Implementation and Assessment of Failure Case Studies in the Engineering Curriculum

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Engineering - Civil (54)The history of the development of practice in many engineering disciplines is, in large part, the story of failures, both imminent and actual, and of changes to designs, standards, and procedures made as a result of the timely interventions or forensic analyses. Case studies are an effective vehicle for not only improving student understanding of forensic engineering and the underlying theoretical principles but also for highlighting non-technical issues such as professional and ethical responsibility. Despite their usefulness, case studies in forensic engineering are not in widespread use in undergraduate civil engineering curricula. Through this project, forensic engineering case studies that feature structural failures are being adopted at thirteen diverse universities across the country. The case studies cover a wide range of structural failures and were previously developed and rigorously evaluated through a CCLI Phase 1 project. Student learning and improvements in motivation through the use of failure case studies are being evaluated through this project at these diverse institutions and the results are being broadly disseminated to the engineering education community.