At 8 p.m. on September 19, 2017, the six-episode TV documentary "Glorious China", which shocked the Chinese people, was officially aired. The first episode "The Dream Realization Project", showcased how transportation workers overcame numerous difficulties and built world-famous high-speed railways, tunnels, Bridges and ports in a complex geological environment. Highways, Bridges and tunnels are constructed based on geological conditions such as rocks and soil. Ignoring these geological conditions can lead to a series of geological problems, including slope collapses, bridge misalignment and tunnel collapses. It is evident that geological conditions are crucial for engineering construction, and there exists an interactive and mutually influential relationship between them. "Engineering Geotechnics" is a course that teaches the interrelationship between road and bridge engineering and the geological environment.
The course focuses on the competency requirements for geotechnical positions in the three stages of highway engineering: survey, design, and construction. It aims to cultivate road and bridge builders who possess the abilities to "investigate geological conditions, determine geotechnical properties, and address geological hazards". Simultaneously, we cultivate students' virtues of honesty, trustworthiness, communication skills, and cooperation, inspire their love for the magnificent scenery of our motherland, encourage them to consciously practice the concept of green ecological environmental protection, and foster a craftsman spirit of fearing neither hardship nor fatigue, and striving for excellence.
The accompanying textbooks for the course are jointly crafted by renowned educators, industry experts, and frontline dual-qualified teachers. They not only incorporate the latest teaching research and reform achievements but also the latest survey and design results of significant highway construction projects in China in recent years, the most authentic engineering cases, and the latest application of geotechnical survey technology. This significantly narrows the gap between teaching and practice, strengthens the cultivation of students' professional abilities, achieves effective connection between textbook content and professional positions, and ensures the progressiveness, relevance, and applicability of the textbooks.
The curriculum development is integrated and constantly evolving. The curriculum team initiated the project of "Research and Practice of Teaching Reform for the ' Engineering Geotechnics' Course" under the National Transportation Industry Guidance Committee in 2009. In 2010, it was approved as a provincial-level quality course in Hubei Province. In 2015, school-based textbooks were compiled for internal use. In 2018, the project was approved for the construction of planning textbooks under the Road and Bridge Specialty Guidance Committee. In 2021, the digital three-dimensional textbook of " Engineering Geotechnics" was officially published and distributed. In 2022, online courses were developed and officially launched. In 2023, content updates and upgrades were made based on comprehensive teaching reforms, scientific and technological research and development, technological breakthroughs, and industry "four new" technology updates and iterations. In 2024, the curriculum team revised the textbooks edited by the chief editor in response to industry transformation and upgrading as well as the development of "four new" technologies. In 2025, the " Engineering Geotechnics" (2nd edition) textbook was newly launched.
The curriculum is co-constructed by both educational institutions and industry, deepening the "integration of three aspects." The curriculum incorporates the participation of senior experts from the front line of the industry, who selflessly provide a wealth of industry "four new" technologies, enterprise job skill requirements, construction method cases, and technical solutions. It also integrates and transforms multiple provincial and ministerial-level educational, scientific research, and production project achievements, enhancing students' practical application abilities and matching the new requirements of industrial upgrading, technological progress, and job changes, deepening the integration of industry and education, and the convergence of science and education. At the same time, the curriculum vertically connects with the general undergraduate course "Engineering Geology," the vocational undergraduate course "Soil Science and Soil Mechanics," and the secondary vocational course "Soil Mechanics and Foundation," and horizontally connects with the higher vocational precursor course "Engineering Surveying" and the subsequent course "Highway Survey and Design." It constructs a vertically coherent and horizontally integrated curriculum content, promoting the integration of vocational and general education and facilitating learners' further studies and development.
The course design is innovative, enabling learning to support teaching. Based on the application sequence of engineering geotechnical knowledge in the process of highway construction and students' cognitive patterns, the course constructs three learning projects, namely "surveying field engineering geotechnical conditions, measuring geotechnical physical property indicators, and dealing with highway geological disasters and soil diseases," encompassing 35 learning modules. The arrangement of learning modules progresses from simple to complex and from singular to comprehensive, which are both independent and progressive, facilitating learners' ability to spiral upward from understanding geological conditions to solving geotechnical problems. Additionally, the course summarizes the "Six Adaptive Learning Methods" for learners, which promote consolidation and steady improvement through six steps: pre-class guidance, self-study via micro-lessons, guided learning through diagrams, in-depth study via courseware, refined reinforcement, and extended learning. Furthermore, the course has collected and produced a large amount of reference materials such as views, animations, and cases, and standardized the production of a "demonstration teaching package" for the platform, which can assist educators in enhancing teaching effectiveness.
In summary, the course will make every effort to assist learners in enhancing their abilities to conduct geotechnical surveys, analyze and evaluate geotechnical conditions, and solve geotechnical problems in the construction, operation, and maintenance of highway and other engineering projects, while simultaneously strengthening their ideals, beliefs, and sense of responsibility.
