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Engagement in Practice: Lessons From a Large Engagement Program During a Pandemic

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Conference

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual Conference

Publication Date

July 26, 2021

Start Date

July 26, 2021

End Date

July 19, 2022

Conference Session

Community-Engaged Engineering Education Challenges and Opportunities in Light of COVID-19 Paper Presentations 2

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Community Engagement Division, and Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education

Page Count

8

DOI

10.18260/1-2--37039

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/37039

Download Count

279

Paper Authors

biography

William C. Oakes Purdue University at West Lafayette Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-6183-045X

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William (Bill) Oakes is a 150th Anniversary Professor, the Director of the EPICS Program and one of the founding faculty members of the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He has held courtesy appointments in Mechanical, Environmental a

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biography

Paul A. Leidig P.E. Purdue University at West Lafayette

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Paul A. Leidig is a PhD student in Engineering Education and a member of the instructional team for the Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He received his Bachelors of Science in Arch

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Nusaybah Abu-Mulaweh Purdue University at West Lafayette

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Dr. Nusaybah Abu-Mulaweh is a faculty member in the Whiting School of Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University. After earning a BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, she completed her PhD in Engineering Education at Purdue University. She is passionate about the active process of teaching and learning through authentic real-world experiences that lead students to develop disciplinary knowledge and broad professional skills needed for responding innovatively and responsibly to today’s challenges. Her technical background in electrical and computer engineering and experience in industry coupled with her teaching experience in computing and human-centered design have informed her scholarship, which centers on advancing how engineers design concepts and products that are both innovative and aligned to actual needs through empathic formation.

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Andrew Pierce Purdue University at West Lafayette

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Andrew Pierce is the Assistant Director of the EPICS Program at Purdue University.

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Jorge Martinez

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Abstract

2020 has been a challenging year for many across the globe. Universities and colleges were disrupted in the spring, as students were sent home and classes moved online. While this was taxing for all educators and students, community-engagement was particularly challenged, given its reliance on interactions with community partners and often team-based project work This paper documents how one large community engagement program at a large midwestern public university adjusted to the move online in the spring and the new logistical realities of fall. Contacts with many partners were reduced or eliminated all together in the spring while students moved online. Many teams continued their work and adapted to balance student learning and the community-engagement as best they could. In the fall semester, some students in this program returned to campus while others participated online. New restrictions on team meetings and laboratories changed the model for the class. With over 120 active projects and over 50 community partners, the adaptations and impact varied across design teams. Projects with local partners were disrupted in the spring and returned more toward normal in the fall but with more remote communication. National and international projects were also disrupted, with travel to sites eliminated. This paper will share the process used for the year, examine student evaluations and artifacts and the impact on community partners. The data shows that the student experience remained strong, even with the disruptions. Community partners remained committed to program and their partnership with the program.

Oakes, W. C., & Leidig, P. A., & Abu-Mulaweh, N., & Pierce, A., & Martinez, J. (2021, July), Engagement in Practice: Lessons From a Large Engagement Program During a Pandemic Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--37039

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