Exploring Educational Needs and Practices in Structural Analysis
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
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Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL) Technical Session - Instructional Technology 2
- Tagged Division
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Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/47406
Paper Authors
Joel Lanning
University of California, Irvine
orcid.org/0000-0003-0783-6946
Dr. Joel Lanning, an Associate Professor of Teaching at the University of California, Irvine, specializes in seismic design for civil structures, including bridges and buildings. His research revolves around advancing tools and techniques for improving the cyclic resilience of structural components. Dr. Lanning is passionate about teaching and is dedicated to developing strategies and tools for effective learning. His teaching philosophy emphasizes the creation of strong learning communities and the use of active learning methods to engage and challenge his students.
Matthew W Roberts Southern Utah University
Dr. Roberts has been teaching structural engineering topics for 22 years. He is a professor of civil engineering at Southern Utah University.
Brandon K Wiggins Southern Utah University
Prof. Wiggins is an Associate Professor of Physics at Southern Utah University. He works in computational astrophysics and specializes in large dataset analysis and visualization, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing.
Abstract
For decades, the gap between academic training and practical skills in structural engineering has been a concern for both practitioners and educators. This disconnect is often attributed to several factors including an imbalance in the teaching of analytical and theoretical methods, too much or too little exposure to computer software, inadequate focus on developing an intuitive understanding of structures, and a deficiency in nurturing engineering thinking and imaginative problem-solving abilities.
This paper examines the alignment between industry needs and academic curricula for structural analysis education. Recent surveys of practitioners and educators reveal agreement on the importance of both classical methods and competency with analysis software. However, an investigation of structural analysis course descriptions in 264 U.S. undergraduate civil engineering programs indicates that only 54% explicitly cover computer techniques, while just 22% teach approximate methods useful for verifying software—a skill rated as 'Important' or 'Very Important' by the vast majority (>90%) of practitioners and educators surveyed. This highlights the disconnect between valued industry skills and current teaching practices. The investigation further reveals there may also be mismatches such as limited emphasis on topics like load path understanding, again despite its applied value. As automation shapes the profession, developing forward-thinking, integrated curricula that merges classical skills with software proficiency and an understanding of structural behavior is increasingly critical.
Lanning, J., & Roberts, M. W., & Wiggins, B. K. (2024, June), Exploring Educational Needs and Practices in Structural Analysis Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47406
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