Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications
Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational...
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/3/176 |
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doaj-d8a402b953ae4418a002fd6652a2078d2020-11-24T20:43:51ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022019-07-019317610.3390/educsci9030176educsci9030176Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete ApplicationsIslam M. Mantawy0Conner Rusch1Sushil Ghimire2Lucas Lantz3Hari Dhamala4Bipesh Shrestha5Anthony Lampert6Mohit Khadka7Anima Bista8Rhytham Soni9Abdulu Saleem Shaik10Eric Lujan11Mika Boyd12Richard Pickings13Alexander Mabrich14Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USABridgeSight, Tahoe, CA 96150, USABentley Systems, Sunrise, FL 33326, USAEducational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable practical exercises in the structural engineering class “CE 506-Prestressed Concrete” at a university in the western United States during the spring of 2017. The class was designed to provide students with the theoretical concepts of prestressed concrete and the ability to interpret applicable design codes. In their project, students continued to build this knowledge by designing a prestressed bridge superstructure according to a unique state design manual. Students prepared a literature review of their selected state in the U.S.A. and used commercial software to perform an analysis and design of their bridge. Additionally, students were asked to backcheck their design using theoretical methods through manual calculations. By the end of the class, students presented their projects in a head-to-head presentation format, to contrast the differences between their designs in a competitive style. This paper summarizes the class structure, the outcome of the design project, and recommendations for future applications of computer technology in structural engineering education.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/3/176Prestressed concreteAcademia-to-industryStructural engineering softwareProject-based learningProblem-based learning |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Islam M. Mantawy Conner Rusch Sushil Ghimire Lucas Lantz Hari Dhamala Bipesh Shrestha Anthony Lampert Mohit Khadka Anima Bista Rhytham Soni Abdulu Saleem Shaik Eric Lujan Mika Boyd Richard Pickings Alexander Mabrich |
| spellingShingle |
Islam M. Mantawy Conner Rusch Sushil Ghimire Lucas Lantz Hari Dhamala Bipesh Shrestha Anthony Lampert Mohit Khadka Anima Bista Rhytham Soni Abdulu Saleem Shaik Eric Lujan Mika Boyd Richard Pickings Alexander Mabrich Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications Education Sciences Prestressed concrete Academia-to-industry Structural engineering software Project-based learning Problem-based learning |
| author_facet |
Islam M. Mantawy Conner Rusch Sushil Ghimire Lucas Lantz Hari Dhamala Bipesh Shrestha Anthony Lampert Mohit Khadka Anima Bista Rhytham Soni Abdulu Saleem Shaik Eric Lujan Mika Boyd Richard Pickings Alexander Mabrich |
| author_sort |
Islam M. Mantawy |
| title |
Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications |
| title_short |
Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications |
| title_full |
Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications |
| title_fullStr |
Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Bridging the Gap between Academia and Practice: Project-Based Class for Prestressed Concrete Applications |
| title_sort |
bridging the gap between academia and practice: project-based class for prestressed concrete applications |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| series |
Education Sciences |
| issn |
2227-7102 |
| publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
| description |
Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable practical exercises in the structural engineering class “CE 506-Prestressed Concrete” at a university in the western United States during the spring of 2017. The class was designed to provide students with the theoretical concepts of prestressed concrete and the ability to interpret applicable design codes. In their project, students continued to build this knowledge by designing a prestressed bridge superstructure according to a unique state design manual. Students prepared a literature review of their selected state in the U.S.A. and used commercial software to perform an analysis and design of their bridge. Additionally, students were asked to backcheck their design using theoretical methods through manual calculations. By the end of the class, students presented their projects in a head-to-head presentation format, to contrast the differences between their designs in a competitive style. This paper summarizes the class structure, the outcome of the design project, and recommendations for future applications of computer technology in structural engineering education. |
| topic |
Prestressed concrete Academia-to-industry Structural engineering software Project-based learning Problem-based learning |
| url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/3/176 |
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