Improving Civil Engineering Education: Transportation Geotechnics Taught through Project-Based Learning Methodologies

Abstract

Previous studies have found that nontechnical skills, like, for example, communication, team work, and solving open-ended problems, are abilities that civil engineers must possess to perform their professional duties. However, the traditional teacher-centered methods employed in civil engineering schools do not encourage students to develop these skills. To address this concern, the educational program at the School of Civil Engineering of Ciudad Real in Spain was designed using a project-based learning methodology, which produced satisfactory results. Recently, to meet new requirements coming from the higher education European degrees, this program modified its curriculum. To further improve the program, the Transportation Infrastructure course, which was previously taught using traditional methods, was redesigned within a project-based learning framework and was renamed Transportation Geotechnics and Pavement Engineering. Because the school is still transitioning from the old program to the new program, a survey was conducted to compare and discuss the opinions of two groups of students who completed these subjects during the 2012–2013 academic year. The results of both the survey and the final marks of the respective groups illustrate better performance of project-Based learning methodologies compared with traditional teaching techniques.