Assessing the Use of Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering Education

Abstract

Civil engineering failures, unfortunately, occur from time to time leading to serious consequences. It is of importance that civil engineering undergraduate students are made aware of cases of failure in the past, and hence, to enhance their ability of identification of potential deficiencies. Investigating past cases of civil engineering failures has been carried out in UNMC for the last five years. The students are required to research, investigate and write essays reporting on these failures, detailing the causes and lessons learned. This study was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of such approach. The outcomes of this study indicate that the use of civil engineering failure as case studies enhances the students’ educational experiences. In addition to the technical learning benefits from past civil engineering failure case studies, there are also impacts on students’ attitudes which has significant implications in their expected profession.