Engagement in Practice: Innovating a Project-Based, Community Engaged Course for Engineering Students that Fosters Ethical Thinking

Tucker Krone; Seema Mukhi Dahlheimer; Sandra Payton Matteucci

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Engineering, Ethics, and Community Engagement
Tagged Division: Community Engagement Division (COMMENG)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47264

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Paper Authors

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Tucker Krone Washington University in St. Louis

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Tucker Krone joined the faculty in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in 2017. He teaches statistics, ethics, publication writing, communication, and community engaged courses. Tucker emphasizes engineering and statistics as forces for equity and social justice. Tucker Krone's current passion focuses on integrating community engagement, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into both technical and non-technical engineering courses.
In addition to teaching courses, Tucker is a member of the PhD Student Professional Development group within the McKelvey School of Engineering. Tucker’s background as a WashU BME alumna inspires him to stay involved on campus; Tucker loves WashU so much, he decided to come back and teach! He hopes to inspire and motivate the next generations of engineers.

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Seema Mukhi Dahlheimer Washington University in St. Louis

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Seema Dahlheimer is a Teaching Professor in the Division of Engineering Education and Assistant Director of the Engineering Communication Center at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University. She teaches Technical Writing, Reflective Writing in Medicine and Healthcare, Engineering Leadership and Team Building, and Engineers in the Community, among other courses. She believes that education can be a force for liberation and freedom, and through engineering, we can build a more just and equitable world.

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Sandra Payton Matteucci

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Abstract

The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement, underscoring the need for students to explore how privilege and systemic injustice have physically, racially, and economically impacted communities. Many undergraduate students are unaware of local disparities and develop cognitive dissonance: engrossed in academic routines, they lose sight of the real-world implications of their studies. Therefore, exposing students to the local community and illustrating their role in societal change is paramount to enriching their sense of ethical responsibility, equity, and diversity. Engineers in the Community, created in 2016, was an immersive spring break course that exposed undergraduate biomedical, chemical, environmental, electrical, and mechanical engineering students to systemic problems in St. Louis, showcasing how their engineering skills apply to these challenges with inspiration from speakers who embodied leadership and explored themes of ethics and (in)equity. However, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from this community-connected approach to a semester-long project-based model where students collaborated with local partners advocating for equity, ethics, or environmental improvement. As in-person instruction resumed, we integrated the immersive spring break experience with the semester-long community-partnered project, creating a community-engaged course that builds student empathy for diverse peoples through interaction with community partners. The projects mutually benefit students and partners, help address systemic inequities, and foster ethical mindsets. Drawing from seven years of community partnership experiences, we’ve developed a practical framework for sustainable community engagement. We'll delve into the nuances of community collaboration, including challenges, strategies for fostering long-term relationships, and methods to prevent partner burnout. It is easy for students to get comfortable in their campus “bubbles”—we have a responsibility as educators to inspire students to see beyond their immediate environment, to encourage students to creatively apply their engineering skills to real-world problems, and to promote cultural competency and equity building.

Citation
Format

Krone, T., & Dahlheimer, S. M., & Matteucci, S. P. (2024, June), Engagement in Practice: Innovating a Project-Based, Community Engaged Course for Engineering Students that Fosters Ethical Thinking Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47264

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri catalyzed the Black Lives Matter movement, underscoring the need for students to explore how privilege and systemic injustice have physically, racially, and economically impacted communities. Many undergraduate students are unaware of local disparities and develop cognitive dissonance: engrossed in academic routines, they lose sight of the real-world implications of their studies. Therefore, exposing students to the local community and illustrating their role in societal change is paramount to enriching their sense of ethical responsibility, equity, and diversity. Engineers in the Community, created in 2016, was an immersive spring break course that exposed undergraduate biomedical, chemical,  environmental, electrical, and mechanical engineering students to systemic problems in St. Louis, showcasing how their engineering skills apply to these challenges with inspiration from speakers who embodied leadership and explored themes of ethics and (in)equity. However, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift from this community-connected approach to a semester-long project-based model where students collaborated with local partners advocating for equity, ethics, or environmental improvement. As in-person instruction resumed, we integrated the immersive spring break experience with the semester-long community-partnered project, creating a community-engaged course that builds student empathy for diverse peoples through interaction with community partners. The projects mutually benefit students and partners, help address systemic inequities, and foster ethical mindsets. Drawing from seven years of community partnership experiences, we’ve developed a practical framework for sustainable community engagement. We&#39;ll delve into the nuances of community collaboration, including challenges, strategies for fostering long-term relationships, and methods to prevent partner burnout. It is easy for students to get comfortable in their campus “bubbles”—we have a responsibility as educators to inspire students to see beyond their immediate environment, to encourage students to creatively apply their engineering skills to real-world problems, and to promote cultural competency and equity building.
AU  - Tucker Krone
AU  - Seema Mukhi Dahlheimer
AU  - Sandra Payton Matteucci
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engagement in Practice: Innovating a Project-Based, Community Engaged Course for Engineering Students that Fosters Ethical Thinking 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47264
ER  -