scholarly journals A Mixed-Methods Study of Cognitive and Affective Learning During a Sophomore Design Problem-based Service Learning Experience

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Pierrakos ◽  
Robert Nagel ◽  
Eric Pappas ◽  
Jacquelyn Nagel ◽  
Thomas Moran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Affective Learning ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Professional Engineer ◽  
Real World Problem ◽  
Structured Problems

Authentic, real-world problem solving is an integral part of the engineering profession. Yet, research suggests that engineering education is primarily focused on well-defined and well-structured problems, which do not provide students the real-world relevance, context, or experience in solving the types of problems required as a professional engineer. The addition of problem-based service learning (PBSL) to engineering curricula provides an opportunity to introduce students to a variety of real-world projects in a community-based context. Numerous studies have shown the importance and impacts of integrating service learning and problem-based learning into engineering education. Herein, the results of a mixed-methods, longitudinal study on cognitive and affective learning during a PBSL sophomore design experience are presented and discussed. The goals are to demonstrate how both qualitative and quantitative data can be used to measure student learning during a PBSL experience and to provide a framework for assessment of such experiences.

Serious Games for the Classroom

2010 ◽  
pp. 264-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Wilson ◽  
Leslie Williams
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Constructivist Learning Environment ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Real World Problem ◽  
Structured Problems ◽  
Gaming Environment ◽  
The University

The University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center shares the process of developing a massive multiplayer online game. This chapter identifies the process used to meet the challenge for the design, prototype, development, and beta test of a digital game-based learning environment. The project’s goal was to develop a self-regulated constructivist learning environment where students work in groups to solve a series of complex, ill-structured problems. The multiuser game provides an interactive learning experience which allows students to experience authentic intellectual work in a virtual representation of a real-world context. Students are challenged through their participation in an interdisciplinary environment that leverages a real-world problem to utilize the different perspectives of the four major disciplines. The authors provide a description of the project’s efforts to develop a shared learning space that creates scaffolding of social support of other students and a gaming environment that emulates successful elements of commercial video games to ensure an engaging learning experience for all students.

Enriching the intersection of service and transformative learning with Freirean ideas: The case of a critical experiential learning programme in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-597
Author(s):  
Rosane Dal Magro ◽  
Marlei Pozzebon ◽  
Soraia Schutel
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Management Students

In this article, we examine the value of combining transformative and service learning pedagogical practices in management education programmes to encourage management students to be more critical and reflexive regarding serious contemporary issues like social inequality and sustainability. We draw on a long-term management education experience conducted in the northeastern region of Brazil, where international students learn how to develop a real-time community-based project with local inhabitants. We argue that while service learning approaches promote pragmatic action-based principles, transformative learning acts at the epistemic level, contributing to change in values. In addition, Paulo Freire’s ideas are integrated to reinforce critical and reflexive dimensions of the learning experience. Our results offer a process-based model showing how a critical experiential learning pedagogy might lead to the development of community-based competences, which, in turn, might lead to changes in the deeply held values of the participants. Freire’s emancipatory ideas are applied not only regarding the relationship between teachers and students, but also to the distinction between Western and non-Western societies, going beyond questioning of the destructive consequences of financial capitalism to question the hegemony of one worldview over all other possible ones.

Communities, Cartography and GIS

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Hawthorne
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Real World Setting ◽  
Geographic Knowledge ◽  
Community Residents

This paper discusses an introductory cartography and GIS service learning course. The service learning experience, highlighted by a final mapping project and community presentation, resulted in 3,000 student-designed maps being distributed to community residents, a website of downloadable student maps, multiple student speaking engagements, and a sustained community-university collaboration. The course demonstrates the importance of applied geography in local communities and highlights the benefits of community-university partnerships for addressing social change. Such an applied geography experience offers an important twist on the conventional, introductory cartography course where students engage in pre-packaged lectures and labs, and are then asked to complete a final mapping project. Unlike the conventional approach, this service learning class experience allows students to use their creativity to demonstrate knowledge learned in the course and allows students to apply and present their geographic knowledge in a real-world setting to community members.

scholarly journals Merging Engineering Education with Service-Learning: How Community Based Projects Encourage Socially Conscious Engineers

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Aaron Brown ◽  
Michael Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Creative Problem

Engineers provide essential services to society, solving pressing challenges through technological inventiveness. Students new to engineering often cite the lure of creative problem solving as attracting them to the discipline. However, traditional engineering curricula typically focus on a narrow application of fundamentals for solving closed-ended problems. Too often, engineering programs do not encourage inventive expression in problem solving. Not surprisingly, the attrition rate for engineering programs is unusually high. Recently, engineering education has shifted its focus to new, more engaging practices that incorporate hands-on methods, boosting prospects for students to engage in creative problem solving. Because service learning provides opportunities for applied work, incorporating it into engineering education programs in can engage students positively and lower attrition rates. Moreover, since engineers are fundamentally involved with social improvement, then engaging students in activities that expand their understanding of the potential impact their skills may impart to a community is not only prudent but best practices. This paper explores two case studies of community-based service learning engineering projects, highlighting community partnerships, analyses and decision-making that helped drive designs and outcomes. It explores how both the communities and students benefitted, focusing notably on the influence these activities had on student understanding of their work, academic and/or professional direction and social consciousness. These are analyzed via longitudinal reporting of students incorporating lessons learned several years post-project. The service learning projects took place in marginalized communities in Denver and Costa Rica. In the Denver project, engineering students designed, built and installed low cost solar heaters into an area with poor housing stock. In Costa Rica, students built a solar water heater for a local school. Keywords: applied learning, engineering education, experiential learning, service-learning.

