Since 2007/2008 project-based learning models have been used to deliver two fundamental courses on Geotechnics in University of Aveiro, Portugal. These models have evolved and have encompassed either cooperative or collaborative teamwork. Using data collected in five editions of each course (Soil Mechanics I and Soil Mechanics II), the different characteristics of the models using cooperative o...

Many engineering applications suffer from the ignorance of mechanical parameters. It is particularly true when soil model is necessary to assess soil behaviour [Meieret al., 2008]. Nevertheless, it is not always efficient to directly assess the values of all the parameters in the case of soil mechanics. Considering structural mechanics, [Li et al., 2007] also worked to propose an optimal design...