ACTIVE LEARNING IN CIVIL ENGINEERING: SOIL-MECHANICS AND STEELWORK DESIGN AS CASE STUDIES

The increasing and rapid technological evolution of digital technology has promoted the embrace of digitalization in the academic teaching of civil engineering. In recent years, new digital technologies have emerged as a real efficiency multiplier for the sector. It’s obvious that if we don’t adjust our academic syllabus in accordance with this global trend, it will remain obsolete. To circumvent the aforementioned issue, the civil engineering department at Esprit has keenly introduced technologically inclined courses into its academic curriculum by implementing the aspect of digitalization into its engineering program, such as the Soil Mechanics and Design of Steel Framework courses. These courses are taught to third-year engineering students at the ESPRIT School of Engineers. Moreover, to ensure a high level of learning outcomes, several active learning methodologies were adopted (i.e. Flipped Classroom, Project-Based Learning, Peer-to -Peer). The use of previous methods sets students in a better environment in which they can learn efficiently from practicing, develop most in-demand soft skills (such as critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving, time management, creativity, etc.), unleash productivity, and foster innovation and originality. Through this paper, we explain the chosen approaches with extensive details according to the main CDIO standards (like standard 5: Design-Implement Experiences and standard 8: Active Learning), where students are led to gradually use skills acquired during these courses. Such an approach would allow them to acquire advanced design skills while applying their digitization’s abilities, for instance, to laboratory soil testing and the development of automated programs to calculate steel framework elements. Finally, we present the main benefits and drawbacks as feedback from applying these new approaches. Nevertheless, we have noticed that when the project consists of solving real-world problems, the commitment and motivation of students considerably increase. Furthermore, this experience provides a rich learning environment and a challenging endeavor.