Undergraduate Geotechnical Engineering Education of the 21st Century

Abstract

interests" (Marcuson et al. 1991). Unfortunately, the current geotechnical education curriculum 16 does not provide the foundation necessary to ensure the engineer's success in the 21 st century. A typical academic year in universities is divided into several (e.g., two, three, four or more) 103 teaching semesters, terms, or quarters. The introductory geotechnical course varies from university 104 to university, though it often includes a laboratory section to gain practical experience in soil 105 testing and to reinforce concepts taught in the lecture portion of the course. 230The proposed curriculum cannot be easily adapted at every university. Universities which have 261Addressing these changes will take significant effort, but they are possible. Defining clear presented during the class period. They were simple problems that were easy to grade, yet they 300 provided some "real-time" measure of student comprehension which allowed the instructor to 301 adjust lecture concepts accordingly. 302Although the effectiveness of interactive modules and activities were difficult to measure 303 numerically, the students seemed to respond positively to the new activities at University of 304Vermont, citing that they helped the students better understand the engineering concepts 305 (Dewoolkar et. al. 2009). Students at other universities had similar positive feedback when case 306 studies were introduced to the curriculum (Abbo et. al. 2012; Newson and Delatte 2011

Trends and Challenges of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Geotechnical Engineering Education

“…Further, this study also highlighted the importance of incorporating practical experience and real-world applications into coursework in GEE for active learning. Wirth et al (2016) discussed the need for interdisciplinary education and the incorporation of new technologies and methods, as well as the importance of practical experience and hands-on learning opportunities in GEE [7]. Jiang et al (2021) highlighted the need for continued innovation in GEE to ensure that students receive a high-quality education in the face of COVID-19 disruptions [1].…”

Geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering education during the pandemic

“…Students often found it difficult to understand explicitly the importance of subsurface conditions in constructing highway systems or building skyscrapers. Besides, large uncertainties in GGE can easily confuse and upset students as compared with other more prescribed disciplines (Wirth et al, 2017). The implicitness and uncertainty of GGE, when delivered in the traditional chalk-and-talk lecture style, have already made many students, even in normal times, conclude that learning soil mechanics, foundation engineering and geoenvironmental engineering is boring, if not outdated.…”

An integrated numerical visualization teaching approach for an undergraduate course, Flow in Porous Media: An attempt toward sustainable engineering education

“…A publication by Reference [87] revealed that "Flow in Porous Media" [71] also known as mechanics of porous media [4], is one of the most essential modules in the course system for undergraduate education in petroleum engineering. This is because, it mainly deals with the study of the manner in which fluids, such as oil, gas, water, and so on, behave when flowing through a porous media (reservoir).…”