Combination of Teaching Strategies for Upper-Division Structural Engineering Courses

For undergraduate students, structural engineering subjects are difficult for them to understand, especially those students with insufficient preparation in the prerequisite courses including Engineering Statics and Mechanics of Materials. To enhance in-class student engagement and student learning, a combination of out-of-class homework assignment, additional practice test problems, as well as in-class extra credit quizzes have been provided to students before each test including quizzes, midterm exam and final exam. Each set of practice problems was provided to the students in a Structural Analysis class and the students were asked to submit their answers for the practice problems before solutions were made available. The aim of this was not to assess students, it was to make them study more, not to postpone and be aware of their level of understanding. To prevent unfairness among students and grade inflation, the practice problems did not appear in the tests directly without being modified. Moreover, more than 50% of the test questions were not based on practice problems. Additionally, extra credit quizzes were implemented to motivate students to stay committed. The combination of pre-class material and the in-class extra credit quizzes increased class engagement and enabled students to follow class discussions and made testing and exams a more positive learning experience. The implementation of these various teaching pedagogical strategies was used to encourage students to learn enthusiastically by being constantly engaged in problem solving. The implementation of these different strategies benefited most students in the class and their grades were improved as the semester progressed. Such strategies will continue to be used next semester on different structural engineering courses and students' surveys will also be conducted.