Design, Construction, and Destruction in the Classroom: Experiential Learning with Earthen Dams
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 6
Abstract
Early in their career, engineering students sometimes have difficulty linking academic concepts between courses and the interests that led to their enrollment. We present a design “interlude” event that is intended to improve experiential inductive learning and the vertical and horizontal integration of engineering courses. In this exercise, second year engineering students design, build, and test a scaled model of an earthen dam. The method integrates content from technical courses in which they are currently enrolled, such as statistics and fluid mechanics, and previews future courses in their curriculum, such as soil mechanics, hydrology, and hydraulics. Students consult with a range of experts, mock stakeholders, and mock protestors. Projects are evaluated for social/environmental impacts, technical design, cost, and performance, including stability, power generation, and spillway overflow. Student feedback was positive and highlights the intended benefits for the students, including interaction with industry partners, team building for the students, hands-on learning, and a better understanding of the impact of engineering projects.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data used during the study are available in a repository online in accordance with funder data retention policies (MacVicar 2020).
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the help of undergraduate students Darynne Hagen, Grant Mitchell, and Hannah Murphy; department technical staff, including Terry Ridgway, Mark Merlau, Richard Morrison, Mark Sobon, Dan Jessel, and Victor Lewis, for their assistance with planning and running the event; Peter Volcic for putting together the power display and circuitry; Dr. Ahmed El-Awady for explaining dam function and risks to the students; and Prof. Mark Knight for impromptu lessons on geomechanics. The authors would also like to acknowledge the instructors who allowed their students to participate in the event, the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at the University of Waterloo, and the IDEAS Clinic at the University of Waterloo for funding and supporting the design days.
References
Aslan, S. 2015. “Is learning by teaching effective in gaining 21st century skills? The views of pre-service science teachers.” Kuram ve Uygulamada Egitim Bilimleri 15 (6): 1441–1457. https://10.12738/estp.2016.1.019.
Bednarek, A. T. 2001. “Undamming rivers: A review of the ecological impacts of dam removal.” Environ. Manage. 27 (6): 803–814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002670010189.
Bostwick, D. T. 2010. “The relationship between background demographics and motivational orientation for learning of adult education students and their career choices and educational aspirations.” Ph.D. Thesis, College of Education, TUI Univ.
Casey, A. 2013. Hope for the Saskatchewan River? Ottawa: Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
CEAB (Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board). 2018. Accreditation criteria and procedures. Ottawa: Engineering Canada.
Downing, J. A., et al. 2006. “The global abundance and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments.” Limnol. Oceanogr. 51 (5): 2388–2397. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2006.51.5.2388.
Duncan, H., and T. Dick. 2000. “Collaborative workshops and student academic performance in introductory college mathematics courses: A study of a treisman model math excel program.” School Sci. Math. 100 (7): 365–373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.2000.tb18178.x.
Foster, M., R. Fell, and M. Spannagle. 2000. “The statistics of embankment dam failures and accidents.” Can. Geotech. J. 37 (5): 1000–1024. https://doi.org/10.1139/t00-030.
GEW (Global Engineering Week). 2019. “GEweek [Online].” Accessed April 1, 2019. https://geweek.com/index.html.
Govaerts, L. E. 2016. “Transformative consequences of Garrison Dam: Land, people, and the practice of archaeology.” Great Plains Q. 36 (4): 281–308. https://doi.org/10.1353/gpq.2016.0050.
Grzega, J., and B. Klüsener. 2011. “Learning by teaching through polylogues: Training expert communication in information and knowledge societies using LdL (Lernen durch Lehren).” Fachsprache 33 (1): 17–35. https://doi.org/10.24989/fs.v33i1-2.1379.
Grzega, J., and M. Schöner. 2008. “The didactic model LdL (Lernen durch Lehren) as a way of preparing students for communication in a knowledge society.” J. Educ. Teach. 34 (3): 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607470802212157.
Hardiman, M., and G. Whitman. 2014. “Assessment and the learning brain: What the research tells us.” Independent School 73 (2): 2.
Ivkovic, I., T. L. Willet, M. J. Borland, and M. Gorbe. 2017. “Design days boot camp: Enhancing student motivation to start thinking in engineering design terms in the first year.” In Proc., Canadian Engineering Education Association Conf. Winnipeg, MB: Canadian Engineering Education Association.
Lattuca, L. R., T. Terenzini, and J. Fredricks Volkwein. 2006. Engineering change: A study of the impact of EC2000, 30. Baltimore: Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Li, E., C. Rennick, C. Hulls, M. Cooper-Stachowsky, E. Boghaert, M. Robinson, W. Melek, and S. Bedi. 2017. “Tron days: Horizontal integration and authentic learning.” In Proc., Canadian Engineering Education Association Conf. Winnipeg, MB: Canadian Engineering Education Association.
