Conference Session

Community Engagement in Engineering Education: Program Models

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shoba Krishnan, Santa Clara University; Tonya Lynn Nilsson P.E., Santa Clara University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

; providesinterdisciplinary projects of the students’ choice; and includes structured reflection as a keycourse component.This paper presents a case study on a global project where the students gained experienceworking for real world clients on problems with real world constraints and insight on howengineers impact and influence the world around them. The project was developed by theEngineers Without Borders (EWB) Student Chapter. The EWB students involved in this projectenrolled in the course to prepare for the non-technical components of the task including ethics,communication, and leadership. The course also addresses the engineering design process toassist students in applying their technical skills on the project.Through the use of study surveys and student

Conference Session

Lessons Learned through Community Engagement of Engineering Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynne A. Slivovsky, California Polytechnic State University; James M. Widmann, California Polytechnic State University; Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University; J. Kevin Taylor, California Polytechnic State University; David W. Hey, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

study was conducted consisting of a quantitative instrument and qualitativeanalysis of written reflections and focus groups transcripts. The 74-item Ableism Index includessubscales on intergroup anxiety, resistance to equalizing policies, negative internal states,contempt, phobic, and confidence. It was administered to students pre- and post- their capstonedesign class during which students worked on either an adapted physical activity service-learningproject or an industry-sponsored project. Students responded to directed reflection prompts ondesign, clients, and teaming in written essays. Eighteen focus groups were conducted withstudent teams who worked on adapted physical activity design projects. This paper reports on theresults of a

Conference Session

Relevance of and Models for Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James L. Huff, Purdue University; Dulcy M. Abraham, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Carla B. Zoltowski, Purdue University, West Lafayette; William C. Oakes, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

cognitive, behavioral,and attitudinal domains of global competency.10Overview of Service-LearningService-learning is the intentional integration of service experiences into academic courses toenhance the learning of the core content and to give students broader learning opportunitiesabout themselves and society at large. Service-learning has been defined “a credit-bearingeducational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meetsidentified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain furtherunderstanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced

Conference Session

Relevance of and Models for Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan McCahan, University of Toronto; Holly K. Ault, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Edmund Tsang, Western Michigan University; Mark R. Henderson, Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Spencer P. Magleby, Brigham Young University; Annie Soisson, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

of Jarvis’s model are reflected inour proposed model for LTS programs. However, a learning model alone is not sufficient forfully coming to grips with designing or operationalizing (i.e. implementing) an LTS program.A model which comes from the LTS literature, and therefore was formulated more specificallyfor this pedagogy is Butin’s four models for community engagement.6 Butin’s models actuallydescribe four goals commonly associated with community service learning: technical, cultural,political, and anti-foundational. These models reflect the differences in learning goals identifiedby faculty who use service learning: • Technical; LTS is used primarily to increase content knowledge and retention of knowledge. • Cultural: LTS

Conference Session

Community Engagement in Engineering Education: Program Models

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Light, Lewis-Clark College

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

. It is hoped, that through adescription of the project genesis, chronological description of events, identified learning goals,and a description of the reflection and relationship to assessment and project improvement, thisproject could be replicated elsewhere.Tsang2 specifies four essential components for service-learning in engineering as: 1) identify acommunity need that matches course learning objectives and form a partnership; 2) create andimplement a solution; 3) evaluate that solution for continuous improvement; and 4) engagestudents in structured reflection. The wheelchair ramp service-learning project described in thispaper meets these four essential components as described below.Statics and dynamics are the study of forces on

Conference Session

Community Engagement in Engineering Education: Program Models

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carrie-Ann Miller LCSW, State University of New York, Stony Brook

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

team tolearn to come to a consensus as to what issue they would like to address, and howthey plan to address it. At the end of the year the students participate in a capstoneevent where they can share with others their process. According to Cathryn BergerKay, M.A., there are five Stages of Service Learning. “They include: Inventoryand Investigation, Preparation and Planning, Action, Reflection andDemonstration”. 8 All our STEM Tech Clubs follow this model.The SISTER mentors and professionals facilitating the groups tie the issue ofconcern to the students various level of curriculum. They share their enthusiasmand knowledge of STEM education and opportunities. The school administratorswork with the groups, as well as teachers to help with this

Conference Session

Stakeholder Perspectives on Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Bull, Brown University School of Engineering; Maureen Kay Sigler, Brown University; Michael Lye, Rhode Island School of Design

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

with the goal of gauging benefits to learning andchanges in attitude towards working in a community as part of a course. We have taughttraditional courses in these areas for many semesters and have over the past 10 semestersintegrated projects that have the potential to improve some of our learning outcomes whileproviding a benefit for partners in the community. Reflecting on this process motivated us toseek better ways to describe what was happening and to better understand the impact on students.All of the problems we face are embedded in a context that determines to a great extent the rangeof solutions that are possible. Having some skill at assessing a context is an important learningoutcome and this skill comes through practice. Dyson

Conference Session

Stakeholder Perspectives on Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder; Kurt Paterson P.E., Michigan Technological University; Chris Swan, Tufts University; John J. Duffy, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Olga Pierrakos, James Madison University; Nathan E. Canney, University of Colorado Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

