Engineering - Civil (54) The need to include topics of analysis and investigation of structural failures in civil engineering undergraduate courses has been nationally recognized for some time. Studying structural failures supports the idea that there is much to be learned from bad experiences in the recent or distant past. Learning about past failures will decrease the likelihood of failures in future designs. This project is creating new materials for active learning in a simulated environment to improve student awareness about the causes and effects of structural failures in engineering. The materials consist of a computer-based modular system that uses a case-based reasoning approach. Several modules are being developed and evaluated that undergraduate civil engineering students are using to learn about this important, but often neglected, topic. Expert practitioners in the field of civil engineering are contributing to the development of the specific case studies described in the modules. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation is being used to determine the impact of the modules on student learning.
