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

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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.