Incorporating Various Learning Styles in a Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

This paper is an update of an ongoing project involving extensive use of video technology for classroom activities in a geotechnical engineering laboratory course. In particular, synchronous video conferencing was conducted between California Polytechnic State University (Primarily Undergraduate Institution) and Auburn University (Research-1 Institution). Synchronous video conferencing was conducted between university classrooms and practitioners. In some cases, international partners (both practitioners and universities) were involved in the conferencing activities. Video productions were assigned and completed by students in lieu of conventional written laboratory reports. For selected assignments, graphics-only (i.e., no words) or audio-only documentation of laboratory experiences was required. All of the activities have been undertaken to investigate the pedagogical benefits of incorporating unconventional learning styles into teaching of geotechnical engineering laboratory courses. Assessment of these learning activities is presented. Opportunities, challenges, and strategies for implementing this teaching methodology are described. Introduction and Background This project was conducted to develop new teaching methodologies that emphasize unconventional learning styles for an engineering laboratory environment as well as to incorporate technology for enhancing communications in classroom settings. The project includes assessment of methods for enhancing teaching and learning in geotechnical engineering laboratory courses. Teaching methods incorporating novel use of video technology are being developed to promote learning by stimulating a broader variety of learning styles than is typically used in conventional engineering laboratories. Learning-style-specific assignments have been developed and assessed. A collaboration was established between two U.S. universities for this project: California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and Auburn University (Auburn). Cal Poly is a predominantly undergraduate institution, while Auburn is a Tier 1 research institution. This paper provides progress on this extensive investigation including a) recent activities that have been conducted at the universities, b) recent activities that have occurred between the universities and other project partners, and c) overview of assessment methods and data. Some of the categories of activities reported have been conducted over multiple terms and modifications have been made to improve effectiveness of these new teaching methods. This paper presents the most recent versions of activities and provides context and justification for modifications that have been made in the teaching methods. A description of the exercises, assessment of the methodology, and suggestions for successful adoption of similar efforts are also provided. Recent Project Activities and Developments Recent advances on the project have included in-class interactions with practitioners, incorporation of learning-style-specific (e.g., audio-only) format requirements for laboratory assignments, development of inter-university competitions based on laboratory experiments, incorporation of new technology, and expansion of film production in lieu of written laboratory reports. In addition, new project assessment has been conducted using various techniques including peer evaluation, correlation of student work with learning-style-specific activities, and small break-out video-conference focus groups of students with an external evaluator. In-Class Interaction using Video Conferencing Video conferencing has been used extensively in this project. Synchronous video conferencing has been used for university-university communications, university-practitioner experiences, and assessment activities. International experiences have been integrated into the scope of the project at both partner universities including international university-university as well as universitypractitioner interactions. Internet-based synchronous video conferencing was conducted between university partners. Exercises were developed to provide meaningful and stimulating interactions. The interactions have included role-playing (e.g., client assigning work to the partner university); sharing, comparing, and discussing variability in experimental test data; sharing of visually intensive soil mechanics demonstrations (e.g., Soils Magic Show ); sharing of experimental test procedures using unique testing equipment; and providing laboratory and local geologic tours. Both Cal Poly and Auburn have had remote interactions with practitioners in the laboratory classroom. At Auburn, a deep foundation consultant provided a guest lecture to the class using internet-based video conference. The focus of the video conference was on professionalism and professional practice, topics not commonly included in undergraduate curricula. The practitioner provided coverage of practices related to client development, work procedures including subcontracting, and avoidance of liability. Litigation, an important part of geotechnical practice, was covered with special emphasis on avoidance. The students were highly interested and engaged. Student interest was piqued by guest lecture. The audio aspect of the technology used allowed the students to ask questions to the practitioner at various times. The importance of written and oral communication was emphasized, with examples from professional practice. At the end, the practitioner allowed open discussion of geotechnical engineering. Subsequent laboratory and classroom reviews of the remote seminar indicated that the students enjoyed the experience, and the lecture by the practitioner brought out additional insights on professional practice. At Cal Poly, interaction with a practitioner from Japan took place via internet-based video conference. This session was conducted in a similar format as previous years in the project, which has been described in detail elsewhere. 4 The experience included a guest lecture via video conference on rockfall analysis, a related laboratory experiment related to rockfall, a design problem related to rockfall barrier specifications (both length and energy absorption level of barrier), breakout sessions for discussion between the practitioner and small groups of students, and production of a written laboratory report that was shared with the engineers at the Japanese consulting firm. For the design problem, the students used the theory introduced during the guest lecture together with test results from coefficient of restitution and rock rolling experiments. The breakout sessions were conducted after the guest lecture, wherein student groups visited various stations to complete the laboratory. As a new development this year, the assignment contained test procedures documented as figures (with very limited text). This format of test procedures forced students to incorporate a predominantly visual learning style into the assignment and had an added benefit of providing a document that could be shared with a broad audience at the foreign office without requirements for translation. Learning-Style-Specific Assignments During the past year portions of assignments that were specific to individual learning styles have been incorporated to course content. Two examples include solely audio components and solely graphical components for laboratory reports. For the audio assignments, students were required to record a summary of test procedures (replacing the conventional written summary). The students from Cal Poly and Auburn exchanged the audio recordings and assessed the effectiveness of both their own group’s recording and at least one selected recording from the other university. A rubric was provided to the students to rate the technical as well as audio clarity in the recordings. The groups evaluated whether standardized testing procedures (e.g., ASTM) were followed based on the recorded summaries. A variety of formats were used for the audio files (ranging from video files without images to smartphone voice recordings). The grain size distribution exercise was selected because its procedure is relatively straightforward to describe without images. Most audio clips presented by the students were approximately four minutes in duration. Additional experiments with more complicated procedures will be used for future audio assignments. For the graphical assignments, students were required to present the Test Procedures portion of laboratory reports using only graphics. Some students chose to make detailed computerized drafting representations, while others chose less formal cartoon strip formats. Examples of student work for the graphical assignments are presented in Figures 1-4. These exercises required students to capture the essence of the testing procedures without the extensive use of words. A portion of the students delivered high quality graphical representations of the procedures, indicating that they were engaged by the required presentation format.