1. William Oakes EPICS Program Purdue University
Engineering and Service-Learning: Improved Education, Improved Communities
William Oakes
EPICS Program
Purdue University

2. Opportunities
Students need more than disciplinary knowledge to succeed:
teamwork, communication,
customer-awareness,
project management,
leadership, ethics,
societal context,
professionalism
Both local and global communities need access to technical expertise that is normally prohibitively expensive: improved, enhanced, new capabilities

3. Calls to Action U.S. National Academy of Engineering Studies:
The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century
Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering
How People Learn

4. 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

5. Context: Learning Pedagogies
Experiential education
Active learning,
Problem-based learning
Inquiry-guided learning
Design education
Service learning
Engagement in the community
Tied to academic learning outcomes
Reciprocity
Reflection

6. Activity
Take a few Post-It’s and list example service or service-learning projects

7. Characteristics of Service-Learning
Service – part of the service-learning experience involves service opportunities for students for the underserved in the local community.
Academically-based - the service being performed by the students must provide reinforcement and connection with the subject material of the academic course.
Students given credit for mastery of course content, not simply for the service they perform

8. Purdue’s EPICS Outcomes (Design)
i. applies material from their discipline to the design of community-based projects
ii. demonstrates an understanding of design as a start-to-finish process
iii. an ability to identify and acquire new knowledge as a part of the problem-solving/design process
iv. demonstrates an awareness of the customer in engineering design
v. demonstrates an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams and an appreciation for the contributions from individuals from other disciplines
vi. demonstrates an ability to communicate effectively with audiences with widely-varying backgrounds
vii. demonstrates an awareness of professional ethics and responsibility
viii. demonstrates an appreciation of the role that their discipline can play in social contexts

9. Classify the Project Ideas
Curricular (C)
STEM – related to learning science, technology, engineering or math (C-STEM)
Other (non-STEM) (C-O)
Extra Curricular (EC)

10. Characteristics of Service-Learning
Partnerships –
partnerships between those who serving and those being served.
The students and community members are partners in addressing the community need
The community, students and faculty benefit from the service learning

11. Adding Capacity through Partnerships
Long-term partnerships
Partnerships over several years
Projects may be short OR long term
Deliver projects
Establish relationships
Provide services beyond delivery
Move to the professional level of support
Value Provided
Effort Invested

12. Time Scales: Traditional Courses
Student learning and project development are tied to academic calendar
Semester/Quarter/Year
Student Learning
Academic Calendar
Project

13. EPICS Decouples Timescales
Student Learning
Student Learning
Semester/Quarter
Semester/Quarter
Semester/Quarter
Project
Project
Community Receives Long-Term Support They Need

14. Characteristics of Service-Learning
Analysis or Reflection
Participants are intentionally guided through activities to analyze and reflect upon the work that is being performed and the larger social issues..
Metacognitive activities including reflection improve learning
Metacognition can help students understand academic material covered by the course
Activities for analysis and reflection can take several forms

15. Benefits to Learning
Learners of all ages are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are learning and when they can use that information to do something that has an impact on others – especially in their local community
– Bransford et al., How People Learn
A similar phenomenon occurs when students are able to marshal a body of knowledge to solve problems presented in class but fail even to see a problem, much less the relevance of what has been learned, in a different setting. The new situation does not provide the cues associated with what has been learned; the “key words” from the classroom are not present in the wider environment. A service-learning student will have more ways to access this understanding.
– Eyler and Giles, Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning

16. Reflection is needed
To make the connections for students between the learning and the service
Students will treat as separate
To guide appropriate learning and to catch unintended and/or inappropriate learning
Students may not learning intended ideas simply through the service
Students may learn unintended things during service

17. Service-Learning and Diversity
Research on science education suggests that “context” is important to students.
“Image” is increasingly being cited as a deterrent to attracting women in the U.S.
Cultural context for developing technical solutions

18. Educating Citizens Our responsibility to educate the “whole person”
Educating future professionals
Educating future community members
Engaged/educated citizens
Future neighbors
Lifelong impact
Career choices
Outside interests
or activities

19. Entrepreneurship and EPICS
The Community
Needs, Ideas
Ideas, Products
Service-Learning Develops Core Skills of Entrepreneurs
Identify needs
Develop solutions to meet those needs
Implement those ideas
How to spread the impact of innovations?

20. 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.”

21. Service vs Learning service learning
Service and learning goals are separate
SERVICE-learning
Service outcomes are primary; learning goals are secondary
service- LEARNING
Learning goals are primary; service outcomes are secondary
SERVICE-LEARNING
Service and learning goals have equal weight; each enhances the other for all participants

22. Group Activity Get in groups of about four
Take your Post-It’s with service projects and put them into the four service-learning categories
Put the projects into the category
Be prepared to give an example for each category
Modify the projects if needed to get at least one example from each