Reconfiguration and revision of materials and educational methodologies for CE 131 Soil Mechanics

The purpose of this thesis was to reconfigure and revitalize the CE 131 Soil Mechanics course. This purpose was achieved in two distinct and separate ways. First, the aesthetics of the course were improved by computerizing all notes and homework assignments. This resulted in notes and homework assignments that were of better quality and readability. This also allowed for the implementation of an emailing system between the students and the professor which saved time and eliminated the waste of paper in the classroom. All notes and homework assignments were typed and formatted as Microsoft Excel worksheets to allow students to add or delete information as they saw fit. The computerization of the notes and homework assignments also allowed both students and professors to concentrate on the material in the classroom rather than having the professor worry about writing the notes on the blackboard or having the students worry about copying them down. A complete disk set of all notes and homework assignments for CE 131 Soil Mechanics as well as the homework assignments for Foundations Engineering and Lateral Earth Pressures and Retaining Structures is included at the end of this thesis. The second part of the thesis focuses on the learning dynamic in the classroom. Research was done into learning and teaching behavior. The establishment of facilitative dialogues between professor and students and the ensuing learning models and outcomes were explored. The theories expounded in the research were then used to try and improve the future teaching and learning situation for CE 131 Soil Mechanics. An evaluation of a trial run of the computerization of notes and homework assignments for the graduating class of 2003 was also included.*; *This dissertation includes a CD that is compound (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following application: Microsoft Office.