1. 1 Service Learning in Engineering William Oakes Co-Director EPICS Program Associate Professor, Engineering Education Purdue University

2. 2 Outline What is service-learning Why engineering? How is S-L being done  Local and National  Co-curricular, courses and programs Opportunities

3. 3 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

4. 4 Other Contexts Service Learning shares aspects with other active learning pedagogies and experiences  Experiential Learning  Problem Based Learning  Inquiry Guided Learning  Interns and co-ops In general these are separate from service and/or community contexts

5. 5 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

6. 6 Engineering students need more than technical knowledge to succeed: teamwork, communication, leadership, project management, professionalism, ethics, customer-awareness, … Community-service and education organizations need access to technical expertise that is normally prohibitively expensive: improved, enhanced, and new services Partnerships: Meeting Needs Communities need long-term partnerships

7. 7 Who is doing Service Learning? MITIllinoisColorado PurdueMichiganCal Berkeley Penn StateWisconsin-MadisonGa Tech Texas-AustinLSUAlabama PR- MayaguezCase Western Illinois Inst.of Tech Rose Hulman UtahU Mass Lowell NorthwesternSan DiegoClemson Colorado StateKansas StateArizona StanfordUTEPand more… Notre DameDayton Most of the top rated engineering programs have active service-learning programs

8. 8 Where do we do projects? International Projects  Exposes students to global issues Local Projects  Integrates them into the local community,  Easily accessible State, regional or national projects  Example: EPICS and Habitat for Humanity

9. 9 International Individual Faculty  John Duffy - U. Mass.-Lowell (Peru)  Steve Silliman – Notre Dame (Haiti) Organizations  Engineers without Borders www.ewb-usa  Engineers without Borders Canada  Engineers for a Sustainable World www.esustainableworld.org

10. 10 How: Co-Curricular Programs incorporate co-curricular activities with engineering-based projects in the community  ProCEED – U. of Michigan  ME Honorary Society + Senior design course  Universite’ de Sherbrooke  Contest to design toys for autistic children  Follow-on to freshman ECE design course

11. 11 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

12. 12 How: Separate Courses Capstone Design Courses  Nebraska – Assistive Technology  Iowa State – Toys for Children with Disabilities First-Year Design or Intro Engineering  Improves retention  U. of South Alabama  Mechanical Engineering – Edmund Tsang  Case Western Reserve Univ.  College - wide

13. 13 How: Service Learning Programs Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program  Founded at Purdue University Engineers in Technical, Humanitarian Opportunities of Service-Learning (ETHOS)  Founded at University of Dayton Engineers without Borders  Founded at University of Colorado

14. 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 EPICS Engineering Projects in Community Service EPICS develops long-term partnerships in the local community

15. 15 Example National-Scale Project Habitat for Humanity - EPICS – Microsoft Partnership  Purdue, 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 between campuses and with partners in Georgia

16. 16 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

17. 17 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.”

18. 18 Funding and Support Opportunities NSF  DLR – Department Level Reform (in EEC)  Separate service-learning track  Microsoft, HP, National Instruments are partners  CCLI – A&I - Adaptation and Implementation (in EHR)  Adapting successful models to your curriculum Learn and Serve America  www.learnandserve.org (www.cns.gov) www.learnandserve.orgwww.cns.gov  Next RFP in 2006 Corporations Foundations Campus Compact (www.compact.org)

19. 19 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