CDIO approach to experimental laboratory work

In the design of engineering curricula, laboratory practices for undergraduate students, during the first years of education, have played an important role. Curricula have changed over the years, seeking to better adapt to new markets, stakeholders' needs and new technologies 1, 2. New educational methodologies for the teaching have been studied and implemented 3. However, the same effort has not been put into adapting laboratory practices. Few publications have been found 4, 5, and fewer related to educational practices in construction subjects. Open-ended experiments, or project-based experiments increase the independent learning and also promotes the creative thinking, by giving them the tools to design and develop the experiment. Implementation of open ended experiment in the construction engineering area 6. According to survey reported by Haron et al., students believe that open-ended experiment helps to understand experimental concepts better than with traditional experimental instruction. They are forced into a situation close to professional work so the students’ perception is to be better prepare for the real work. This approach will improve the innovation and creativity student curricula competences that need to be strengthened 2. The CDIO is an initiative to educate the students. As established by CDIO network the main goals are: a) To master a deeper working knowledge of the technical fundamentals; b) To lead in the creation and operation of new products and systems; c) To understand the importance and strategic value of their work in order to meet these goals. CDIO promotes reforms in teaching and learning, and focuses on hands-on learning where students are asked to solve the open-ended problems that don’t have a single correct answer. It has been implemented with success by many universities, in different subjects, from bioengineering to mechanical design, for example. It provides a universal structure for a strong engineering education integrating an entire set of graduate attributes 7, 8, 9. American Concrete Institute has been pioneer launching students’ competitions for promoting concrete mixture design as an important aspect to understand performance of the material, as sustainability, lightness, toughness, for example. American Ceramic Society also sponsors various contest for undergraduate and graduate students. In Spain, model competitions for large-span structures are becoming more popular. The aim is to achieve the most economical structure with the highest load capacity, while meeting the requirements demanded. To this end, the structures could be monitored with displacement sensors to compare strength, stiffness and stability results. These competitions allow students to integrate knowledge from different disciplines; however, the results of a survey conducted at ETSIAE show that students perceive this laboratory practices approach as an additional overload. The aim of this paper is to make a review and evaluate the project-based practices or competitions approaches in education focused on the “Laboratory Practices” in the construction field, that have been adopted in some universities, in order to propose a more adequate framework for learning and evaluation practical classes. It also seeks to identify the barriers that cause students to reject this approach.