. The ideas shared were transcribed, andthen turned into the image below which reflects the frequency that different words were used(using www.wordle.net). Most of the faculty commented about the positive impacts of LTS onstudents – their learning, motivation, passion, excitement, leadership, and change to be betterengineers. Twenty-one of the 28 people shared an idea that included student impacts. Facultywere also excited about the potential for positive impacts on communities; 9 of the 28 ideasincluded this element at their core. From these initial comments it appeared that student-centered benefits were most prominent as a motivator for faculty members

Conference Session

Global Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph East, Michigan Technological University; Genevieve Gierke, Michigan Technological University; Mary Raber, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

during this summer, teaching the skillsthey have learned to others. The final year is Figure 1. Curriculum breakdown forspent working on capstone projects reflecting on a typical engineering student. Thethe coursework and international experience and percentage of class types taken for a Page 25.887.3continuing the advancement of the program. bachelor’s of science degree is shown. Figure 2. Distribution of general education

Conference Session

Global Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aditya Johri, Virginia Tech; Akshay Sharma, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

professor encourages classdiscussion. The qualitative part of the data analysis suggests that service learning is effective inpart because it facilitates four types of outcomes: an increased sense of personal efficacy, anincreased awareness of the world, an increased awareness of one’s personal values, andincreased engagement in the classroom experience. Both qualitative and quantitative resultsunderscore, once again, the power of reflection as a means of connecting the service experienceto the academic course material. The primary forms of reflection used were discussions amongstudents, discussions with professors, and written reflection in the form of journals and papers.Given that service-learning has demonstrated positive outcomes on student

Conference Session

Lessons Learned through Community Engagement of Engineering Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Robert Foster, George Fox University; Gary E. Spivey, George Fox University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

by the seemingly rigid nature of the “gates” - knowing that engineeringdesign is more flexible in its iterative process. Looking back, the instructors made the mistake ofassuming that students understood well the engineering design process and could operate wellwithout this linear structure.Assessment of the course was provided via open-ended written reflections. Students indicatedthat the documentation requirements were overwhelming the service and design aspects of thecourse. In spite of their frustration with the documentation, students indicated that they valuedthe service aspect of the course.The instructor’s assessment mirrored that of the students. The focus of the course was incorrect.In the pursuit of providing resources to help

Conference Session

Stakeholder Perspectives on Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathan E. Canney, University of Colorado, Boulder; Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

should be inherent in the engineering profession suchthat any project can be seen as service to a community. Academic institutions carry theresponsibility of teaching engineering students not only technical skills but also professionalskills that relate to social responsibility, such as an understanding of professional and ethicalresponsibility and of the global and societal impacts of engineering decisions. Teachingtechniques such as project-based service learning (PBSL) could increase a student’s awareness ofsocial responsibility due to the community engagement (typically with underserved populations)and the reflective aspect inherent in PBSL. This study presents pre-post data from an assessmentof engineering students’ development of social

Conference Session

Lessons Learned through Community Engagement of Engineering Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Malinda S. Zarske, University of Colorado, Boulder; Derek T Reamon, University of Colorado, Boulder; Angela R. Bielefeldt, University of Colorado, Boulder; Daniel W. Knight, University of Colorado, Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

often integrated throughoutengineering education curricula.Practicing engineering in a community context, partnered with a strong emphasis on teamworkand reflection, project-based service-learning (PBSL) programs are potentially successfulapproaches to recruit and retain more students, including women and minority students, into thepipeline of engineering education and the engineering workforce. Unfortunately, little researchhas been reported to confirm this hypothesis. In fact, what, if any, groups of students areimpacted by service-learning experiences?The University of Colorado Boulder’s First Year Engineering Projects (FYEP) course has beenevolving over the last decade into a successful avenue for increasing the knowledge, skills

Conference Session

Global Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristine Louise Guzak, Michigan Technological University; Kurt Paterson P.E., Michigan Technological University; Alexandra Archer, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

their fieldworkportion. The assessment program has been reviewed and approved for use by MichiganTech’s Institutional Review Board. The presented results should be interpreted withcaution given the relatively low numbers in this quantitative study. While reflective of theprograms presented herein, additional years of data are needed before conclusions can betransferred to such programs in general at other institutions. A. Identity- Motivations Comparable to many international service experiences in developing communities, both programs within this study are options, and demanding ones at that. Understanding motivations becomes especially important to the student, their team, and their host community. This paper focuses

Conference Session

Lessons Learned through Community Engagement of Engineering Students

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John J. Duffy, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Linda Barrington, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Emmanuelle Reynaud, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Manuel A. Heredia, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division

analysis of the Spring 2011 survey are appreciated. Any opinions, findings, andconclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Page 25.1473.11References1. Duffy, J., Barrington, L., West, C., Heredia, M., & Barry, C. (2011). Service-Learning Integrated throughout aCollege of Engineering (SLICE). Advances in Engineering Education, 2(4), 9: 1-23.2. Banzaert, A., Duffy, J., & Wallace, D. (2006). Integration of service-learing into engineering core at U MassLowell and MIT. American Society of Engineering Education 2006 Annual

Conference Session

Relevance of and Models for Community Engagement in Engineering Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karinna M. Vernaza, Gannon University; Theresa M. Vitolo, Gannon University; Barry J. Brinkman, Gannon University; Scott Steinbrink, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Community Engagement Division