of confounding factors include comparing courses taught by different instructors or across courses taught in different semesters using different quizzes. The objective of this paper is to compare the traditional and flipped classrooms in an undergraduate civil engineering course while controlling for potential confounding factors. The quasi-experimental study incorporates students' online behaviors, in-class performance, office hour attendance, and responses to both attitudinal and behavioral questions to assess student opinions and learning outcomes. It was found that student performance on quizzes was not significantly different across the traditional and flipped classrooms. A key shortcoming noted with the flipped classroom was students' inability to ask questions during lectures. Students in flipped classrooms were more likely to attend office hours compared to traditional classroom students, but the difference was not statistically significant. Future research should explore whether students' inability to ask questions when the material is presented in flipped classrooms affects learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to establish the links of General Chemistry with the rest of the subjects and the improvement of the system of evaluation. The paper includes a system of actions through a unit of the syllabus, establishing the link between the subject and the rest, also integrating exercises are proposed with a greater interest and preparation of the students for the subject General Chemistry. Were applied a previous diagnosis to students to verify interest and knowledge of the importance of Chemistry for the race and were compared the teaching results during two continuous courses for each partial test and finalizing the semester in both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessment results indicate that there are existing strengths as well as future opportunities to enhance student performance of innovative thinking and open-ended problem solving--skills that are essential to promoting sustainable design and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the subject of retention in undergraduate engineering programs through the lens of three civil engineers in the same family. Although anecdotal, the divergent careers of each provide the framework for retrospection on what attracts students to STEM careers, why they persist, and what their ultimate career and life goals are. The experiences are placed in context with material from recent references on STEM education, and then observations and lessons are presented. The personal stories are not intended as evidence to prove national trends, but merely to put them into the context of experience of one family. The ability of curricula to help students envision broad and diverse career paths is an important issue that was crucial for this family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent skills surveys of engineering graduates have highlighted a deficit in critical thinking among graduates. A possible solution to this is to increase the number of hands-on exercises in the curriculum. This could be carried out through the integration of 3D learning tools, specifically a virtual reality (VR) program, to effectively teach civil engineering practical studies and allow repeatable and measurable exercises for students. This study aims to assess the suitability of the VR program as an additional resource alongside existing learning exercises or a substitute for hands-on experiments when needed. The methodology involved creating a VR program, compatible with VR headsets to replicate an engineering experiment, namely the loading of a concrete beam to observe its failure. Students' understanding of the virtual experiment was evaluated through end-of-experiment questions. The findings indicate that the VR learning tool was successful in enhancing students' understanding of the civil engineering experiment. The immersive and interactive nature of VR contributed to a solid grasp of the concepts presented, proving its potential as a valuable educational resource. By leveraging VR technology, educational institutions can provide an engaging and effective alternative to traditional laboratory sessions, ensuring uninterrupted and high-quality learning experiences for civil engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The engagement of undergraduate students with their university is an important factor in the quality of their learning experience. The central question of this paper is how to understand the apparent disengagement from university of a cohort of first year civil engineering students. A questionnaire was used to investigate the motivation and barriers to learning of the students. The results suggest that students may be well motivated and may also severely restrict contact with their university due to commitments to employment and family. In conclusion, implications for the academic management of courses are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the on-going development of teaching and learning supported by Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the undergraduate Construction Project Management Programme at the University of Technology Sydney. BIM is a model-driven approach to designing, constructing, operating and maintaining buildings and civil engineering facilities. The model that forms the core of the BIM approach is a smart, shared and computable three-dimensional model of the building or the civil engineering facility. At its heart, BIM and Virtual Construction Models (VCMs) are used to facilitate a more integrated and visual mode of teaching. The approach provides a new basis for developing problem based learning -- one that has the potential to allow students to aggregate their learning around a central project whilst enabling problems to be scaled at different levels of complexity. This approach aims to better integrate and link individual subjects together as well as improve the development of core student attributes such as communication, understanding, decision making, collaboration and information gathering skills; very much mimicking the on-going technology driven transformation happening in industry. The VCMs aim to be regularly used in various formats as students progress through their undergraduate degree programme -- and we adopt the term 'vertical problems' to capture the way models and problem based learning are being utilised, where staff author 'sub-plots' that utilise information models in a way that best suits their specific subjects, e.g. cost, time, quality, sustainability subject areas. To this end, the article reports on findings from the research, development and early implementation stages of a programme-wide teaching and learning proposition supported by BIM. This includes a typology that helps target varying degrees of model utilisation and diffusion in given subjects and transitional requirements for both staff and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author provides observations on the state of engineering education and a blueprint for how to shape the future of the profession to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world. The engineering profession is one rooted in history and accomplishment. Yet engineers-whether civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, or of other engineering subspecialties-share a problem of perception. Many people do not know what engineers do and are not familiar with their challenges or accomplishments. Some may regard an engineering career path with apathy. Engineers themselves can fail to see their work in its fuller social context, resulting in self-reinforcing limitations on the potential of technology. The challenges of a complex, increasingly connected world demand that the engineering profession renew itself continuously, highlight and promote its accomplishments, and cultivate a future generation of engineers. These engineers must be prepared to contribute to substantive deliberations, to lead and shape the issues, identify and solve problems, and find and pursue the opportunities of tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a 4-year study (from 2006-2009) using three-dimensional (3D) visualization of structures for teaching in civil engineering. 3D finite-element models have been developed to simulate the behavior of various structural members, such as beams, columns, and plates, taught to civil engineering students in classroom lectures or tested in laboratories. The finite-element simulation approach allows students to see the behavior of structures that is not detectable by human eye, such as the stresses in structures. 3D video clips and animations showing the propagation of stresses and strains in the structural members and deformations from different angles up to failure were developed using finite-element models. The 3D visualizations were presented to students as illustrative examples to enhance their understanding in structural analysis courses. Student feedback regarding the teaching innovations were collected and analyzed. The statistics derived show that students reacted positively and benefited considerably from the use of 3D visualization in civil engineering education, particularly in grasping the behavior of structures. The findings strongly suggest that 3D visualization of structures using finite-element analysis can be used as an effective teaching tool for civil engineering students in structural analysis courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Current civil engineering education should address the need to provide a broad vision, develop the higher-order skills of future civil engineers, enable them to adopt emerging technologies, and formulate innovative solutions to complex problems. This paper introduces relevant nanotechnology developments to convey the new vision and inspire creativity in civil engineering. It also presents a pedagogical framework for integrating nanotechnology education into a civil engineering curriculum and cultivating self-regulated learning and creativity skills for civil engineering students. The pedagogical framework includes the introduction of nanotechnology innovations and other relevant innovative technologies, and explicit instructions on cognitive strategies for facilitating and inspiring self-regulated learning and creativity. It is implemented with problem/project-based learning for a cocurricular project that requires self-regulated learning and creativity. This pedagogical framework provides a model for integrating emerging technology education and higher-order skill development into existing engineering curriculum. The outcomes from the implementation of the pedagogical framework are presented, and their further improvements are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The innovation and entrepreneurship of emerging engineering education students has important practical significance and broad employment prospects. This paper combines the current situation and problems of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship with the development of emerging engineering education industry, and puts forward the construction of a new cognitive system of innovation and entrepreneurship practice with new characteristics. The emerging engineering education innovation and entrepreneurship practice cognitive system is centered on students and social needs. It has the characteristics of information exchange, professional crossover, service local economy, evaluation system and improvement. It covers the Multi-party and links of innovation and entrepreneurship. It has significantly improved the ability of innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging engineering education, and cultivated high-tech applied talents that are suitable for social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]