Developing Leadership Skills and a Commitment to Civic Engagement During an Undergraduate Community-Based Service Learning Class

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim C. Graber ◽  
Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko ◽  
Jamie A. O’Connor ◽  
Jenny M. Linker
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Carnegie Classifications ◽  
Community Data

Civic engagement and service learning opportunities provide students with unique real-world experiences they are unable to acquire in a traditional in-class setting. Students develop a commitment to the community in which they live, exposure to other populations, leadership abilities, skills to work successfully within a team, and a chance to learn from failure. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized the importance of such opportunities and has added the Community Engagement Classification to the restructured Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synthesis of the literature that addresses civic engagement and service learning opportunities and to describe a university class that was designed to provide undergraduate students with a capstone service learning experience promoting wellness for older adults in the community. Data that were collected to evaluate the success of the class are also described.

scholarly journals A New Approach to Teaching Biomechanics Through Active, Adaptive, and Experiential Learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Singh
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Real World ◽  
Adaptive Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Healthcare Industry ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Real World Problem

Demand of biomedical engineers continues to rise to meet the needs of healthcare industry. Current training of bioengineers follows the traditional and dominant model of theory-focused curricula. However, the unmet needs of the healthcare industry warrant newer skill sets in these engineers. Translational training strategies such as solving real world problems through active, adaptive, and experiential learning hold promise. In this paper, we report our findings of adding a real-world 4-week problem-based learning unit into a biomechanics capstone course for engineering students. Surveys assessed student perceptions of the activity and learning experience. While students, across three cohorts, felt challenged to solve a real-world problem identified during the simulation lab visit, they felt more confident in utilizing knowledge learned in the biomechanics course and self-directed research. Instructor evaluations indicated that the active and experiential learning approach fostered their technical knowledge and life-long learning skills while exposing them to the components of adaptive learning and innovation.

Communities, Cartography and GIS

2013 ◽  
pp. 1848-1863
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Hawthorne
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Real World Setting ◽  
Geographic Knowledge ◽  
Community Residents

This paper discusses an introductory cartography and GIS service learning course. The service learning experience, highlighted by a final mapping project and community presentation, resulted in 3,000 student-designed maps being distributed to community residents, a website of downloadable student maps, multiple student speaking engagements, and a sustained community-university collaboration. The course demonstrates the importance of applied geography in local communities and highlights the benefits of community-university partnerships for addressing social change. Such an applied geography experience offers an important twist on the conventional, introductory cartography course where students engage in pre-packaged lectures and labs, and are then asked to complete a final mapping project. Unlike the conventional approach, this service learning class experience allows students to use their creativity to demonstrate knowledge learned in the course and allows students to apply and present their geographic knowledge in a real-world setting to community members.

Communities, Cartography and GIS

2012 ◽  
pp. 222-238
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Hawthorne
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Real World Setting ◽  
Geographic Knowledge ◽  
Community Residents

This paper discusses an introductory cartography and GIS service learning course. The service learning experience, highlighted by a final mapping project and community presentation, resulted in 3,000 student-designed maps being distributed to community residents, a website of downloadable student maps, multiple student speaking engagements, and a sustained community-university collaboration. The course demonstrates the importance of applied geography in local communities and highlights the benefits of community-university partnerships for addressing social change. Such an applied geography experience offers an important twist on the conventional, introductory cartography course where students engage in pre-packaged lectures and labs, and are then asked to complete a final mapping project. Unlike the conventional approach, this service learning class experience allows students to use their creativity to demonstrate knowledge learned in the course and allows students to apply and present their geographic knowledge in a real-world setting to community members.

Facilitating Course Connections and Transitions to Project Closure in Service Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunhee Choi ◽  
Jenna Raymond ◽  
Margit Hentschel
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Real World ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Exam Scores ◽  
Project Closure ◽  
Academic Study

Background:The ability to forge connections between academic study and real-world experience is essential in service learning (SL). Furthermore, the transition out of SL projects can be emotionally charged for both students and service recipients; yet, little research has been conducted on this topic. Purpose: This study aimed (a) to compare students’ ability to forge connections between course content and service experience and (b) to compare the transition out of their SL project between the 2016 and 2017 cohorts. Methodology/Approach: Mixed methods were used for the comparison. T tests were conducted to compare differences in the exam scores between the two cohorts. Summative content analysis was used to compare students’ weekly reflection journals for the two cohorts. Findings/Conclusions: Students were better able to make such connections when they were explicitly guided with prompting questions based on each week’s lecture topics. Students also transitioned out of their projects more smoothly when provided with a lecture, abundant reflection opportunities, and more instructor coaching. Exam scores, however, showed no statistical differences between the cohorts. Implications: Intentional efforts must be made to ensure that students relate course content to their service experience. Providing guidance on transitioning to project closure would also benefit students.

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