This project focuses on Learning Through Service (LTS), a pedagogical method that combines academic learning with service. Engaging investigators from five diverse institutions, the project are invoking a 4D Process (Discover, Distill, Design, Disseminate) to evaluate the impacts on faculty currently engaged in LTS efforts and to empower additional faculty to implement LTS. Major activities that are being undertaken include surveying and interviewing engaged faculty; convening a meeting of experts in LTS program/course designs, implementations, and assessments; conducting intensive faculty training workshops on LTS that lead to new LTS efforts at course and program levels; and sustaining faculty engagement via a continued dissemination of efforts. Assessment research methodologies (development and use) are being integrated throughout these activities. The project engages faculty through systemic implementation and support for LTS in engineering education. The projects expands the use of LTS in engineering education and highlight LTS as a viable research endeavor and scholarly activity. The project identifies challenges and facilitators to LTS for different faculty and institution types.

Project Report

A team of faculty from five universities worked together to develop training workshops to increase the quality and number of engineering community service opportunities available to college students through courses and extracurricular activities. These faculty had first-hand experience incorporating community service into their engineering courses: Chris Swan (Tufts University), Angela Bielefeldt (University of Colorado Boulder), Kurt Paterson (Michigan Technological University, James Madison University), Olga Pierrakos (James Madison University), John Duffy and David Kazmer (University of Massachusetts Lowell). First, thirty experts with extensive experience with service-learning courses and extracurricular community service activities from inside and outside engineering met in a summit, allowing the research team to distill best practices. Next, the team developed a Learning Through Service Blueprint to assist in the design, management, and assessment of rigorous community service experiences that optimize learning outcomes for students and benefits to communities, while also considering benefits to faculty, universities, and other stakeholders. Three workshops were held in 2012 and 2014, helping 100 engineering faculty and staff to gain knowledge that will help them improve community service activities at over 60 universities and colleges in the U.S. and beyond. As faculty gain improved knowledge of the key characteristics that make learning through service activities successful, both students and communities benefit. Interviews and survyes helped the research team to identify the barriers and types of support that stimulate engineering faculty to integrate community service activities into their courses and mentor extracurricular community service programs. The team also identified how to help sustain these activities over the long term. The workshops supported individuals to design both local and international engineering service activities for students across a wide array of disciplines and academic ranks. It was found that the weakest area for many existing learning through service programs in engineering was associated with a lack of rigorous assessment - particularly assessing benefits to community partners. It also appeared that many programs could benefit from improved use of student reflections. The research team was also instrumental in forming a new division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) -- the Community Engagement in Engineering Education Division (CEEED). CEEED brings together engineering educators working on learning through service activities, in order to exchange best practices and support each other. CEEED will help maintain the momentum from the project, training new faculty in how to integrate community service opportunities into their engineering courses and extracurricular activities. This will yield benefits to partner communities around the world.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
1022831
Program Officer
Don L. Millard
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2010-09-15
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$174,996
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Boulder
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80303