MacVicar, B. 2020. “Survey data for earth dam design days MacVicar et al JHE Special Issue Submitted May 2019.” Scholars Portal Dataverse https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/L4MZTI.
McKay, K., S. Mohamed, and L. Stacey. 2016. “Concepts only please! Innovating a first year engineering course.” In Proc., Canadian Engineering Education Association Conf. Winnipeg, MB: Canadian Engineering Education Association.
Milillo, P., R. Bürgmann, P. Lundgren, J. Salzer, D. Perissin, E. Fielding, F. Biondi, and G. Milillo. 2016. “Space geodetic monitoring of engineered structures: The ongoing destabilization of the Mosul dam Iraq.” Sci. Rep. 6: 37408. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep37408.
Mui, R. H., S. J. Woo, S. Arbuckle, and R. S. W. Al-Hammoud. 2019. “Architectural engineering start with design from day 1.” In Proc., ASEE Annual Conf. Washington, DC: American Society for Engineering Education.
Muirhead, C., R. Al-Hammoud, J. Craig, and B. J. MacVicar. 2018. “Linking academic courses with practical hands-on experience for civil, environmental and geological engineering students.” In Proc., CEEA Annual Conf. Environmental and Geological Engineering Students. Winnipeg, MB: Canadian Engineering Education Association.
Ogg, A. 2014. “Blown up, and 21 meters down, Buffalo Child Stone is sacred as ever.” Cree Literacy Network (Blog). https://creeliteracy.org/2014/09/07/blown-up-and-21-meters-down-mastaseni-is-still-sacred/.
Paris, S., and P. Winograd. 2003. The role of self-regulated learning in contextual teaching: Principals and practices for teacher preparation. Winnipeg, MB: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
Petts, G., and A. Gurnell. 2013. “Hydrogeomorphic effects of reservoirs, dams, and diversions.” In Treatise on geomorphology, 96–114. London: Elsevier.
Phillips, S., K. Giesinger, R. Al-Hammoud, S. Walbridge, and C. Carroll. 2018. “Enhancing student learning by providing a risk free environment and experiential learning opportunities.” In Proc., ASEE 125th Annual Conf. and Exposition, 12. Washington, DC: American Society for Engineering Education.
Poff, N. L., J. D. Olden, D. M. Merritt, and D. M. Pepin. 2007. “Homogenization of regional river dynamics by dams and global biodiversity implications.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104 (14): 5732–5737. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0609812104.
SaskPower. 2019. “System map [Online].” Accessed April 1, 2019. https://www.saskpower.com/Our-Power-Future/Our-Electricity/Electrical-System/System-Map.
Seed, H. B., and J. M. Duncan. 1987. “The failure of Teton dam.” Eng. Geol. 24 (1–4): 173–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-7952(87)90060-3.
Smith, N. D., G. S. Morozova, M. Pérez-Arlucea, and M. R. Gibling. 2016. “Dam-induced and natural channel changes in the Saskatchewan River below the E.B. Campbell Dam, Canada.” Geomorphology 269 (9): 186–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.06.041.
Spray, H. 2014. “In 1966, a sacred aboriginal rock was blown up to make way for a man-made lake. Now divers search for remnants.” National Post, August 27, 2014.
Vano, J. A., M. D. Dettinger, R. Cifelli, D. Curtis, A. Dufour, K. Miller, J. R. Olsen, and A. M. Wilson. 2019. “Hydroclimatic extremes as challenges for the water management community: Lessons from oroville dam and Hurricane Harvey.” Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 100 (1): S9–S14. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0219.1.
Vörösmarty, C. J., M. Meybeck, B. Fekete, K. Sharma, P. Green, and J. P. M. Syvitski. 2003. “Anthropogenic sediment retention: Major global impact from registered river impoundments.” Global Planet. Change 39 (1–2): 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(03)00023-7.
Ward, J. V., and J. A. Stanford. 1995. “Ecological connectivity in alluvial river ecosystems and its disruption by flow regulation.” Regul. Rivers Res. Manage. 11 (1): 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrr.3450110109.
Zarfl, C., A. E. Lumsdon, J. Berlekamp, L. Tydecks, and K. Tockner. 2014. “A global boom in hydropower dam construction.” Aquat. Sci. 77 (1): 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 10, 2019
Accepted: Nov 6, 2019
Published online: Mar 20, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Aug 20, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.