Teaching Soil Mechanics to the Would-Be Construction Professional

Final Paper pdf 744KB

Conveying the essential fundamentals of soil mechanics in the context of an engineering technology or construction management degree poses some challenges. Soil mechanics curriculum is traditionally much more theoretical than applied. A successful construction engineer or manager needs to develop an understanding of how soils, groundwater and foundations interact, and all of this typically needs to be conveyed in one 15-week course. This leaves precious little space for the development of soil mechanics theory. For the construction career track, a very important aspect of career preparation is to develop a frame of reference to interpret soil-related construction documents such as boring logs, geotechnical reports, and foundation drawings. Relevant courses vary significantly in name within construction degrees, often variations of “Soil Mechanics” and “Foundation Construction Methods”. Dividing such courses into thirds using some included activity modules has been found to be effective in preparing the students for construction careers.

Author(s):

Craig Wise    
Engineering & Science Technology
University of Akron
U.S. Outlying Islands