Teaching geotechnical engineering with theory-practice integration: Group project approach

摘要

Geotechnical Engineering is a compulsory core Civil Engineering subject in the standard Bachelor’srnprogramme of Malaysian universities, as in most other institutions of higher learning elsewhere. What setsrnthe subject apart here appears to be the infamous nickname assigned to it, i.e. ‘the killer subject’. The notorietyrnis founded on the misguided belief that the subject’s contents are highly technical and difficult to grasp, partlyrnbecause the mechanics involving soils are barely visible to the naked eye! With a ‘bad’ name as such, it is nornwonder that many students take the subject with unnatural apprehension and fear. In order to facilitate a better andrnmore effective learning atmosphere, a group project approach was incorporated in the subject, encouraging thernstudents to relate lecture contents and additional reading materials with a real-life geotechnical problem at theirrndoorstep: the campus itself. The University grounds are underlain by deep deposits of soft marine clay, which hasrnrendered construction to be preceded by extensive treatment of the soil. The project enlisted the student groupsrnas consultants to design and propose ground improvement techniques with emphasis on creativity, innovationrnand cost-effectiveness. Tangible outcomes of a scaled model, technical paper and poster were produced at thernend of 12 weeks. This paper presents an analysis and discussion of the exit survey conducted at the end of thernproject. The embedded project clearly helped ease the students in their learning, and at the same time fulfilledrnthe Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs) as well as Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs). Besides, thernstudents positively responded to the development of their humanistic skills much emphasised in today’s engineeringrnhigher education. In short, it is proposed that projects integrating theory and practice be introduced inrnsimilar engineering subjects to transform an otherwise dreary subject to an interesting and fun-filled one.