Integrating Experiemental Techniques/An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Approach to Teaching

混凝土的性能取决于化学和加工以及由此产生的材料的微观结构和性能；然而，土木工程本科学生并没有接触到发展这些关系的实验室。为了让学生有机会发现这种多样性，并最终了解这种复杂材料的性能，提供相关的实验室经验和课堂教学是至关重要的。该项目为解决混凝土材料科学与工程的三个基本领域的设备提供资金：(1)水化，(2)流动特性，(3)输运特性。结合现有的机械测试设施，从教学和基于内容的角度来看，新实验室将化学、加工、微观结构、耐久性和机械性能等关键问题结合在一起，成为一种新颖的本科体验。这个项目的目标是：(1)让学生参与揭示混凝土的化学、加工、微观结构和性能之间关系的实验活动；(2)将课程内容从被动的讲授型教学转变为主动的动手探究型实验活动；(3)将设计、规划、实施和分析的要素纳入实验室，而不是按部就班地进行教学练习；(4)允许学生指导自己的实验经验，每个学生可以进行不同的实验；(5)促进学生之间的合作，通过将许多个人实验的结果结合成一个累积的更大的整体来扩大知识基础；(6)用一种方法取代传统的以单一技术为特征的离散实验室活动，这种方法集成了各种技术，并说明了实验方法之间的关系，以及如何集体解释这些结果。

The performance of concrete depends on chemistry and processing and the resulting microstructure and properties of the material; yet, undergraduate civil engineering students are not exposed to laboratories that develop these relationships. For students to have the opportunity to discover the diversity and ultimately come to understand performance of this complex material, it is critical to provide relevant laboratory experiences as well as classroom instruction. This project provides funding for equipment that addresses three basic areas of concrete materials science and engineering: (l) hydration, (2) flow properties, and (3) transport properties. In combination with existing mechanical testing facilities, the new laboratory becomes a novel undergraduate experience, both from a pedagogical and content-based perspective, which brings together key issues in chemistry, processing, microstructure, durability, and mechanical performance. The goals of this project are: (1) to engage students in laboratory activities that reveal the relationship among chemistry, processing, microstructure, and performance of concrete, (2) to shift course content from passive lecture-based teaching to active hands-on inquiry-based laboratory activities, (3) to incorporate into the laboratories elements of design, planning, implementation, and analysis rather than step-by-step follow-the-instruction exercises, (4) to permit students to direct their own laboratory experiences whereby each student may perform different experiments, (5) to promote collaboration among students to expand the knowledge base by combining the results of many individual experiments into a cumulative greater whole, and (6) to replace traditional discrete laboratory activities that feature single techniques with a methodology that integrates techniques and illustrates the relationships among experimental methods and how to interpret such results collectively.