Background: Conceptual understanding is critical to both engineering education and practice. In fact, many undergraduate courses focus on developing students' knowledge and understanding of core engineering concepts. At the same time, a growing body of literature points to substantial gaps across educational and professional practice contexts,…

Analyzes the effectiveness of introducing practical design projects at an early stage within a civil engineering undergraduate program. Traces the success of this strategy at each stage from its introduction to the final evaluation. Findings indicate that the projects were successful in improving the understanding of basic concepts and encouraging…

Four projects were assigned to final year civil engineering undergraduates in a course on structural steel design. The projects involved the design, construction, and testing of two columns and two trusses. (TS)