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SERVICE-LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

Manoochehr Zoghi and Margaret Pinnell University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio

Abstract

Community service activities are at the cornerstone of the University of Dayton’s mission. It is the guiding principle of the Vision 2005 to educate distinctive undergraduates who will be prepared to learn, lead, and serve during the new millennium. An overview of the engineering related service-learning opportunities at the University of Dayton is presented in this paper. A variety of community services, adopted to enhance the experiential learning of students, is described along with students’ assessment in the context of their reflections.

Introduction

The integration of community service projects in undergraduate engineering curricula, to provide experiential learning, has created a great deal of interest among educators in recent years. Tsang (2000) stipulates that the notion of combining service with engineering design projects is not new considering that many senior design projects have provided assistive technology to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Tsang (2000) further discusses the many benefits of service- learning, coupled with design-across-the-curriculum, and the significance of integrating design at all stages of a student’s academic development in a meaningful context. Evidently, this innovative pedagogy helps to achieve the desirable student outcomes described in Engineering Criteria 2000 Publication (ABET 1998).

Martin and Coles (2000) discuss the challenge of introducing a service-learning endeavor in the civil and environmental engineering program. They outline a four-step plan for implementing service-learning across the departmental curriculum including criteria for identifying a service- learning course, a mechanism to reward the faculty in relation to tenure and promotion, a mentoring program for the new faculty, and guidance on student assessment.

Jamieson et al (2000) elaborate on key features of the EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service), a service-learning program, that was initiated at Purdue University in the Fall of 1995. The premise of the EPICS program is that undergraduate engineering students earn academic credits by solving long-term, technology-based problems for local community organizations. The complexity and multidisciplinary implications of design projects have enabled EPIPCS to address many of the program outcomes mandated for ABET accreditation.

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society of Engineering Education”

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Zoghi, M. (2005, June), Service Learning Opportunities At The University Of Dayton Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14864