Going Out on a Limb: Using Poetry to Reinforce Civil Engineering Concepts.

This paper presents the results of a personal introspection on the subject of intentionally taking oneself out of a comfort-zone in the classroom with the goal of continuous teaching improvement. Specifically, this paper discusses one civil engineering educator's implementation of reading engineering poetry in the classroom throughout a course to both reinforce learned concepts for his students and at the same time to go "out on a limb" beyond his comfort zone in an effort to capture and channel feelings of excitement and apprehension. The hypothesis associated with this study is that by intentionally taking one's self out of a comfort zone in front of students, the instructor will ultimately be more comfortable in the classroom. Secondly, it is also suggested that the students associated with the course appreciated and respected the instructor's attempt at using a non-traditional method of engineering instruction. Finally, an attempt will be made to determine if the use of poetry actually assisted students with reinforcement of learned civil engineering concepts. It is anticipated that this paper will be of interest to any civil engineering educator with the willingness to go out on a limb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]