Comparison of different pedagogical techniques to teach Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) is relatively new design methodology for conducting pavement structural and materials design. MEPDG is a significant departure from the current Association of American Society of Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) empirical design. The required inputs are not only ten times more numerous than that of the empirical design guide, but also much more complex. In addition, the MEPDG is still in its beta version which requires internet access to use the software. MEPDG is an AASHTOapproved design; therefore it is critical that the next generation of civil engineers have a conceptual and practical understanding of how the MEPDG works and some hands-on experience with the software. Faculty members from Rowan and Villanova University taught MEPDG in their respective courses. However, at Rowan University the Pavement Design course (of 20 students) was a senior elective and at Villanova University it was a senior design elective (of 45 students). The purpose of the paper is to compare the pedagogical techniques of teaching the MEDPG and presenting the challenges and successes of each of the techniques. The paper presents the course outline with a week-by-week breakdown of activities, typical handouts for each, and typical exam questions. In addition, the learning outcomes and student evaluations and feedback are also presented in the paper.