Civil engineering body of knowledge for the 21st century : preparing the civil engineer for the future

192 Pages·2008·1.22 MB·English

American Society
of Civil Engineers
Civil Engineering
Body of Knowledge
for the 21st Century
Preparing the Civil Engineer
for the Future
Second Edition
Prepared by the
Body of Knowledge
Committee
of the
Committee on
Academic
Prerequisites for
Professional
Practice
ASCE and American Society of Civil Engineers—Registered
in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, Virginia, 20191-4400
www.asce.org
Copyright © 2008 by the
American Society of Civil Engineers.
All Rights Reserved.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Civil engineering body of knowledge for the 21st century:
preparing the civil engineer for the future/prepared by the
Body of Knowledge Committee of the Committee on Aca-
demic Prerequisites for Professional Practice.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7844-0965-7
ISBN-10: 0-7844-0965-X
1. Civil engineering—Study and teaching
(Higher)—United States. 2. Civil engineering—Vocational
guidance—United States. I. American Society of Civil Engi-
neers. Body of Knowledge Committee.
T73.C538 2008
624.023—dc22
2007051364
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
Executive Summary 1
Body of Knowledge 1
Fulfilling the Body of Knowledge 2
Roles of Faculty, Students, Engineer Interns, and Practitioners 4
The Next Steps 5
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 6
The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 6
ASCE Policy Statement 465: Emergence of the Body of Knowledge 8
Formation of and Charge to the Second Body of Knowledge Committee 10
Committee’s Overall Approach 10
Note to the Reader 11
CHAPTER 2 Body of Knowledge—Knowledge, Skills,
and Attitudes Necessary for Entry into
Professional Practice 12
Introduction 12
Bloom’s Taxonomy 13
Outcomes: Introduction 14
Outcomes: Enhanced Clarity 15
CHAPTER 3 Fulfilling the Body of Knowledge 20
Introduction 20
Outcomes: Paths to Fulfillment 21
Outcomes: Rubric 23
Outcomes: Explanations 26
Outcomes: Validating Fulfillment 27
The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 and the Body of Knowledge:
The Foundation of the Policy Statement 465 Master Plan 30
Other Ways the Body of Knowledge Could Be Used 36
CHAPTER 4 Guidance for Faculty, Students, Engineer
Interns, and Practitioners 37
Introduction 37
Guidance for Faculty 38
Guidance for Students 46
Guidance for Engineer Interns 49
Guidance for Practitioners 54
Summary 59
CHAPTER 5 The Next Steps 60
CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY iii
Acknowledgments 63
APPENDIX A Abbreviations 64
APPENDIX B Glossary 67
APPENDIX C ASCE Policy 465: Emergence of the
Body of Knowledge 70
APPENDIX D Charge to the Body of Knowledge
Committee 73
Introduction 73
Charge 73
Committee Composition 75
Effort Expected of Committee Members 75
APPENDIX E Members and Corresponding Members
of the Body of Knowledge Committee 76
Members 76
Corresponding Members 77
ASCE Staff 80
Contributors to Special Tasks 80
APPENDIX F Bloom’s Taxonomy 81
Level 1—Knowledge 81
Level 2—Comprehension 82
Level 3—Application 82
Level 4— Analysis 83
Level 5—Synthesis 84
Level 6—Evaluation 85
Cited Sources 85
APPENDIX G The Affective Domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy 87
Overview 87
Bloom’s Taxonomy 87
First Edition of the Body of Knowledge 88
The Levels of Achievement Report 89
The Curriculum Committee Report 91
Second Edition of the BOK 91
Conclusion: Two-Dimensional Outcomes 92
Example Affective Domain Rubrics 92
Commentary on Affective Domain Portions of the Example Rubrics 95
Recommendation for Future Work 96
Cited Sources 96
APPENDIX H Relationship of ABET, BOK1, and BOK2
Outcomes 98
APPENDIX I Body of Knowledge Outcome Rubric 103
APPENDIX J Explanations of Outcomes 113
Introduction 113
iv CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
APPENDIX K Humanities and Social Sciences 153
Introduction 153
Liberal Learning in Civil Engineering Education 154
A Balanced Body of Knowledge 155
Foundational Outcomes in the Body of Knowledge 156
Cited Sources 156
APPENDIX L Sustainability 157
Overview 157
Civil Engineering and the Sustainability Commitment 157
Sustainability and the Body of Knowledge 159
Interdisciplinary, Distinctive Competence, Scope 159
The Rationale behind the Sustainability Rubric 160
Cited Sources 161
APPENDIX M Globalization 163
Introduction 163
Professional Practice 163
Infrastructure 164
Environment 164
Computer Tools and the Internet 164
Definitions of Globalization 164
Sources 166
APPENDIX N Public Policy 168
Cited Sources 170
APPENDIX O Attitudes 172
Findings of the First Body of Knowledge Committee 172
The Importance of Attitudes in the Engineering Profession
and Beyond 173
Attitudes or Abilities? 173
Assessing Attitudes 174
Concluding Remarks 174
Cited Sources 175
APPENDIX P Notes 177
CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY v
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List of Figures
Figure ES-1. Entry into the practice of civil engineering
at the professional level requires fulfilling
24 outcomes to the appropriate levels of
achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 1. Implementation of Policy Statement 465
will improve the lifelong career of
tomorrow’s civil engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 2. Entry into the practice of civil engineering
at the professional level requires fulfilling
24 outcomes to the appropriate levels of
achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3. The BOK rubric integrates outcomes,
levels of achievement, formal education,
and prelicensure experience . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 4. ASCE’s master plan for implementing
Policy Statement 465 builds on the Vision
for Civil Engineering in 2025 and the body
of knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure C-1. Implementation of Policy Statement 465
will improve the lifelong career of
tomorrow’s civil engineer . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Figure K-1. The future technical and professional
practice education of civil engineers is
supported on four foundational legs. . . 156
CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY vii
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List of Tables
Table 1. Entry into the practice of civil engineering
at the professional level requires fulfilling
24 outcomes to the various levels of
achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 2. Validation of path 1 to body of
knowledge fulfillment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Table 3. Validation of path 2 to body of
knowledge fulfillment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Table 4. Lowman’s two-dimensional model of
effective college teaching is based on
interpersonal rapport and intellectual
excitement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Table G-1. Levels and sublevels of achievement
in the affective domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Table G-2. Illustrative affective domain objectives
excerpted from Krathwohl et al.,
Appendix A, “A Condensed Version
of the Affective Domain.” . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Table G-3. Example rubric for a two-dimensional
outcome—communication . . . . . . . . . 93
Table G-4. Example rubric for a two-dimensional
outcome—professional and ethical
responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Table H-1. From the ABET program criteria
outcomes to BOK2 outcomes. . . . . . . 101
Table H-2. From the BOK2 outcomes to the
ABET program criteria outcomes . . . 102
CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ix