Classroom teaching is one of the main forms of teaching in domestic colleges and universities. However, the traditional classroom teaching pattern, where teachers give lectures throughout while students keep listening passively, has led to some visible problems. Under its directly or indirectly influence, the learning effect is difficult to guarantee, students are lack of initiative on learning, their learning interest and creative thinking are failure to aroused, their understanding of classroom content is not deep enough, and the knowledge is not firmly grasped. This paper proposes that colleges and universities can adopt a teaching pattern that meets the students' internal needs, that is, problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy. By creating a situation and atmosphere driven by practical problems, students' interest and motivation in learning can be improved. When implementing PBL teaching model in the class of civil engineering, college teachers are supposed to design appropriate problems which satisfy undergraduates' motivation to study and their development needs. Some teaching strategies are also needed to motivate students to participate in the class actively.