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The educational benefits of operating a service-learning course as a corporate structure: lessons learned through CEDC

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Conference

2024 South East Section Meeting

Location

Marietta, Georgia

Publication Date

March 10, 2024

Start Date

March 10, 2024

End Date

March 12, 2024

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45571

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45571

Download Count

25

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Paper Authors

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Evelyn Abagayle Boyd Clemson University and Colorado School of Mines Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2478-3284

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Dr. Evelyn Boyd is a teaching assistant professor at Colorado School of Mines. She earned her PhD in Engineering and Science Education from Clemson University. While at Clemson, Boyd worked with Clemson Engineers for Developing Communities (CEDC) as an education researcher to assess the longitudinal educational impact of the program for its students.

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David E Vaughn Clemson University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-5942-7477

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David is a Professor of Practice within Clemson University’s Glenn Department of Civil Engineering, the Founder and Owner of Integrated Resilience, LLC, he is a former Fluor Fellow, Director of Resilience Solutions, and Secretariat of the World Economic

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Jeffery M Plumblee II JMP2 LLC

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Jeffery Plumblee is a project management, innovation, sustainability, and education consultant. He holds his BS, MS, MBA, and PhD from Clemson University, where he focused on civil engineering. Plumblee has managed a faculty grant and training program for an innovation and entrepreneurship nonprofit; served as a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Engineering Leadership and Program Management at The Citadel; and developed and managed multiple programs at Clemson University, including the award winning Clemson Engineers for Developing Communities. He enjoys researching and implementing ways to help helping under-resourced areas become more sustainable and resilient, as well as developing sustainabiity-related technologies.

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Bridget Trogden American University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-9220-4999

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Bridget Trogden holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and was an Assistant, then Associate, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Mercer University for twelve years. She received Mercer’s Innovations in Teaching Award and was

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Abstract

Clemson Engineers for Developing Communities (CEDC) is an engaged service-learning program open to students of all majors. The course is modeled around a corporate business structure with students holding roles as program directors, project directors, functional directors, project managers and group members. The organization is currently working on fifteen projects involving global stakeholders including the United States, Haiti, Colombia, and Ecuador. This study focuses on the educational outcomes for students who held leadership positions in the program. Rooted in Professional Socialization Theory, ten interviews were conducted with CEDC student leaders. Interviews surrounded the central research question of: What are the educational outcomes for CEDC students that are unique to the program?

Interview results suggest that CEDC is a supportive atmosphere where students can gain real-world experience in corporate-type roles in ways that no other current course at the institution allows. Additionally, nine out of the ten interviewed students stated that participation in CEDC had created an altruistic shift in their career goals. Future work for the organization includes continued growth of the program both by reaching new students at Clemson and expanding the mission to other institutions, while continuing to address complex community resilience and sustainability challenges.

Boyd, E. A., & Vaughn, D. E., & Plumblee, J. M., & Trogden, B. (2024, March), The educational benefits of operating a service-learning course as a corporate structure: lessons learned through CEDC Paper presented at 2024 South East Section Meeting, Marietta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--45571

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