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Service Learning in Engineering

William OakesCo-Director EPICS Program

Associate Professor,

Engineering Education

Purdue University

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Outline

What is service-learning Why engineering?How is S-L being done

Local and NationalCo-curricular, courses and programs

Opportunities

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Service-Learning Definition

We define service learning as a type of experiential education in which students participate in service in the community and reflect on their involvement in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content and of the discipline and its relationship to social needs and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility.

- Hatcher and Bringle, 1997

Service-Learning has been widely adopted but engineering has lagged

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Other Contexts

Service Learning shares aspects with other active learning pedagogies and experiencesExperiential LearningProblem Based LearningInquiry Guided LearningInterns and co-ops

In general these are separate from service and/or community contexts

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Why Engineering?

Multi-Level Learning Critical Thinking Professional Skills

ABET 2000 Learning Style Differences Underrepresnted populations

Women Minorities

Retention Institutional integration

Real Context for Design Real customers Design for x-ability

Compelling contexts When would I ever use this?

Educating Future Citizens

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Engineering students need more than technical knowledge to succeed: teamwork, communication, leadership, project management, professionalism, ethics, customer-awareness, …

Community-service andeducation organizations needaccess to technical expertise thatis normally prohibitively expensive: improved, enhanced, and new services

Partnerships: Meeting Needs

Communities need long-term partnerships

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Who is doing Service Learning?

MIT Illinois ColoradoPurdue Michigan Cal BerkeleyPenn State Wisconsin-Madison Ga TechTexas-Austin LSU AlabamaPR- Mayaguez Case Western Illinois Inst.of Tech Rose Hulman Utah U Mass LowellNorthwesternSan Diego ClemsonColorado State Kansas State Arizona Stanford UTEP and more…Notre Dame Dayton

Most of the top rated engineering programs have active service-learning programs

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Where do we do projects?

International ProjectsExposes students to global issues

Local ProjectsIntegrates them into the local community, Easily accessible

State, regional or national projectsExample: EPICS and Habitat for Humanity

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International

Individual Faculty John Duffy - U. Mass.-Lowell (Peru) Steve Silliman – Notre Dame (Haiti)

OrganizationsEngineers without Borders

www.ewb-usaEngineers without Borders

CanadaEngineers for a Sustainable World

www.esustainableworld.org

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How: Co-Curricular

Programs incorporate co-curricular activities with engineering-based projects in the communityProCEED – U. of Michigan

ME Honorary Society + Senior design course

Universite’ de SherbrookeContest to design toys for autistic childrenFollow-on to freshman ECE design course

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How: Integrated into Courses

ME Kinematics – analyze playground safety Measurements Laboratory

data acquired in community (e.g. environmental data)

CE – Hydrology – hydrological analysis of local wet lands or lakes

First-Year projects University of Colorado

Optional Freshman Projects Course Melinda Piket-May

University of San Diego Intro. to Engineering – Susan Lord

LSU Intro. to Biological Engineering – Marybeth Lima

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How: Separate Courses

Capstone Design CoursesNebraska – Assistive TechnologyIowa State – Toys for Children with Disabilities

First-Year Design or Intro Engineering Improves retentionU. of South Alabama

Mechanical Engineering –Edmund Tsang

Case Western Reserve Univ.College - wide

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How: Service Learning Programs

Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) ProgramFounded at Purdue University

Engineers in Technical, Humanitarian Opportunities of Service-Learning (ETHOS)Founded at University of Dayton

Engineers without BordersFounded at University of Colorado

Support for national expansion from NSF, Corporation for National & Community Service, Microsoft, HP;

15 EPICS universities, 1 High School

Purdue undergraduates are learning real-world skills by defining, designing, building, testing, deploying, and supporting engineering solutions in a unique academic program that assists local community service and education organizations.

EPICS successes: 1995-2004: 1700 Purdue students to date Over 150 projects deployed S04: 280+ students from 20 Purdue departments on 25 teams A growing Purdue-community-industry partnership: 11 industry advisors $13+M total from grants, industry, Purdue, and alumni

EPICSEngineering Projects in Community Service

EPICS develops long-term partnerships in the local community

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Example National-Scale Project

Habitat for Humanity - EPICS – Microsoft PartnershipPurdue, Wisconsin,

and Notre Dame teams Two projects

Multimedia volunteer tutorials

Data collection of homeowner assessment

Community Partner is the HFHI staff in Americus, GA

Students coordinate work betweencampuses and with partners inGeorgia

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Four Categories of EPICS Teams

Human Services Homelessness Prevention Network Lafayette Crisis Center Tippecanoe County Probation Dept. Habitat for Humanity Lafayette Adult Resource Academy Greater Lafayette Volunteer Bureau

Access and Abilities Wabash Center Childrens’ Clinic Wabash Center Greenbush

Industries Purdue Office of the Dean of

Students Adaptive Programs Purdue Speech & Audiology Clinics

Education and Outreach Happy Hollow School Klondike School Lafayette School Corp. Purdue School of Education Discovering Engineering Careers Columbian Park Zoo Tippecanoe County Historical Assn. Imagination Station Art Museum of Greater Lafayette Institute for Women and Technology Purdue Cooperative Extension

Information System

Environment Purdue Dept. of Forestry & Natural

Resources Indiana Assn. of Soil & Water

Conservation Districts

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Student Quotes “(S-L) completely changed my opinion of engineering.” “Working on this project has helped me guide the rest of

my course work and ideas for a future profession.” “Other engineering courses only directly benefit me.

(S-L) benefits everyone involved.” “I have learned that engineering includes more than

theory, it includes teamwork, communication, organization and leadership.”

“It made me understand how every aspect of engineering (design, implementation, team work, documentation) come together.”

“No longer is engineering just a bunch of equations,now I see it as a means to help mankind.”

“Opened my heart.”

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Funding and Support Opportunities NSF

DLR – Department Level Reform (in EEC)Separate service-learning trackMicrosoft, HP, National Instruments are partners

CCLI – A&I - Adaptation and Implementation (in EHR)Adapting successful models to your curriculum

Learn and Serve Americawww.learnandserve.org (www.cns.gov)Next RFP in 2006

Corporations Foundations Campus Compact (www.compact.org)

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Engineering Service-Learning Growing national momentum

Numbers of programs Visibility (NSF Department Level Reform)

Many benefits Learning model Student persistence Engineering practice New context for engineering ABET

Successful models Local and International

Partnerships are key for success University, Community, Foundation, Corporate