Teaching Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures through Laboratory Activities

Courses in design of reinforced concrete structures given by the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Sapienza University of Rome usually take the form of traditional lectures, exercises, and project work. This article presents the initial results of a project started in 2019 that aims to use, as an auxiliary teaching tool for these courses, hands-on experiences in laboratory involving design, construction, and failure tests of small-scale reinforced concrete elements. The objective is to enhance students’ understanding of the physical behavior of structures and the principles of structural design through a more holistic approach. To achieve this, educational laboratory experiences are introduced to supplement traditional frontal lecture courses on reinforced concrete structures. The effectiveness on the students’ preparation and involvement in the activities was found to be positive. Even though the activities were voluntary and there were no extra credit opportunities, all students participated, indicating strong interest.